Dairy shortage looms 'because farms in remote areas can't get staff,' says environment sec
11 July 2022, 08:19
Eustice: Dairy price increase is not due to Brexit
Environment secretary George Eustice has said looming dairy shortages are not due to Brexit, but because farms are 'struggling to get people' to fill empty jobs in remote areas.
“Every sector of the economy is struggling to find staff. It’s nothing to do with Brexit.
“A typical dairy farm might employ two or three people, sometimes four.
“I can understand say a strawberry farm that employs hundreds or sometimes thousands of people they need access to a seasonal worker scheme.
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“When it comes to dairies it’s a very small number of people on an individual farm but because they are in remote areas nevertheless they do sometimes struggle to get people to fill those posts.”
The UK’s biggest milk and butter maker has warned of dairy shortages due to a lack of workers.
Arla foods, that produces Lurpak and Cravendale milk, issued the warning and said dairy prices are to surge even higher.
Ash Amirahmadi, UK managing director at Arla, told the Telegraph that British milk production is already down 3pc in 2022 after more than seven years of growth.
He added: “If that 3pc gets to 5pc, we know that will lead to shortages, in terms of [meaning] we can’t meet the demand that’s there.”
He said the company is ‘on the edge’ of dairy shortages and warned of more inflation to come.
Mr Eustice said the increase in gas prices had a ‘knock on’ impact for fertiliser costs and feed costs for farmers which were driving price increases.
“We are seeing some inflationary pressures but in the last 5 years dairy farms have seen a strong recovery in their incomes.”
