Farmers dismayed at 'pouring milk down the drain'
ReutersDairy farmers have expressed their dismay at being advised to "dump" surplus milk by some processors amid global oversupply and price cuts.
UK milk production has risen by 5.4% since 2024, leading to a surplus that exceeds demand, according to the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).
Cumbria county chair of the National Famers' Union John Longmire said prices were "unsustainable" and pouring away surplus was a "shocking waste", adding "this should not happen".
Defra did not comment on specific issues around surplus milk but said the government backed "our hard-working dairy farmers" and wanted to see "fair supply chains".
Longmire told BBC Radio Cumbria: "We're constantly told by the processors that we will be paid for any milk that is dumped, but as farmers we don't produce milk to pour it down the drain or into the slurry store.
"This has been in the background for the last seven or eight months, but it all came to a head in October time when a lot of processors realised they just can't cope with the amount of milk coming on to markets.
"You go to New Zealand and the processing capacity to deal with excess is there - here it isn't.
"We need more capacity in the UK to turn milk into powder, so when there's less milk, we have stock to use. If there comes a point where there's a lack of milk, there'll be problems because dairy farms will have closed."
Future processing plants
Another issue facing dairy farmers as a result of milk oversupply are cuts to farmgate prices - the rate buyers pay for products bought directly from farms.
Major dairy buyers like Arla and Muller have now cut the amount they pay farmers to around 35p per litre. The average price this time last year was 46p.
Chair of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers Robert Craig said the cuts have had a "significant" impact on his own dairy farm in Ainstable, near Carlisle.
"Cash-wise it's catastrophic," he said. "We're down nearly 15p a litre on the summer. It's fallen away steeply in the autumn."
Global drops in dairy prices are expected to continue into 2026, according to the ADHB, owing to strong supplies and fragile demand.
The UK average milk price for October was 46.56p per litre, according to Defra, but a spokesperson for the ADHB said the figures "do not reflect the large drops that have happened more recently."
"Some milk processors have cut as much as 15p per litre since October," they said.
"We've got three different processing plants coming on stream within the next 12-18 months, which will release more capacity so we can process more milk. That should alleviate the problem of throwing milk away, but it doesn't challenge the global market and oversupply issue," Craig added.
An Arla Foods spokesperson said there had been "a considerable shift" in the supply of global milk supplies in recent months.
"Global milk production has increased, therefore impacting negatively on the global commodity markets, resulting in lower prices," they added.
"As a co-operative, Arla's profits go directly back to our farmers as payment for their milk and to support the future of dairy production."
Muller did not comment.
A Defra spokesperson said: "This government backs our hard-working dairy farmers and wants to see fair supply chains and transparent dairy contracts.
"Ensuring fairness in supply chains is key for UK dairy farmers and in supporting the sustainability of the sector."
