Müller Wiseman to increase price paid to farmers for milk
The Müller Wiseman Milk Group is to increase the amount it pays dairy farmers for a litre of milk to 32.50 pence per litre from October 21.
The company has already confirmed that dairy farmers who opted to sell their milk through the alternative Müller Wiseman Formula contract, which is linked to more volatile global commodity market returns, will receive 34.55 pence per litre from October through to December.
Müller Wiseman Dairies has also confirmed that the majority of dairy farmer suppliers on the Standard or Formula price option are on track to receive an additional lump sum incentive worth up to 1.0ppl triggered by increased production, at the end of this milk year.
Martin Armstrong, Supply Chain Planning Director for Müller Wiseman Dairies said:
“This increased price reflects continuing pressure on UK milk supplies against a backdrop of strengthening global dairy commodities. As we enter the autumn and winter months it is important to act in order to ensure that we can secure the milk required to meet our customers’ requirements.
“We are committed to offering a competitive proposition and a choice of contracts to dairy farmers and to pursuing a business strategy which is designed to create new opportunities to add value to milk produced by British farmers.
“We are offering a clean milk price, volume bonuses and an attractive production incentive, none of which are then eroded by charges for co-operative membership, balancing, haulage or capital levies.
Roddy Catto, Chairman of the Müller Wiseman Milk Group which represents dairy farmers said:
“Whilst protests organised by the Dairy Coalition were more understandable in 2012, blockades in Shropshire in the past week were counterproductive. We stressed to FFA organisers that we were at an advanced stage in our discussions with the company and made it clear that threatening serious disruption was against our advice, and more importantly, potentially damaging to our farmers interests.
“This was ignored and as a result, progress was halted and valuable time was wasted because the company’s focus was taken away from discussions and onto issues like farm collections and deliveries to customers. It makes no sense whatsoever to undermine the work of the MWMG farmer board in this way.”
