Category: NEWS

Struggling dairy farmers have marked World Milk Day (Wednesday 1 June) with a series of protests across Europe over low prices.

Organiser the European Milk Board (EMB), which represents about 100,000 milk producers, said the dramatic consequences of the milk crisis warranted further protest action.

In a statement, the EMB said: “June 1 – World Milk Day – comes at a time when the waves of extremely low milk prices are threatening to drag thousands of European farmers into poverty.”

Following the lifting of quotas, an oversupply of milk, weaker-than-expected Chinese demand and Russia’s ban on western food and drink imports have all been blamed for the slump in dairy.

Over the past two years, farm-gate milk prices have collapsed by nearly 50% in some EU member states. In the UK, hundreds of dairy farmers are producing milk below the cost of production.

To raise awareness of the plight of dairy farmers, the EMB organised protests across Europe.

On 30 May, Dutch dairy farmers blocked a bus with EU agriculture ministers visiting a farm in the Netherlands, as part of the informal council meeting. Dairy farmers also dumped hundreds of rubber boots outside a milk summit in Berlin as a symbol for farms going out of business.

Milk spraying and tipping actions were planned across Germany, while in France milk producers staged protests outside dairies.

On a more positive note, Dairy UK chief executive Judith Bryans spoke of the growing global demand for milk at the International Dairy Federation’s celebration of World Milk Day in South Korea. “Dairy makes a difference to millions of people every day, everywhere,” she said. “It plays an important nutritional role at all stages of life. It also provides millions of livelihoods across the world.”

Farmers still waiting for their full Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) money can apply for flexible tax instalments to HMRC, relieving the pressure on cashflow.

Although HMRC had not flagged up its extended payments option, one farming family in Berkshire was offered penalty-free monthly payments after refusing to pay their tax dues.

“We received a letter saying if we didn’t pay our income tax bill HMRC would pass it to an external debt collector,” said Elizabeth Brown from Priors Farm near Newbury.

“We wrote to our MP and then HMRC explaining that we’d been owed £40,000 by the government since December, and that until that bad debt was paid we were unable and unwilling to pay the tax due.”

HMRC contacted Mr and Mrs Brown, offering them penalty-free monthly payments until such time as the BPS was paid.

“It was never flagged up as an option until we contacted them,” said Mrs Brown.

“We only had a part-payment of the BPS because we contacted the Farming Community Network – it’s scandalous that you have to go through a charity to make the government pay what it owes.”

An HMRC spokesman said: “Anyone who anticipates payment problems should call us and we will do all we can to help, including offering time to pay.

“We have an outstanding track record for supporting those with genuine problems, providing practical assistance to distressed businesses through our time to pay arrangements.”

Send us your Open Farm Sunday photos

⁕ If you are holding or helping out at an Open Farm Sunday event this weekend, we want to see your pictures.

More than 400 farms are expected to welcome 250,000 visitors during this year’s Open Farm Sunday on 5 June.

We will be choosing the best shots to feature in next Friday’s magazine, but we’ll need them by 5pm on Monday (6 June) to be considered for publication.

❭❭ Upload your OFS pictures directly to our gallery at www.fwi.co.uk/ofs2016 or email fwfarmlife@rbi.co.uk

Beef support scheme deadline extended

⁕ Beef farmers across Scotland now have until 15 June to claim their share of £45m support for the sector – equivalent to about £32 per calf.

The Scottish government’s new Beef Efficiency Scheme aims to improve the efficiency, sustainability and quality of the Scottish beef herd, while helping to increase profitability and cut greenhouse gases.

NFU Scotland vice-president Rob Livesey said: “At this busy time of year we welcome the extension. This will allow farmers who wish to be part of the scheme some extra time to sign up.”

⟫Sign up online at www.scoteid.com/bes

Abattoir investigated over cruelty claims

⁕ Seven workers at a Norfolk halal slaughterhouse have been suspended after disturbing footage emerged of animals being mistreated.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched an investigation into alleged breaches of animal welfare rules at Simply Halal in Banham.

The footage, recorded over eight days between February and March this year and obtained by animal charity Hillside Animal Sanctuary, showed inhumane treatment of beef and sheep.

The British Veterinary Association has called for CCTV in all slaughterhouses.

Scotland’s new rural affairs secretary Fergus Ewing has apologised to farmers for CAP payment delays and promised that sorting out the scheme will be his number one priority for the foreseeable future.

In a statement to the Scottish parliament, Mr Ewing acknowledged the anger, frustration and hardship experienced by farmers as a result of problems with the implementation of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

“I want to start off with three simple words addressed by me on behalf of the Scottish government to all farmers and crofters who have suffered as result: ‘We are sorry,’ he said. ‘And follow it up with four words: We are fixing it’.”

According to the Scottish government’s weekly figures, 15,222 out of 18,137 eligible claims had been paid by 25 May, which is 84% of claimants.

In addition, the government paid out 5,000 nationally-funded BPS loans during the month of April, worth more than £90m, and more than 40% of these had been repaid already as the main EU-funded payments have been processed, Mr Ewing said.

The government also expected to start payments soon under the coupled support scheme for sheep, and to complete payments under the two schemes for beef cattle.

“The government is doing everything possible to get those payments out before the end of June.”

Douglas McAdam, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, welcomed the statement and said it was clear Mr Ewing understood where problems remained.

“It must be remembered that this is not just a crisis affecting farmers, but has severe knockon consequences for the whole supply chain,” he added.

A new proposal to extend the licence for glyphosate for up to 18 months is to be put to the vote next Monday (6 June), as the EU Commission tries to find a middle path between supporters and opponents of agriculture’s number one weedkiller.

With the EU licence due to expire at the end of June, member states have been split on the issue, following conflicting scientific advice as to whether the product is carcinogenic or not.

The EU had originally sought a 15-year renewal, but reduced this to nine years in a proposal put to member states on 19 May. But with France joining the group of countries opposed to glyphosate, and Germany set to abstain, the commission could not muster sufficient support.

Following concerted diplomatic efforts, the commission has now prepared a fresh proposal. This calls for an extension of the licence pending a new study into the safety of glyphosate by the European Chemicals Agency, which is due to report back in 2017.

Speaking to journalists in Brussels on Wednesday (1 June), EU health commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis said the EU had the strictest licensing procedures in the world, stressing that “decisions should be based on science, not on political convenience”.

“We have called for the expert committee to meet on 6 June to discuss the file once again and take a vote on the basis of a limited extension of the current approval, until the European Chemicals Agency’s opinion dispels the remaining doubts,” he said.

The EU Commission would also encourage member states to ban the coformulant POE-tallowamine, minimise the use of glyphosate in public parks and reduce pre-harvest uses.

If the vote goes against the commission proposal, then it would next be considered by an appeals committee, and could even be put into effect under the EU Commission’s own jurisdiction. Mr Andriukaitis said he was optimistic this would not be necessary.

‘NO SAFETY CONCERNS’

Meanwhile, the Glyphosate Task Force, representing manufacturers, has written to the commission claiming an extension is unnecessary and a full licence renewal is justified.

The letter points to the bulk of scientific opinion, which says there are no safety concerns around glyphosate, including a new study by the World Health Organization’s joint meeting on pesticide residues. According to the full WHO report just published, “glyphosate is unlikely to pose a carcinogenic risk to humans from exposure through the diet”.

Farmers in England could be waiting for as much as £120m in 2015 Basic Payment Scheme support, according to calculations by the NFU.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) announced on 1 May that all farmers had received either a full BPS payment or a bridging loan worth 50% of the value of their 2015 claim.

But six months after the opening of the payment window, the union has warned that thousands of farmers are still waiting for cash, a situation it describes as “ridiculous”.

About 5,000 are understood to be waiting for the top-up payment to their bridging loan, while several thousand more believe they have been underpaid as a result of an RPA error and have lodged queries with the agency.

A number of the affected farmers are on cross border holdings, where payments are still outstanding because it has proved impossible to share data between the RPA and Rural Payments Wales.

So far the RPA has paid out about £1.31bn, out of an estimated total BPS fund of £1.43bn.

“So there is a £120m deficit there and of that we think £60m is the second tranche of bridging payments and that leaves £60m, which we assume is underpayments,” said NFU vice-president, Guy Smith.

Under EU regulations, the payment window for BPS runs from 1 December to 30 June, with interest paid on any money received by farmers after that date.

However, it has emerged that the EU Commission is currently considering extending this deadline until 15 October to give member states more time to pay.

But, with 94% of claims now completed, the RPA has insisted it has not asked for more time.

The Country Land and Business Association said the government needed to put an urgent action plan in place to address the outstanding issues.

The organisation has called for the RPA to contact individually any farmer yet to receive a payment to explain why not, and to offer face-to-face meetings with claimants to speed up the resolution of outstanding issues.

It has also suggested contacting all claimants who have been subject to mapping changes to give them a chance to respond before any changes are finalised.

The reintroduction of dedicated case workers would also help support claimants, it added.

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, said he had been approached by a number of farmers in his constituency to express their sheer frustration with the RPA.

“The vast majority of those I have spoken to have not received full payment, but merely a partial one. This causes cashflow problems for the industry and needs rectifying quickly.”

Meanwhile, the RPA has promised to investigate all 2015 claim queries through a planned reconciliation process that will take place from June, once the BPS 2015 payment window closes.

“Farmers who believe their payment is not correct should write to the agency so it can investigate, make any necessary adjustments and top up payments,” it said.

IRELAND UPDATE

✱ Ireland’s Ministry for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has already started preliminary checks on 2016 BPS applications and said it will contact farmers if they find any over claims, dual claims or overlaps.

Applicants will then be given the opportunity to rectify these issues online, with no penalty, so long as it has been done by 20 June.

Member states have been given the option to introduce these preliminary checks as part of a CAP simplification agenda.

The Irish Farmers Association has welcomed the move saying it will reduce errors and speed up processing.