Dairy Code of Conduct needed now, says industry group

A group of farming, food and nature representatives has written to Defra secretary Therese Coffey, demanding the rapid publication of a “robust, thorough and properly enforced Dairy Code of Conduct”.

The letter, signed by 15 organisations, including the Food Ethics Council, the Tenant Farmers Association, and the Sustainable Food Trust, complains that it has been more than two years since Defra first announced plans for a new code for the dairy supply chain.

See also: Minimum terms to be imposed on milk contracts

“We were pleased when ministers announced plans for a fairer dairy supply chain back in February 2021, with the promise of a new statutory code of conduct for the dairy sector,” says the letter.

“However, more than two years later, the code has still not materialised.”

The groups says that, while some farmer-processor relationships do work well, imbalances of power still exist within the dairy supply chain.

“We have heard first-hand stories of abusive practices and unfair clauses in contracts, which are unacceptable and must be stamped out,” says the letter, sent on behalf of The Dairy Project, run by the Food Ethics Council.

“Unfairness within the supply chain not only impacts farmers’ wellbeing, but also limits the abilities of farmers and others to take necessary steps toward building a resilient, more climate- and nature-friendly sector.”

Minimum standards

The group says the new code should establish minimum standards, while providing businesses with the flexibility to adapt contracts to their individual circumstances.

“With skyrocketing input costs putting dairy producers under even greater pressure than before, this code is urgently needed, as is having the right mechanism for enforcement, with appropriate ‘teeth’,” it says.

“We urge you to publish a robust, thorough, and properly enforced UK code – produced in collaboration with devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – as soon as possible.”

Ms Coffey told the cross-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Efra) committee at an evidence session last week that publication of the government response would be “very soon” – probably within the next few months.

Defra says it is committed to developing regulations establishing legally binding, minimum standards of contractual practice in the dairy industry, and hopes to introduce them as quickly as possible.