Dairy farmers encouraged by more States support

The dairy farm management payment system has been worth just over £1m. a year to the industry for the past five years. The States agreed last week that this will now rise to £2.35m. and be increased annually in line with inflation.

Guernsey Farmers’ Association president Michael Bray said that this was welcome news to the industry.

‘The support from the States has been massively encouraging to all of us dairy farmers,’ he said. ‘It brings financial stability to the industry, which we haven’t really had since Covid and the crisis in Ukraine.’

Farmers have faced higher costs in recent years due to inflation, causing herd sizes and farm profits to decrease.

Mr Bray said that when farmers reviewed the accounts of the dairy, it noted the extra funding was very much needed.

‘Dairy accounts have had a massive drop,’ he said.

‘The extra funding is massively appreciated.

‘This reverses the mistakes the States have made since the 2014 review when funding was cut, and is important in looking after the farmers.’

The Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure is due to undertake a review of the whole dairy industry by the end of 2030.

This will include an assessment of the financial support required by the industry after taking account of any new dairy facility which is operational, or which there is a reasonable prospect of being operational, at that time, and any cost savings arising as a result.