Sarah Dyke, MP for Glastonbury and Somerton, has urged the Government to equip regulators with real teeth after major dairy firms rolled out sharp cuts to milk prices, threatening the livelihood of British farmers.

Addressing a gathering at the annual Dairy Industry Dinner – where she also launched her tenure as Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Rural Affairs – Ms Dyke warned that farmers could not survive under one-sided contracts that allow buyers to drop payments at will.

This week, Parkham Farms confirmed a striking 8 pence per litre cut in its November milk payment, reducing its rate to 35.5ppl (an 18 % cut). Freshways announced a 6ppl reduction, and Arla Foods said its October price would fall by 1.7ppl to 45.34ppl.

Research commissioned by the Liberal Democrats, via the House of Commons Library, reveals that between 2015 and the present day, dairy farm holdings in the UK fell from 12,643 to 8,738. Over that same period, the national dairy herd has shrunk by nearly 90,000 head.

Ms Dyke said: "These price cuts are yet another blow to farmers already under enormous pressure from high costs, uncertainty around future support, and extreme weather. The one-sided contracts that allow buyers to slash prices in this way are unacceptable and unsustainable.

"I have raised this many times in Parliament and I will continue to press the Government to act. The Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator must be given the resources, powers and scope to launch investigations and enforce standards. Or be merged with the Grocery Code Adjudicator to give it greater authority. Farmers do not need a passive body — they need an adjudicator with teeth."

She argued that keeping the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) separate from the Grocery Code Adjudicator (GCA) weakens the system, and called for the two roles to be combined under the GCA with a strengthened mandate to enforce fair contracting.

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