After more than a decade of campaigning by the Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) and other UK farming unions, new legislation is now in force to ensure fair and transparent contracts for all dairy farmers in the UK.
The new legislation called the ‘Fair Dealings Obligations (Milk) 2024′ (FDOM24) came into force on Tuesday (9 July). New milk contracts from that date must comply with the regulations. Existing milk contracts have a 12-month transition period to July 2025 before they too must meet the new legislation requirements.
Commenting, UFU dairy chair Cyril Orr said, “With the other UK farming unions we have put years of work and lobbying into achieving greater fairness for dairy farmers. We believe the new regulations will drive transparency and accountability, by stopping the imposition of contract changes without agreement. This legislation will not set the price, nor will it introduce minimum prices, but it will bring greater transparency for all farmers.”
Farmers will have the power to challenge contracts via an independent third party, if they feel their milk buyer has not followed the correct process. The new regulations allow farmer-owned structures, such as co-ops, greater flexibility in negotiations with milk buyers. “The fact that these organisations negotiate on behalf of farmers boosts their bargaining power, putting them in a stronger position than individual farmers. There is also an enforcement mechanism in the regulation, through the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator,” added Mr Orr.
The UFU strongly encourage dairy farmers who are experiencing any issues or who need advice on new or existing contracts to look to the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator guidance online or contact the UFU technical officer team.
