AQW 49704/11-16

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 12/10/2015
Answered On Date: 26/10/2015
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development to detail the number of dairy farms in East Londonderry; and for her assessment of the impact of market volatility on farming in this geographical area.

Answer:

Analysis of the June Agricultural and Horticultural Survey indicates that there were 157 dairy type farms in this constituency in 2014.

Market volatility has been and continues to be a significant challenge for all farmers, but most notably dairy farmers in recent times. A considerable proportion of the milk product manufactured here is sold on international markets. These markets are affected by a range of factors outside our control, with the latest downturn attributed to a combination of the Russian ban on EU imports, adverse exchange rate movements and decreasing demand for milk products in China. The consequence of this has been a 32% reduction in the average milk producer price in the year to August 2015. This is one of the reasons why direct CAP support payments are so important in terms of providing farmers with a relatively predictable income stream. I fought hard for the CAP support budget to be maintained during the last reform of the CAP. However, it is also important that farmers are equipped with the tools to deal with volatility, which is why CAFRE is working with farmers through dedicated education and training programmes, as well as benchmarking, to help improve efficiency and embed greater resilience to market volatility within farm businesses.