Dairy Industry

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that comment. One concern that is doubtless raised in his meetings with farming unions is the ageing farming community. The problem is not that young people are not keen to enter the industry as a career, but that it is incredibly hard to do so. I will come back to that issue. It is not just farmers who are under threat; there is also a decline in associated industries. Some 70 per cent. of Welsh milk is turned into cheese, and I hope that our discussions will not focus just on supermarket milk. The recent announcement in my constituency of the closure of the Aeron Valley creamery, which will result in the loss of 44 jobs, has given cause for concern. Its highly motivated work force had been working very hard to establish some well-known brands, and the decision to close came as a bolt from the blue. The closure came only 12 months after Dairygold closed in Felinfach, which resulted in 115 job losses. Dairygold is another dairy sector firm that has pulled its operations out of Wales. It has benefited from not insubstantial sums of public money. I am pleased that the Dansco creamery in Newcastle Emlyn, which is just across the border from Ceredigion in Carmarthenshire, has secured its short-term future. Had it not done so, farmers in my constituency and more widely in west Wales would be in an even worse position. If milk is processed locally, transport costs are kept down, farmers’ margins are less and more of the value of the primary product is kept in the local community. That should be the benchmark. As the hon. Member for Caernarfon (Hywel Williams) said, the average age of the dairy farmer is rising and we need to act now to ensure that more young people have an incentive to stay in the sector. Wales certainly has an impressive network of young farmers clubs. When I am on the hustings at elections, I am often asked whether I would encourage a young person to pursue a career in dairy farming. Faced with the current pricing regime, it is difficult for me to give an honest, objective opinion. The looming spectre of the Competition Commission’s inquiry has at long last provoked supermarkets into taking some action to increase farm-gate milk prices. Out of the major retailers, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer have led the way. Waitrose has created a ““select farm”” milk range, which guarantees 65 farmers a price of 23p a litre. Marks & Spencer guarantee 61 milk suppliers a fair price. Tesco has recently announced that it will guarantee 850 farmers 22p a litre, which is welcome news. Sainsbury’s and Asda are both urging their processors to pass a premium back to the farmer, but we have yet to see any concerted action from Morrisons.