Dairy Industry

I agree with my hon. Friend, and I have certainly sent that message in my dealings with farmers in my constituency. There were concerns early on that the body of opinion and evidence for which we had hoped had not been presented to the commission. Dairy farming is more than an industry. I shall resist the temptation to be poetic, but, representing a rural constituency, I can say that it is much more than that. If we do not offer support to our dairy farmers, they will simply go out of business and we will lose much more than farms. We will lose the wonderful produce that is being developed and has been developed over the years, and risk destroying livelihoods and breaking down communities. Potentially, acres of countryside will be left untended. Once dairy farmers go, there is very little chance of getting them back. The cost of re-establishing a farm is uneconomic as things stand. I detect a change. It might consist of token gestures, or it could be more substantial. There is greater awareness in this place of the farming industry. I pay tribute to the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) and the all-party group on dairy farmers—it consists of Government and Opposition Members—in bringing such matters to the attention of the House. Farmers need support now, before it is too late. The next time that I address a farming union meeting in my constituency and I am challenged with the question about young entrants to the farming industry, I want to be able to give the unequivocal answer ““Yes””, rather than ““It depends.””