Dairy Industry

The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. When dairying in this country—particularly in my part of the world, with its high rainfall and very good grassland—is compared with dairying in the southern parts of Europe, we have ideal conditions; so why does not it work? Clearly, there is something happening beyond the efforts of individual farmers, or even farmers working as a co-op, as they do in Hufenfa De Arfon. Liquid milk is bought and sold as a commodity and is subject to short-term variations, while small farmers are trying to run long-term businesses. Cows cannot be turned off as though they were machines, and investments cannot be planned if farm incomes are so unpredictable. I am glad that the supermarkets have begun to recognise their responsibility and are paying a premium in a few cases, but those higher prices are for a minority of producers. Perhaps I am a sceptic, or even a cynic, but I must ask whether that is more than a gesture. We shall see, but I should like those favourable arrangements to be extended to more and more farmers. I want to end with a point about the Competition Commission. I have meetings with farmers and recently met some from the Farmers Union of Wales, and members of the South Caernarfonshire Co-op at their building in Y Ffôr. We discussed the possibility of submitting evidence to the commission, and there was an element of real fear: people thought that, if they put their heads above the parapet, they would pay in the longer term. We discussed the possibility of anonymising evidence, and that should certainly be pursued. There is still an opportunity to provide evidence. Lastly, to reinforce the intervention on the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski) that I made from a sedentary position, Plaid Cymru has pressed for a milk ombudsman for a long time, and I would commend that idea to the House.