Dairy Farming

Most of the farmers I speak to in my constituency say that, ideally, they would not want to be in the game of receiving subsidies; they want to compete in the marketplace and to be business people first and foremost, and that means receiving a fair price for their product. They want to receive a price that fairly reflects the economic value of their produce, but that is not happening. I am wary of saying that we should move quickly to remove all support for farmers, which would leave them desperately exposed in a difficult, volatile market, and we need to tread carefully. However, I reiterate that most of the farmers I speak to want to be business men first and foremost, not recipients of subsidies.