UK general election: Dairy on the hunt for workers

With Keir Starmer set to be the UK’s new prime minister today, his new government will need to balance the needs of farmers and consumers.

British dairy farmers are being paid nearly 73 cents per litre for milk — but it’s the retail price that’s getting attention as inflation comes into focus amid the UK’s general election.

Sir Keir Starmer is set to be the UK’s new prime minister, winning a landslide for Labour and ousting the Conservative Party after 14 years in power.

A number of rural British constituencies switched from Conservative to Labour for the first time since the Blair era, ending Conservative PM’s Rishi Sunak’s two years at Downing Street.

At the supermarket checkout, all UK supermarkets charge more than their Australian equivalents for milk.

Of the ten major grocery outlets, Iceland UK charges the least for milk per litre at $A1.92, with rival discount brands Iceland UK and Lidl at $A1.97 – nearly 40 cents above prices paid at Australia’s largest three supermarket chains.

High-end retailers such as Marks and Spencer Food charge $A2.19 and Waitrose $A2.24 for their generic brand milk — often touting their British and sustainable credentials.

Middle-of-the road retailers such as Sainsbury’s ($A2.01), Tesco ($A2.02) and Co-Op ($2.07) are the closest equivalents to Australia’s Coles and Woolworths

National Farmers Union president Tom Bradshaw said UK dairy farmers needed higher farmgate prices to keep up with the rising cost of doing business.

Dairy leaders in the UK claim 73 cents per litre for milk was too low to cover the cost of production – running at similar levels seen in Australia.

Mr Bradshaw said retail prices would continue to climb to cover costs both at the farmgate and processor level.

“Without the rises there was going to be a huge loss made at the farm level and no incentive to produce the milk,” Mr Bradshaw said.

“We’re expecting costs to remain very high because of the conflict in the Ukraine and gas prices.”

Hertfordshire farmer Harry Davies said farm worker shortages were a key agricultural issue ahead of this week’s general election.

He said like Australia, British farmers had fewer potential employees available to fill dairy work vacancies.

“We need more people coming into dairy farming with the right skills and education,” he said.

“A career in dairy farming is extremely rewarding, but we can’t educate people about this on our own and really need more support to help us reach schools, career advisers and other influencers to change perceptions of farming as a career of choice.”