Goat farmers under notice as milk supply eclipses demand

Both Arla and Abergavenny Fine Foods have given notice to their goat farmers that they no longer require their milk.  Sadly the chances of the affected farmers finding an alternative milk purchaser look grim.

Arla have given 12 months notice to 9 farmers and once they all leave Arla will no longer be involved in the collection and marketing of goat’s milk in the UK.  If one or more of the Arla farmers does find an alternative outlet they are free to leave as soon as is convenient to them. In addition Arla have committed to hold producers price at the current level throughout the duration of the 12 month notice.

Meanwhile, this week Abergavenny Fine Foods gave its goat’s milk suppliers a brutal and cruel 6 weeks contract termination notice.  Ian emailed attempting to contact them to find out how many farmers had received notice but the request was unanswered as were other questions and one can only assume the farmers involved have had a rougher ride compared to the ones with Arla.

The news will be a huge blow to the farmers involved but the harsh reality is that demand has fallen and supply rocketed and the cost of dealing with the significant volume of unwanted goat’s milk is totally unsustainable and that’s the reason both have pulled the plug.