A FARMING leader has called on government, retailer and the food service industry to "step up to the plate" to tackle the crisis facing the British farming industry, a farming group has said.
David Handley, of Farmers For Action, was speaking after an emergency summit, involving representatives from all parts of the UK including Ian Marshall of the UFU, to discuss falling milk, lamb and arable prices, held in central London.
The meeting follows days of protests by farmers including Milk Trolley Challenges, blockades at distribution centres and even bringing cattle into supermarkets.
Farmers estimate that it costs between 30 and 32p to produce a litre of milk but the average price paid across the UK is 23.66p - following a drop of 25 per cent in a year.
Mr Handley told reporters: "There's a letter going out to all the retailers and I would say to government and the food service industry - they all have to step up to the plate.
"I don't think there's any farmer out there at the moment that will accept they can just sit back on their laurels.
"Peaceful protest has worked well so far, I think that will carry on until we can actually deliver something."
Earlier, the National Farmers Union (NFU) warned UK-produced food could disappear from many supermarket shelves in months.
Speaking outside the summit, NFU president Meurig Raymond said: "Obviously the industry is in crisis. There's despair within our members.
"I've been farming for 45 years and this is the worst I've known, particularly the dairy sector and the lamb sector.
"We've seen a 30 per cent fall in milk prices in the last 12 months and we've seen good quality new-season lamb being sold at least £15 per animal less than last year.
"It's a crisis I've haven't seen in my farming career."
