Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether his Department is taking steps to help encourage the adoption of forward contracts between dairy producers and processors.

Farmers should always receive a fair price for their products, and the Government is committed to tackling unfairness in the supply chain wherever it exists.

Central to this is the Government’s commitment to improving contractual practices across the agriculture industry, using the Fair Dealings powers in the Agriculture Act 2020 to increase transparency and protect farmers from unfair practices.

The Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024, which came into force last year, introduced key reforms. These include mandatory written contracts outlining key terms such as termination conditions and agreed supply volumes. They also require greater transparency in milk pricing and establish robust dispute resolution procedures, strengthening trust and cooperation between buyers and sellers.

The regulations are enforced by the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator, who can investigate complaints from farmers who believe they have not been provided with a contract that is compliant with the Regulations, on behalf of the Secretary of State.

We will continue to monitor the dairy industry to ensure these reforms deliver their intended impact, including through a future review of the effectiveness of the dairy regulations.