The recent milk crisis has seen a big increase in the number of dairy farmers bypassing the supermarkets and selling direct to the customer.

The online marketplace Farmdrop says there has been a 700 per cent increase in farmers registering to sell their milk direct. It says there has also been a 422 per cent increase in people buying milk direct from local farms, with 70 per cent saying they want to buy local and support farmers.

The Landworkers Alliance has called for the ‘relocalisation’ of the milk industry. “Milk is produced almost everywhere in the UK, yet it is shipped hundreds of miles around the country to centralised processing depots, wholesale depots and supermarkets. This results in pointless and unsustainable transport and cross-haulage, concentration of the milk processing sector amongst a handful of powerful corporations, and a lowering of the quality of fresh produce which has been partly responsible for a growing public backlash against milk and dairy products.”

Farming unions have also called for ‘seismic change’ in way food is sold in Britain.

Agriculture leaders want government to introduce long-term contracts between farmers and supermarkets.

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