LOCAL farmers enraged at falling profits in milk production caused stock shortages at Tesco in Ledbury, as they picketed outside the supermarket's supply depot at Chepstow.

The action, which hit some deliveries of fresh food to the store last Thursday and Friday, followed reports that local dairy farmers were quitting milk production because it was no longer worthwhile to maintain herds.

Coddington farmer Fred Simcock, of Woodfields Farm, was on the picket line at Chepstow until the early hours of the morning.

He said: "If the milk prices continue to be so low, 20 per cent of dairy farms will cease to exist and Herefordshire will become all arable. Local feeling is high because no one can produce milk at 16p a litre.

"In another year we might consider getting out of dairy farming, lay off our staff, plough up the farm and grow crops, which a lot of people are doing."

Mr Simcock and the other farmers who manned the picket are calling for a 5p per litre rise on the milk price to "perhaps save the UK milk industry".

The average price for milk paid by the dairies to farmers has fallen from 27p per litre four years ago to 16.6p a litre, with the major retailers paying dairies in turn around 30p a litre.

This week, Tesco customer services said the price of a litre of full fat pasteurised milk was selling at between 36p and 38p, depending on the store.

Just over a fortnight ago, Stonehouse Farm near Kempley decided to cease milk production.

Farmer Reg Watkins, whose father started the dairy business in 1947, said: "We were slipping into a loss-making situation and decided to get out. Now we'll grow arable crops and potatoes."

Tesco manager Trevor Henstridge said the picketing at Chepstow last week meant that deliveries of fresh food were running up to five hours late on the Thursday and Friday.

He said: "It caused us to run out of some stocks and we apologise for any inconvenience caused to our customers."

This week, a Tesco press spokesman said the company was currently in discussion with five farmers' unions, including the NFU.

But the spokesman said the farmers' demands to raise the price of milk would be a "food levy" and against trading law.

"We can't just raise the price against the market," he said.

He added that Tesco would continue to discuss with the farmers and the dairies the best way to boost demand for milk in the UK.

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