A FARMERS’ group has supported calls from the Ryedale MP for more regulation on milk pricing.

The Tenant Farmers Association has added its voice to Anne McIntosh’s call for the powers of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to be extended to cover the pricing mechanisms between farmers and processors in the dairy sector.

Stephen Wyrill, the group’s national chairman, said there was a disconnect between the traditional image of dairy farming used by retailers to sell their products, and the price reality driving smaller farmers out of business and favouring large scale indoor production.

He added: “We need a pricing structure which benefits all parts of the supply chain from producer to consumer.

“If the powers of the Groceries Code Adjudicator were to be extended in this way it might be possible to broker a sustainable settlement .”