I REFER to Jill Knight’s letter, Dairy Question, (Gazette & Herald, March 18).

Having recently met with a group of dairy farmers in the constituency, I am only too aware of the devastating problems in the industry. About 55 farmers in the region closed their gates last year alone as the low, and falling, farm gate price of milk means that many are losing money on every litre of milk they produce.

Farmers who have borrowed money to increase production are having difficulty servicing loans and the current return on their own capital is non-existent.

There is no easy solution to these problems. Most farmers understand that they are selling their produce into a global market and are subject to those forces. The strong pound and weaker euro are hitting farming hard as our markets are open to cheap imports and our exports are not as competitive.

Supermarkets are part of the problem and need to act responsibly and think of the long-term interests of their suppliers, customers and shareholders.

The Government needs to apply more pressure to ensure that they do. Co-operatives can help and Arla seem to be offering a price that a least allows farmers to break even, yet others, as reported by James Stephenson in his column last week, are at least 7p per litre below cost price.

At a recent meeting with McCain Foods at their plant in Cayton, I was interested to hear that they have an easier time in their negotiations with the big retailers due to their powerful brand that customers expect to see on frozen aisles.

Consumers have a very important role to play and I believe that many would pay extra for a brand that clearly supported British farmers in a similar way that people support Fairtrade for farmers in other parts of the world. This would require significant investment in awareness by the farming industry, perhaps supported by others.

At a local level, Buttercup and Bluebell may also have a place in the future if their owners can capture the public imagination through co-operative investment in farm shops, supplying local retailers, deliveries direct to the doorstep and marketing.

Kevin Hollinrake, Conservative Party Prospective Parliamentary candidate for the Thirsk and Malton constituency