FOR many dairy farmers, milk sales are crucial to their livelihood.

Many have invested in equipment to meet necessary regulations and generally make the process of dairy farming a swifter operation.

Caring for and maintaining dairy herds takes dedication and commitment, not to mention the costs incurred which many farmers argue are not being met through the prices some supermarkets pay for the end product.

This week some farmers have made their stance in a protest about milk prices by clearing supermarket shelves, buying milk in bulk and giving it away because, they say, they are being paid less than it costs to produce.

Retired dairy farmer, John Gullett, from Shelf, spent 60 years in the industry not only producing but also delivering milk to locals doorsteps - a job his son is now carrying on.

"Everything is now against the price of milk. In one sense there is too much of the stuff," says John.

He says when he is on a seaside break he regularly pops into the local shop for four pints of milk to last the brief stay. "I pay £1.50 and that is not unreasonable and I am pretty well convinced people would be happy to pay a little bit more to get the prices up so there is something left on the bottom line. At present, it isn't and it's a serious situation."

He adds: "Once a dairy farmer gives up he very rarely goes back and I do think we have got to the point where we have got to get something sorted out or we will lose a lot of dairy farmers over these next 18 months.

"The ones who do survive, some time in the future, it may sound foolish now but there will be good times but a lot will go by the wayside."

John says that while he that appreciates supermarkets are businesses, he believes action needs to be taken now before it is too late.

"I don't know how we will persuade the supermarkets," he says. "They have a business to run and I understand that as a businessman but I think they still have to bite the bullet. Somebody needs to make a move and get these prices per litre pushed up."

John says some farmers will feel they can no longer continue and he can appreciate why some farmers are taking the stance they took this week, especially when they have invested substantial sums in their milking operations.

"I feel very deeply for these chaps. They have invested hundreds of thousands," says John. "It is getting a lot of publicity and if you notice when people are being interviewed nationally everyone, when asked, says that they would be prepared to pay more for milk."

Morrisons Group Commercial Director Darren Blackhurst says: “As a leading British retailer Morrisons is focused on delivering great value and we try to pass on lower prices to our customers wherever possible. We do recognise however, due to reduced global demand, that this has created an oversupply of British milk creating difficult conditions for many dairy farmers at present. At a constructive meeting last week with the NFU Dairy Board Chairman, we confirmed that Morrisons is not accepting any further cost price decreases from our suppliers driven by the falling farm gate milk price.”

Dairy company Arla, which has a yearly combined milk pool of circa 3.2 billion litres and supplies a full range of fresh dairy products to major retailers and food service customers, is owned by 13,500 dairy farmers and around 3,000 of those are in the UK.

"We are acutely aware of the difficulties our farmer owners are facing at this difficult time. We are working independently with all our customers to support our farmer owners throughout this period of global market volatility," says an Arla spokesman.

"The situation is not helped by the fact that global milk production has consistently and continues to grow faster than global demand. These global developments are impacting all dairy markets throughout the world.

"It’s not a lack of effort or determination on Arla’s part; we're doing everything possible to help our farmer owners to navigate through this increasingly tough situation, in the best possible way."

NFU Regional Director Richard Pearson said: “The current low returns for dairy, lamb and other farm produce, often way below the costs of production, are driving farming families to desperate measures. Over recent years they have worked hard to gain the respect and support of the public for the fantastic food they produce but simply must have a fair return for their years of investment.

“In the dairy sector, farmers are being paid almost nothing for the milk they produce, so feel they might as well give it away. This is the point they are making to retailers and flagging it up to the public too.

“The situation is so serious that some farmers feel driven to take direct action and that’s something the NFU understands only too well. This is about highlighting a very serious issue, harnessing public support and demanding change."