Pine Hill Dairy and local dairy farmers have both agreed to cuts for two months so as to ensure that consumers do not have to pay more for local milk.
Following a lengthy meeting at Pine Hill’s offices today aimed at maintaining the current price of white milk to consumers, Pine Hill agreed to continue absorbing increases in the cost of processing, and the 15 dairy farmers present along with the Farmer’s Representative Committee have agreed to temporarily reduce the farm-gate price on milk until April 30, 2013.
Pine Hill has also agreed not to institute any further quota reductions to farmers through December 31, 2013, and to purchase the excess milk produced by dairy farms up to a limit of five per cent of revised quota.
During the two-month period, the two sides have also agreed to continue to aggressively pursue acceptance of a suitable industry assistance plan to be readied for implementation as early as possible after April 30.
The temporary agreement comes as the PHD continues to make a loss on every single carton of white milk it sells, a position which CEO Richard Cozier says is “absolutely unsustainable”. (FC)
