Joint statement from Arla Foods amba UK farmer Board Directors, Arla Foods amba UK farmer Board of Representatives and Arla Foods Milk Partnership farmer board members

Arla Foods is a 100 per cent farmer-owned cooperative, with 12,400 European dairy farmers owners, 1,600 of whom are British.

Our business is founded on cooperative principles and our prime focus is to deliver for our farmers.  In keeping with our strategy we are paying one of the highest standard litre milk prices, not only in the UK, but in Europe.

We question the motive of the farmers who are protesting against a farmer owned business.  Their actions are preventing a farmer-owned cooperative from going about its legal, daily, business and from collecting its farmers’ milk, through blocking vehicle movements into and out of the dairies. 

If Arla is not able to collect a farmers’ milk, potentially, it is harming the livelihoods of these individual farmers because the company is not legally obliged to pay farmers for milk it is unable to collect.

In addition, the protestors’ actions are increasing costs at the site which, in turn, is financially damaging a business that is fully farmer owned and whose profits are returned to its farmer owners.

Arla Foods UK plc is home to some of the UK’s leading dairy brands including Cravendale, Lurpak, Tickler and Anchor. Processing approximately 3.2 billion litres of milk a year and with a turnover of approximatey £2bn Arla is the UK’s largest dairy company.

Over 4,000 daily deliveries are made to stores and regional distribution centres nationwide, Arla's brands can be found across the dairy category and the company has a 26 per cent share of the GB milk pool. Behind this leading business is a team of circa 4,000 people across the UK located at our dairies, distribution centres and head office.