ANGRY calls for "fair trade" for Lake District farmers resounded around Ulverston when dozens of farmers and Women's Institute members descended on the Coronation Hall for a Great Milk Debate, reports Ruth Lythe.

The debate, one of a series organised by the National Farmers' Union and the WI, aim to highlight the low prices being paid to farmers for their milk and the overall importance of the dairy industry.

In 2005, WI members voted to raise awareness of the "unfair difference" between the retail price of milk and the price paid to the farmer.

Dairy farmer and NFU representative Mike Taylor described how the amount farmers received for their milk had fallen from an average of 24ppl (pence per litre) to 17ppl over the last ten years.

At the same time production costs had risen, forcing thousands of farmers out of the industry, while the amount that supermarkets made from a litre of milk had risen from three ppl to 15ppl in a decade.

"We have the cheapest milk in the European Community when it is bought from farmers and we have the most expensive when it is sold in the supermarkets," said Mr Taylor.

No representative from local supermarkets was able to attend the meeting, but Mr Taylor said that it was time for big store groups to take heed of the farmers' messagee.

For full story see the May 11 issue of The Westmorland Gazette.