The ending of milk quotas is the right move for the dairy industry but important decisions need to be made about what will happen once they have gone, according to the National Farmers Union (NFU).

Farming and dairy organisations from across the EU will meet on Friday 18 January to discuss the future of the milk quota regime in Brussels and NFU dairy board chairman Gwyn Jones of the NFU notes there are questions about what would happen once the system ends that need to be answered.
Jones says: “2008 is an important year as far as milk quotas are concerned. The regime has been with us since 1984, but it is now past its sell-by date and will come to an end in 2015. We believe that it is right that quotas should go then. Nevertheless, there are some very important debates to be had about how the ending of the regime is brought about and what happens once quotas are gone. A ‘soft landing’ is essential. In our view this is probably best brought about by gradually phased increases in milk quotas up to 2015.