The NFU dairy team has launched a survival plan to help secure long-term future milk supplies for Britain.

The NFU dairy team has launched a survival plan to help secure long-term future milk supplies for Britain.Dairy farmers were given their first glimpse of the plan during the breakout session at this year's NFU conference yesterday (Monday) and NFU dairy board chairman Gwyn Jones is keen to point out the sector has a bright future providing steps are taken to build farmers' confidence and avoid a real erosion of critical mass."There are many reasons to be positive about the future of dairying," he said. "Firstly the global demand for dairy products continues to grow, in fact it is predicted to double by 2050, and closer to home there is the growing interest consumers are showing in buying quality, British produce. There are also the beginnings of some proper supply chain relationships and increasing levels of product innovation"However, the ability of dairy farmers to stand back and appreciate that the long term prospects for their industry are positive is understandably very difficult when faced with some very significant short-term challenges including TB, NVZs, high and volatile input costs, and unstable milk prices. The consequences mean there is a lack of confidence, low levels of investment and expansion, and high numbers of farmers are leaving the industry which in turn leads to falling milk production."The NFU survival plan shows leadership to the supply chain by identifying remedies and solutions to some of these challenges. However we cannot be na*ve to some of the very real burdens affecting dairy farmers' confidence. I hope the plan is received positively by the industry and that each part of the chain is ready and willing to play its part in building confidence and boosting supply.