Arla calls for government action on dairy farm labor shortages

Arla Foods is urging the UK government to take faster and more practical steps to address on-farm labor shortages, warning that the issue threatens national food security.

The call follows the company’s fifth annual survey of its 1,900 British farmer owners, which found that around 84% of those trying to fill vacancies had few or no qualified applicants, up from 79% in 2021.

“What the survey shows us is that the shortage of labor on farms is having an impact on some farmer owners, with 6% telling us they have had to cut output and 13% saying that they will leave farming altogether in the next 12 months if the situation doesn’t improve,” an Arla Foods spokesperson tells Food Ingredients First.

“With half of farmers also saying that the tightening in the labour market is driving up their costs, this clearly presents a concern. Whilst we are not responsible for setting the prices on shelf, we have to ensure we balance returning a fair price to our farmers for the milk they produce, whilst keeping products accessible to shoppers.”

Price and availability impacts

The results also indicate challenges in attracting new entrants to the sector, with over 47% of farmers aged 55 or older, only 3% first-generation farmers, and two-thirds running farms that have been in the family for at least four generations. Recruitment difficulties extend beyond farming, with engineering roles in the wider supply chain taking an average of 116 days to fill.

Workforce shortages are increasing costs and reducing milk production, impacting product prices and availability, says Bas Padberg, Arla Foods UK MD (Image credit: Arla Foods).Arla Foods UK managing director Bas Padberg says the shortage is already affecting costs and production, which could impact availability and prices in stores. 

“What we’re seeing is the real impact of these workforce shortages on our farming industry, whether that’s in higher costs or lower milk production. The effect of this is ultimately going to be seen in the price and availability of products on the supermarket shelves, affecting the millions of people who rely on dairy as a source of nutrition in their diet.”

Calls for training

The cooperative is calling for changes to apprenticeships and training programmes, as well as efforts to address misconceptions about careers in farming. 

“Arla’s ask of the UK government is to work with industry to educate careers advisors in schools, colleges, and Job Centres to raise levels of understanding of food and farming careers,” the company spokesperson tells us.

They also call for support for agricultural colleges and apprenticeship providers to “ensure that jobs in farming attract the new generation of talent required to deliver the UK’s food security.”

Greater employer support to farmers to utilize apprenticeships and speed up reform of the Apprenticeship Levy, and to allow it to be used for identified business needs, such as training in people management for farmers and farm managers, are the other requests.

The company urges the government to include this “package of reforms” in the forthcoming Farming Roadmap and Food Strategy.

Ensuring food security

The spokesperson notes that many companies are already taking their own steps to improve the situation of labor shortage.

“Arla’s initiatives in this area include four different apprenticeship schemes, industrial placements across the supply chain and farming, as well as a new and bespoke apprenticeship scheme at its Taw Valley site, designed to support the innovation and technology involved in its new state-of-the-art mozzarella facility.”

“However, government help is needed to deliver a step change in approach before UK food security is put at serious risk.”