Emergency funding has been granted to dairy farmers in Guernsey in a bid to keep the struggling industry afloat.

A £486,000 pot has been agreed by the state government, with the money to be split between the island’s dairy farmers, based on herd size.

Dairy farming and the historic Guernsey breed represent a significant part of the island’s identity, with a long-standing law, established in 1819, preventing imports of cattle to the island in order to protect the Guernsey breed.

Today, just 12 dairy farms remain, and the recent turbulence on international markets has led to a cost increase of 38% on essential resources such as feed and fertiliser, leaving the future of these farms hanging in the balance.

The government funding, worth an average £40,000 per business, is intended to go some way towards remedying the inflation crisis.

‘Sticking plaster’

Michael Bray, the president of the Guernsey Farmers’ Association, said: “It’s a sticking plaster to get us through to the end of the year when the government will review the whole industry with a view to making it more sustainable.

“Its not going to make anyone a real profit – most farmers will still be operating at a slight loss or possibly just breaking even.

“We had an independent report done by The Dairy Group in March and the results showed that farmers were losing between 14p and 15p on every litre they were producing here in Guernsey.”

This report prompted the island’s government to step in and try to stabilise the industry, to safeguard its future for new entrants and young farmers on the island.

“We are really pleased that the States of Guernsey have stepped up and backed farming. They pushed everything through as fast as they could, which has been a huge relief to everybody, and it’s a real positive for the industry. Just knowing they are supporting us is as significant as the financial aid,” Mr Bray said.