Farmers to be compensated after Müller factory breakdown
23rd April 2025
Müller had asked some farmers to ‘responsibly dispose’ of milk after operational issues at the Skelmersdale plant.
Müller has responded to reports on social media of producers for Yew Tree Dairy in Lancashire being forced to dump thousands of litres of uncollected milk.
A video shared by Farmers to Action showed a farmer dumping milk, saying it had not been collected for 10-12 days.
The farmer, who said he’d been milking cows for 29 years, said: “It’s ridiculous, all this work we do, there’s nothing wrong with the milk, just to let it go to the slurry pit.
“We can’t give it away because we’re not allowed because of rules and regulations.”
A spokesperson for Müller Milk & Ingredients said farmers were asked to responsibly dispose of milk due to operational issues at the Skelmersdale site.
The issue has been resolved and farmers will be compensated.
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The full statement reads: “Due to an operational issue at our Skelmersdale site, which has now been resolved, we asked some supplying farmers to responsibly dispose of the milk that was due for collection.
“Those impacted were all contacted and will be compensated in full.”
Müller acquired the family-owned Yew Tree Dairy for an undisclosed fee in October last year.
The dairy giant said at the time that it planned to significantly invest in the capacity and capabilities of the Skelmersdale milk drying site.
Over 400 farmers supplying to Yew Tree Dairy have recently reported financial struggles due to being paid around 6-8p/litre less than the price paid to other Müller suppliers.
Read more dairy news.
