The Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator has urged farmers to raise concerns about their supply contracts in confidence, after its second annual report recorded a single formal complaint.
The report, published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on 3 November, covers the Adjudicator’s work in the dairy and pig sectors. According to Farmers Guardian, the office handled 15 referrals through its in-confidence channel alongside the one formal complaint.
The Adjudicator enforces the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024, which have now been fully in force for more than a year, and the equivalent pig regulations, which applied to new contracts from 13 August 2025. The transition period for existing pig contracts ended on 13 August 2026. Egg producers are next in line, with the office preparing to support possible fair dealing regulations for that sector.
Richard Thompson, the Adjudicator, said: “Producers don’t need to make a formal complaint to contact us. They can seek advice and raise concerns in confidence.” Writing on Defra’s farming blog, he said he had known from the outset that regulations alone would not make contracts between producers and processors fairer.
The report highlights one case in which a dairy farmer feared a processor could stop them selling surplus milk to other buyers. After the Adjudicator’s office raised the issue without revealing the farmer’s identity, the processor agreed to contract changes confirming that farmers could sell surplus milk elsewhere.
Farming Minister Stephen Morgan said: “Farmers deserve a fair deal, clear contracts and a level playing field to help their businesses thrive.” He added that the government was strengthening protections for dairy farmers.
Over the coming year the office plans to publish more case studies from the milk and pig sectors and to support industry-led codes of practice following roundtables with both industries.
For rural communities that depend on dairy and pig farming, contract terms decide when and how much producers are paid. The Adjudicator’s second annual report records one formal complaint.
