Two Welsh dairy farmers have taken to Twitter to highlight the disruption caused by current weather conditions which has resulted in their milk not being collected.

Michael Williams, as reported by Agriland UK earlier this week, took to the social media platform on Monday (December 12) and said that “due to adverse weather yesterday and our milk not being collected, we had hoped (it would) be collected today”.

However, Williams said that he received “the call that dairy farmers dread in cold weather” and was told that his milk could not be collected that day either.

“The road is open, but no lorry is coming today,” he said via the Farmers of the UK Twitter account.

“We are about to reach capacity of our bulk tank. 12,000L.

“Once we reach capacity the robots will stop milking to avoid this and ensure our plant is hygienic I must now drain our tank to waste (on-farm manure lagoon) and get the tank washed to allow it to be refilled,” he continued.

“Dumping edible, nutritious milk is soul destroying.”

Williams then shared a video of a milk tank being drained, adding that he had hoped “this would be a positive week of family dairying”.

“But I’m afraid this is the reality of today. This is very upsetting,” he said.

“However, seeing other weather-related tragedies on the news we must be grateful,” he added.

Simon Leverett, also from Wales, shared a similar story the same day.

“Worst day of my dairy business here so far,” he said.

The first-generation farmer then shared a video of milk being released from the tank.

“Say goodbye to 2,500L of perfectly good milk that’s not being collected as they can’t get everywhere, my access is good and i’ve spent all day gritting council roads,” he said.

Weather conditions

Much like Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales are experiencing a very cold snap at present, with wintry conditions forecast to last into the weekend.

The cold and icy conditions – snowy in some parts, mainly Scotland – present a risk of slippery surfaces and therefore dangerous diving conditions.

Stephen Davies, from the Welsh milk haulier company Mansel Davies & Son Ltd., said that one of his lorries slipped while collecting milk yesterday (Tuesday, December 13).

“Can’t believe what happened this morning,” he said on Twitter.

“Collected a farm at 5:30a.m, the tanker slipped off the road 200m from the farm and the farmer refused to assist, his milk had been collected so didn’t care about the other farms on the route.

“99% of farmers are brilliant, I’ve found the 1%,” he said.

Earlier in the week, Davies said that collecting milk over the weekend had been “tough”, but that all milk had been collected “with next to no milk being dumped”.

The company collects from over 450 farms and operates out of Llanfyrnach.

UK WALES