The passion and commitment of dairy farmers up and down the country has impressed Richard Thompson, the new Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator.
In an exclusive blog for NFU Scotland about the importance of the role in delivering fairness and transparency across the dairy sector, and raising awareness of new milk contract legislation, Mr. Thompson writes:
Since my appointment to the role of Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator (ASCA) earlier this year, I published a post on the
Farming blog, setting out my role in more detail.
What I’ve enjoyed most since then was getting out and meeting stakeholders and learning about the many challenges and opportunities currently facing the dairy industry.

It was fantastic, therefore, to be able to spend a couple of days in Scotland to help raise awareness of the Fair Dealing Obligations (Milk) Regulations 2024 (“FDOM24”). A big thank you to Tracy Roan and all the team at NFUS for hosting us and making us all feel very welcome north of the border.
I’ve been consistently impressed by the passion and commitment of dairy farmers to producing high quality, sustainable milk - and that shone through once again during my time talking to farmers and representative groups at AgriScot.
As well as helping build my understanding of the dairy supply chain, I was also able to learn about the specific challenges faced by Scottish farmers, including a lack of many processor options for farmers in some regions.
FDOM24 covers the direct purchase of cow’s milk from a farm by a business purchaser — from farm gate to the dairy processor or manufacturer. The new rules make sure both purchasers and producers know their rights and responsibilities under milk purchase contracts.
FDOM24 is still very new, but it was great to see how many farmers were already aware of the changes introduced earlier this year. While the regulations don’t bite on existing dairy supply agreements until July 2025, a quick show of hands at the Scottish Dairy Hub and Kite Consultancy Dairy Seminar suggested around two thirds of the audience were already aware of the changes.
If you are a dairy farmer and you haven’t yet heard from your processor or purchaser about any proposed changes to your supply agreement ahead of next July, I’d urge you to get in contact with them sooner rather than later to find out how it might impact you.
More details about the new Regulations and my role to investigate complaints are 'available on GOV.UK' website:
I was also lucky to spend a morning hosted by the Webster family at Drumdreel farm in Fife. It was fascinating to hear from the Websters and neighbouring farmers Alex Jack and Derek Laird about how their farms operate and to see first-hand the hard work and dedication that goes into producing high quality milk for our tables.
I should also add special thanks to our hosts for organising both a glorious sunny morning for our visit - as well as a perfectly timed live calf birth while we were being shown around.
My role isn’t just about dealing with formal complaints under the new regulations. It’s about improving fairness and transparency in the supply chain. This means raising awareness about what’s working well — and what’s not — in the dairy market.
It’s about encouraging best practice and influencing positive behaviour change. That’s why ongoing conversations with dairy producers, purchasers, and other stakeholders is so important to me – both to fully understand the range of issues and challenges and hopefully to help find sustainable solutions for the future.
If you have any questions about our work or you would like to get in touch with the ASCA, please let us know via the ASCA mailbox:
asca@defra.gov.uk