Karen welcomed the new Voluntary Code of Practice agreed by farmers and milk processors this week. The historic agreement will offer farmers flexible contracts, and they will be told why prices change and be given a chance to find better deals elsewhere.
Karen said: "This is a great success for those who have campaigned for farmers' interests.
I am pleased to see that the farmers' concerns have been heard and Minsters have listened to the arguments that I have put to them on behalf of farmers and the NFU. The Government deserves credit for bringing all the key players around the table to negotiate."
The agreement comes after a series of protests earlier in the year after a drop in milk prices.
Karen met NFU representatives from Staffordshire Moorlands to discuss farmers' problems and pressed Ministers to take swift action.
Karen added: "We need to give the Code time to prove its effectiveness and Ministers have been clear that if this solution doesn't provide a satisfactory outcome, they will look at bringing in legislation. This is a another example of the Government acting to ensure fairness in food production along with the recently published Groceries Code Adjudicator Bill."
Picture: Crown Copyright