Lloyds Bank Agriculture will be reinforcing its commitment to Britain’s hard-pressed dairy farmers at this year’s South West Dairy Show on 7 October in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, with an unprecedented turnout of 20 agricultural specialists manning the stand throughout the day, all of whom have an agricultural background or training.

Humphrey Richards, senior agricultural manager for the bank in the South West, says that while the show is in one of the country’s dairy heartlands, it attracts milk producers from across the country – and many of these will be taking a serious look at their future in light of the current milk price crisis.

“We are well aware of the pressures facing dairy farmers, especially coming into the more expensive winter feeding period,” says Mr Richards.

“At such a critical time, it’s important to keep cashflow healthy and ensure there’s sufficient working capital in hand. To help with this very issue we’ve been supporting many customers who are restructuring their borrowing as we head into autumn, and have already put provision in place in case BPS payments are delayed this year.”

But above all, it’s important to talk, he says. “The situation may seem difficult but rest assured you are not the only one. There are a surprising number of options to keep businesses going through these tricky times. We fully recognise the cyclical nature of farming so that means supporting in bad times as well as good.”

Lloyds Bank Agriculture will have its 20 specialists on hand throughout the day on stand 158.