BUSINESS Link Gloucestershire has warned farmers they may be losing thousands of pounds annually from their bottom line by not taking time to analyse their milk contracts properly.

According to agricultural adviser Roger Smith: "As dairy farmers know only too well, milk contracts are like mobile phone agreements, wordy and difficult to understand. Unless you want to spend hours buried in small print, you just pick the one that on the face of it suits you best and get on with the business of farming."

Working with agricultural consultant Kite Consulting, Business Link Gloucestershire is offering a unique computer system which analyses milk sales contracts in detail, recommending the best for the individual farmer.

Mr Smith pointed out: "The beauty of this scheme is that it scans milk contracts within this area only, reducing the distance between producer and distributor, and if the farmer can't change his milk contract we'll help him negotiate better terms."