Delicias Dairy Farmers Warn of New Road Blockades Over Delayed Milk Payments
Dairy farmers in the Delicias region and surrounding municipalities in Chihuahua’s south-central basin said they were preparing to resume road protests because payments for milk delivered to collection centres had not been made on schedule. The unpaid balances cover several weeks of deliveries under the federal Leche para el Bienestar programme.
The delays have affected the daily operation of farms, which must continue paying for electricity used by milk-cooling tanks, wages and feed. Producers also face a prolonged drought in Chihuahua and higher prices for inputs including alfalfa and silage maize. They said the interruption of cash payments was affecting cattle nutrition, cow health and the finances of family-run operations.
Farm representatives criticised the gap between government statements about supply targets and national milk collection and the administrative problems reported at farm level. Previous meetings with officials from the Secretariat of Agriculture and Rural Development, known as Sader, and managers of the agency responsible for the programme had included timetables for bringing payments up to date. The farmers said bank transfers had continued to miss those schedules.
The Delicias dairy basin is among northern Mexico’s established and technologically developed production areas. Its farms supply milk from cows to social-supply programmes and the dairy-processing industry. Producers joined the federal Guaranteed Prices scheme on the expectation of more predictable payments and fair returns, according to representatives.
Late settlements have left some farmers seeking loans at high interest rates or selling milk to intermediaries at reduced prices, the representatives said. They argued that these arrangements remove the financial benefit expected from participation in the federal programme.
Livestock organisations said they would close strategic points on the federal road linking the centre of Chihuahua with the border area if the authorities did not provide a formal response and make the outstanding payments in the following hours. Such action would interrupt commercial freight traffic. Sector leaders called on the federal government to intervene and ensure operating conditions for the farms.
