Wow! Nice work if you can get it... As you face yet another milk price cut you may be somewhat intrigued by the MDC chief executive's salary increase, although, as Ian Potter points out, there may be radical changes in that camp following the outcome

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As autumn turns to winter thoughts at the MDC will be increasingly turning to the future. Nervous thoughts at that. As many of you will know there's an independent review taking place of all farmer levypaying bodies, and the outcome is imminent. I think major mergers will be on the cards. I don't think that will be a good thing for the MDC, and at the moment I don't necessarily agree with it, although I haven't been presented with any convincing arguments for or against. Like many in the industry I think the MDC has turned a comer and is now doing a good job. The fact is that rarely does a political review of anything result in the status quo. Change comes because change has to be seen to come. After all, what's the point of a review if nothing changes as a result? Recently my attention was drawn to a website detailing various statistics relating to one issue that is bound to be addressed in the review - chief executive salaries and whether major savings can be made in having one chief executive instead of, say, two or three. The reader concerned suggested I home in on the MDC's chief executive's remuneration package, which has increased by a mind boggling 45% from ￡66,000 to ￡96,000 in one year! Yes, I know, my initial reaction was the same - wow! Following further investigation my view was tempered somewhat by the table (opposite) showing brief details of the four other UK statutory agricultural levy boards. In terms of comparable salary for a chief executive's role that of the MDC's is pretty much on a par with the others, albeit with fewer staff. As other critics point out, though, the MDC is catching up fast! It now employs 44 people - when it started it had just 3!