Milk prices!

[Johnboy]

Now I appreciate that this posting has nothing whatsoever with gardening or growing but I feel that it seriously affects the vast majority of contributors.
When most bottled water is more expensive than milk this somehow proves to me that there is something seriously wrong in the market place.
I manage to consume 2 pints (1.14L) of milk a day at a cost of 98 Pence.
This milk, which is unhomogenized (carrying a head of cream) is produced by a farm dairy about 20 miles from our village supermarket (yes a true supermarket) which also sells homogenized milk from a dairy company based in Hereford 25 miles away. This milk is at the same price. Do you consider the price to be about right or too high or too low?
With Dairy Farms ceasing production at the rate of at least two farms per week how long is it before this country will be a net importer of milk of dubious quality to meet our needs.
Costs to the farmers have dramatically increased over the recent years and this years weather has made it almost impossible to make Silage, Hay and Haylage and many attempts so far have been disastrous leading to financial loss. Now that the dairy companies have reduced the price they pay the milk producers, who were barely breaking even, will mean that those leaving the industry will rapidly increase because they simply cannot go on making losses year on year.
Should there be government intervention in an attempt to stabilize the price of milk? It is patently obvious that the price of milk must be increased and that supermarkets should be made to sell milk at the given price and not use milk as a loss leader which is really the cause of the problem.
Something must be done very rapidly before the whole dairy infrastructure breaks down.
If you value your daily fresh milk would you please reply to this posting and let us know how you feel about the subject.
JB.

[Nature's Babe]

I agree the farmers should get a fair price Johnboy, most supermarkets though ensure their own profit while paring suppliers profits to the bone. It might pay local farmers to form a co operative and local outlets for their produce so they can keep the profits in the local area, supermarket overheads are going up and up, as wages and oil prices rise, time to start thinkin local again, local outlets should be able to undercut the supermarkets. Check out the You tube video, A farm for the future. Most farm grass seed consists of just four varieties of grass seed, this is churned up by cattle in the winter past the ability to recover in spring. In that video a farmer shows how by experimenting and adding in more natural hardier grasses they end up with a thicker matt of grass which can withstand cattle grazing the grass all year round - a bit like the different wearing qualities of fine wool and Harris tweed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJMgfKqKXwY

here is a bank that invests in such projects
http://www.triodos.co.uk/en/personal/

[Shallot Man]

Why did they do away with the Milk Marketing Board.

[vegpatchmum]

I believe that the price Supermarkets pay producers for milk is appalling and they really do need to be taken to task on this. They are absolutely and without any doubt at all in my mind, wholly responsible for the dramatic and worrying decline in the number of dairy farmers in our country. I think it beggars believe that huge quantities of so called 'fresh' milk now have to be imported from abroad to meet demand.

Yes, I know that many would say that the consumer has to take their share of the blame but when faced with rising prices left, right and centre, across the board, they have to make savings where they can. If the price of milk was standardized at a reasonable level and there was no scope for fluctuation, then this would, IMHO make a huge difference.

I rarely buy supermarket milk, preferring, instead, to get my milk delivered to my doorstep, in bottles, by the local milkman. I pay 68p per pint but it's our small way of helping keep old traditions alive and putting thumbs up to the large supermarket chains (not that they'll ever notice of course ).

The only downsides are that, unlike back when I was a child, the milk is no longer delivered before breakfast but more often than not arrives at around lunchtime and the milkman only calls Monday, Wednesday and Friday. As a SAHM this is fine for us but for working families this simply isn't acceptable.

VPM
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[vegpatchmum]

Why did they do away with the Milk Marketing Board.

And:

the Electricity board;
the gas board;
the water board; and let's not forget
British Rail!



VPM
x

P.S. And pretty much the whole of the industrial/manufacturing sector ....

[vegpatchmum]

Apologies for this post - I clicked quote instead of edit on the above post when I wanted to add my P.S.and have now re edited it and there fore no longer need this but can't see a delete button .........

vpm
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[alan refail]

Click edit and the first option is delete this post

But it's only available for a limited time.

[vegpatchmum]

Thanks Alan - I'll look out for that in future. I'm used to seeing it on the actual post

VPM
x

P.S. Just edited this to see and it's as plain as day {sigh} Really need to get my eyes tested

[hzbzsz]

Hello everyone.
I'm new, and want to join in if I may, bit by bit.
You are not alone re dairying being a stressed industry, our duopoly of
supermarkets here in Australia are also squeezing our dairy farmers at the moment due to price wars, not good.
This is my first post ever so I hope it turns out !

[vegpatchmum]

Welcome aboard hzbzsz - happy posting

VPM
x

[hzbzsz]

Well thank you VPM, I am chuffed that my avatar piccy came up,
I did done good. No holding me back now!

[Colin Miles]

I agree with you absolutely JB, particularly the comment re bottled water. Question is, what do we do, what can we about it?

[Johnboy]

Hi NB,
I regret that your You tube website is now somewhat dated and really would worsen the situation of today. Most of those taking part are a breed that are drastically being affected far more than even conventional dairy farmers. Commercial organics is very sadly in dire straights.
I just wonder what would happen if milk was increased by 10p a pint and
I would be more than interested to know actually how much of that increase would find its way back to the producer. Very little I suspect.
I think that dairy processors are like bankers just plain greedy!
JB.

[alan refail]

We buy Calon Wen organic milk at £1.04 a litre.
http://www.calonwen-cymru.com/
It's the nearest we can find to the milk we used to get from the dairy next door decades ago. Calon Wen is a farmers' cooperative, so I assume a decent price goes to the producers. And we buy it in supermarkets, Tesco and Waitrose.

But this is not an answer to the problem, any more than the idea that a population of sixty odd million can be supplied by a return to small local producers selling locally. If people want/demand cheap milk the wholesale suppliers will seek to provide it.

[Colin Miles]

Hi Alan - we also buy Calon Wen. It is not homogenised which does seem to help with the taste, though I find M&S milk also very good and that is homogenised. I think a NFU spokesperson said the other day that some supermarkets paid a good price, Tescos being one of them, others which included Morrisons, didn't.

Perhaps a campaign for supermarkets to publish the price they pay the producers? Can we use the Freedom of Information Act in any way?