Dairy industry in meltdown
Keith Parkins | 27.02.2007 18:11 | Ecology | Globalisation | Social Struggles
Speaking at the NFU national conference, the NFU leader has warned that the dairy industry is facing meltdown.
Dairy farmers receive a farm gate price today for their milk that is lower than it was ten years ago. Meanwhile the costs of energy, cattle feed, fuel have rocketed.
Prices have been forced down by the big supermarkets, often to lower than the cost of production. Three farmers a week are going out of business.
The southwest of England with its lush green pastures (although for how long with global warming is a moot point) is ideal for dairy industry, and yet we import milk.
Farmers are bonded slaves to the supermarkets. Whereas it is the supermarkets that reap the profit, it is the farmers that bear all the risks. They need to move away from industrial agriculture, global markets, go organic, supply local markets.
Farmers themselves need to be pro-active, to diversify and produce value added. To follow the example of two farms in the Lincolnshire Wolds that produce on the farm award winning cheeses, Cote Hill Farm that produces Cote Hill Blue Cheese and Ulceby Grange Farm that produces Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese.
Quality cheeses can be found on local farmers markets. Cote Hill Blue and Lincolnshire Poacher, can be found on farmers markets in Lincolnshire, also at the Cheese Society in Lincoln and Neals Yard Dairy in Covent Garden in London. The Cheese Society and Neals Yard Dairy, both have a wide range of real cheeses, cheeses that come from a farm not a factory.
Cheese and milk are to be banned from being advertised on children's programmes as they are classed as 'junk food'. On the other hand, coke, chicken nuggets, even oven chips and ready meals, are ok!
Websites
http://www.nfuonline.com/
http://www.tescopoly.org/
http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/
http://www.farmersmarkets.net/
http://www.theecologist.org/boxscheme
http://www.farm.org.uk/
http://lincolnshirepoachercheese.com/
http://www.heureka.clara.net/lincolnshire/
http://www.thecheesesociety.co.uk/
http://www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk/
References
Joanna Blythman, Shopped: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets, Fourth Estate, 2004
Jose Bove and Francois Dufour, The World is Not for Sale: Farmers Against Junk Food, Verso, 2001
Sherrod Brown, Myths of Free Trade, The New Press, 2006
Charles Clover, Dairy farmers warn of industry 'meltdown', Daily Telegraph, 27 February 2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/27/nmilk27.xml
Caroline Cranbrook, The Real Choice: How Local Foods can Survive the Supermarket Onslaught, CPRE, June 2006
Barry Darra, We're cheesed off with junk claims, Lincolnshire Echo, 2 January 2007
Isabel Davies, Cheese adverts to be restricted as tests brand product as junk food, Farmers Weekly, 3 January 2007
http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2007/01/03/100473/cheese-adverts-to-be-restricted-as-tests-brand-product-as-junk.html
Martin Delgado, Junk food advertising ban outlaws cheese and marmite, Daily Mail, 12 February 2007
Valerie Elliot, TV's new junk food allows chips with everything, The Times, 23 February 2007
The Ecologist, September 2004 {special edition on damaging impact of supermarkets}
Kate Evans, Funny Weather, Myriad Editions, 2006
http://www.heureka.clara.net/books/funny-weather.htm
Andrew Kimbrell (ed), Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture, Island Press, 2002
Felicity Lawrence, Not on the Label: What Really Goes Into the Food on Your Plate, Penguin, 2004
http://www.heureka.clara.net/books/notonthelabel.htm
Caroline Lucas, Stopping the great food swap: Relocalising Europe's food supply, The Greens/European Free Alliance, European Parliament, March 2001
Milk farmers protest over prices, BBC News on-line, 6 February 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6332499.stm
Keith Parkins, Localisation: A Move Away From Globalisation, www.heureka.clara.net, November 2000
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/local.htm
Keith Parkins, Sowing Seeds of Dissent, Indymedia UK, 6 September 2004
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/09/297391.html
Keith Parkins, Seeds of Dissent, September 2004
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/seeds.htm
Keith Parkins, Do we need industrial agriculture?, Indymedia UK, 19 February 2007
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/02/362714.html
Keith Parkins, Celtic invites its young supporters to experience fine dining, Indymedia Scotland, 26 February 2007
http://scotland.indymedia.org/newswire/index.php
Keith Parkins, Tesco – every little hurts Indymedia UK, 26 February 2007
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/02/363555.html
Keith Parkins, Bad Food Britain, to be published
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/
Price squeeze 'hitting farmers', BBC News on-line, 26 February 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6396199.stm
Prices have been forced down by the big supermarkets, often to lower than the cost of production. Three farmers a week are going out of business.
The southwest of England with its lush green pastures (although for how long with global warming is a moot point) is ideal for dairy industry, and yet we import milk.
Farmers are bonded slaves to the supermarkets. Whereas it is the supermarkets that reap the profit, it is the farmers that bear all the risks. They need to move away from industrial agriculture, global markets, go organic, supply local markets.
Farmers themselves need to be pro-active, to diversify and produce value added. To follow the example of two farms in the Lincolnshire Wolds that produce on the farm award winning cheeses, Cote Hill Farm that produces Cote Hill Blue Cheese and Ulceby Grange Farm that produces Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese.
Quality cheeses can be found on local farmers markets. Cote Hill Blue and Lincolnshire Poacher, can be found on farmers markets in Lincolnshire, also at the Cheese Society in Lincoln and Neals Yard Dairy in Covent Garden in London. The Cheese Society and Neals Yard Dairy, both have a wide range of real cheeses, cheeses that come from a farm not a factory.
Cheese and milk are to be banned from being advertised on children's programmes as they are classed as 'junk food'. On the other hand, coke, chicken nuggets, even oven chips and ready meals, are ok!
Websites
http://www.nfuonline.com/ http://www.tescopoly.org/ http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/ http://www.farmersmarkets.net/ http://www.theecologist.org/boxscheme http://www.farm.org.uk/ http://lincolnshirepoachercheese.com/ http://www.heureka.clara.net/lincolnshire/ http://www.thecheesesociety.co.uk/ http://www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk/ References
Joanna Blythman, Shopped: The Shocking Power of British Supermarkets, Fourth Estate, 2004
Jose Bove and Francois Dufour, The World is Not for Sale: Farmers Against Junk Food, Verso, 2001
Sherrod Brown, Myths of Free Trade, The New Press, 2006
Charles Clover, Dairy farmers warn of industry 'meltdown', Daily Telegraph, 27 February 2007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/02/27/nmilk27.xml Caroline Cranbrook, The Real Choice: How Local Foods can Survive the Supermarket Onslaught, CPRE, June 2006
Barry Darra, We're cheesed off with junk claims, Lincolnshire Echo, 2 January 2007
Isabel Davies, Cheese adverts to be restricted as tests brand product as junk food, Farmers Weekly, 3 January 2007
http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2007/01/03/100473/cheese-adverts-to-be-restricted-as-tests-brand-product-as-junk.html Martin Delgado, Junk food advertising ban outlaws cheese and marmite, Daily Mail, 12 February 2007
Valerie Elliot, TV's new junk food allows chips with everything, The Times, 23 February 2007
The Ecologist, September 2004 {special edition on damaging impact of supermarkets}
Kate Evans, Funny Weather, Myriad Editions, 2006
http://www.heureka.clara.net/books/funny-weather.htm Andrew Kimbrell (ed), Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture, Island Press, 2002
Felicity Lawrence, Not on the Label: What Really Goes Into the Food on Your Plate, Penguin, 2004
http://www.heureka.clara.net/books/notonthelabel.htm Caroline Lucas, Stopping the great food swap: Relocalising Europe's food supply, The Greens/European Free Alliance, European Parliament, March 2001
Milk farmers protest over prices, BBC News on-line, 6 February 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6332499.stm Keith Parkins, Localisation: A Move Away From Globalisation, www.heureka.clara.net, November 2000
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/local.htm Keith Parkins, Sowing Seeds of Dissent, Indymedia UK, 6 September 2004
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/09/297391.html Keith Parkins, Seeds of Dissent, September 2004
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/seeds.htm Keith Parkins, Do we need industrial agriculture?, Indymedia UK, 19 February 2007
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/02/362714.html Keith Parkins, Celtic invites its young supporters to experience fine dining, Indymedia Scotland, 26 February 2007
http://scotland.indymedia.org/newswire/index.php Keith Parkins, Tesco – every little hurts Indymedia UK, 26 February 2007
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/02/363555.html Keith Parkins, Bad Food Britain, to be published
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/ Price squeeze 'hitting farmers', BBC News on-line, 26 February 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6396199.stm
Keith Parkins
Homepage:
http://www.heureka.clara.net/gaia/
Comments
Hide the following 5 comments
Fantastic News!
27.02.2007 18:37
Go Vegan!
Yep, yep, yep...
27.02.2007 19:16
Veganista
hmmmmmmm
27.02.2007 22:53
it is utterly vital we all stop or cut down on dairy for all kinds of reasons, but still there really are some lands on this island which are not great for arable/veg/fruit growing and which are good for raising animals, some people who are able to keep and kill animals respectfully, and also some people who really kinda seem to need some animal proteins in their diet.....
I've felt it myself. despite being totally convinced of almost all the arguments for veganism, somehow there does come the odd time when my body says "CHEEEESE!!!!!!" (and not only when on the road in somewhere like france where the only alternative protein for miles is bloody salami, nor mugging for wedding pics.. )
and whole some reduction and shake out and transformation of the 'industry' is devoutly to be wished, there are some good little organic dairies out there, and too much absolutism is almost as unhealthy as drinking pus...
vagan
They'd only import it
01.03.2007 07:56
If the farmers' problems were caused by a significant proportion of us using less or no milk, I'd be delighted, but sadly that's not the case.
Gregor Samsa
Why NFU propaganda on Indymedia?
01.03.2007 13:37
The number of dairy farms may be declining but the amount of milk being produced stays the same. Dairy farms get bigger and cows are forced to produce more milk, that's all. The consumption of milk, cheese etc. has been slowly declining for many years.
The milk price remains low because there is over-supply; it's that simple. You don't have to like the market economy to accept that it works in this respect.
This propaganda campaign by the NFU is designed to use political means to extract more money from government in the form of subsidy and shoppers through blackmailing supermarkets into paying farmers more.
Dairy farming, like most animal farming, is sub-contracted to small units with self-employed people because that is what agri-food-business finds is most efficient for its needs.
Many of the sub-contractors are 'life-style farmers' meaning that if they sold the farm and lived off the interest from the bank they would be better off. They are prepared to have a lower income to live out the fantasy of yeoman Englishman or whatever. Like the yeomen land-owners of old they are masters of extracting money from their workers and in modern times from taxpayers and consumers. Agricultural land avoids Estate Taxes quite efficiently to boot.
An economically viable farm is 300 acres. It would cost about 1 million pounds plus the cost of animals and machinery. If there is an issue here it is of justice among the very rich. Is Indymedia expanding its range?
"Farmers are bonded slaves to the supermarkets." My arse.
There is another sub-text. It is mainly dairy farmers who want to exterminate badgers in large areas of England and Wales. Their farming methods produces animals vulnerable to diseases such as TB but fixing that would cost. Drumming up a bit of sympathy in the media for dairy farmers helps no end in softening up the public for the slaughter. Poor oppressed farmers should be allowed the bit of extra bloodsport, shouldn't they?
not Farmer Parkins