# Dairy Crisis



## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Just wonder if everyone is aware of the dairy crisis going on right now, and if anyone is doing anything to support & protect the UK dairy industry. We coffee people are a big buying group when it comes to milk, and for my part I'd hate to see the industry disappear and milk become an expensive and low quality import from France because of unattainable pricing policies imposed on farmers by large supermarkets. More and more dairy farmers are going out of business every week.

If you noticed your supermarket milk being cheaper lately - perhaps buying some to get ready for Free Pour Friday - have a think about *why* it is cheaper. With the current state of play, farmers actually make a loss on every litre of milk they sell, whilst the supermarkets pull in customers by using milk as a loss-leader, and profit on their other products.

We go on about coffee farmers around the world - how we want to give them a fair price etc - and that's great. But meanwhile back here in our own farms these guys are going to the wall.

What do you think?


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## RobD (May 2, 2012)

I only buy milk with the UK Red Tractor label on it, and from the CO OP or some of the decent shops, we even have a milk man (yes they do still exist) never ever Tesco or any other of the large chains, unfortunately its not just dairy farmers that get this treatment for the big 4.

The other thing is, does buying from Costa or one of the other large Café chains make matters worse if they don't care where they source their milk?


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

Dairy farmers have long since been subject to the nefarious whims of the supermarkets - its outrageous. Unfortunately I think it might be hard to convince the masses to make a change in their purchasing. Is there even much alternative to Supermarket "own band" milk? I never buy the stuff so don't know. I know there's Cravendale. An old friend of mine I've not spoken to for a while is a dairy farmer. He had a contract wih the local Tesco guaranteeing a minimum price, but I wouldn't be surprised if that had been scrapped now - I'll find out.

It's yet another reason not not have milk in your coffee!


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## SlowRoast (Sep 24, 2010)

I might actually switch to Cravendale due to this, despite the issues surround it's steaming.

I'm not sure how much Costa pays their farmers, they have recently switched us from the milk bags (which although were a pain at times, were much MUCH better for the environment) to standard bottles, which are not only very wasteful in terms of the amount of plastic but I should imagine it's a cheaper alternative. We throw out in excess of around 40 milk bottles A DAY, on a weekday. In one shop ...

They had no other reason to switch to bottles I imagine, they even at one point went and put stickers on the jugs we put the milk bags in to show how proud they are of their own Costa Cows and to show it off to customers.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

The Co-op is actually one of the worst offenders in the current crisis, along with Asda and Morrisons. This is part of the problem - I don't think the public have been made aware of this issue enough, and are generally thinking "Great - cheaper milk". The problem comes in a few years, when the milk prices go up from 1.25 per 2 litre bottle to £3 because we don't have any dairy farmers left. The Red Tractor scheme covers safety, hygiene, animal welfare and the environment, but sadly doesn't cover fair pricing. Things have never been this bad, according to the farmers.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/milk-crisis-turns-sour-as-dairy-farmers-reveal-plans-to-blockade-supermarkets-7953496.html

What can we do? Same as we do with coffee... pay a little more to ensure the farmers get a fair price.

M&S are paying farmers the fairest price, according to reports, closely followed by Waitrose.

It will be interesting to see how the planned blockades appear in the media, and whether the public gets behind their farmers.

(EDIT) I don't think switching to Cravendale is the answer. The Co-op sells Cravendale, and is doing the same thing with that product. They squeeze Wiseman, Arla, First Milk etc, and in turn those producers have to squeeze the farmers. The thing to do is avoid buying dairy from Coop, Morrisons and Asda, it seems. That's what the National Farmers Union seems to be suggesting. And much as I hate to say it, I believe Tesco are paying a fair price to farmers too!


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## jimrobo (Aug 5, 2011)

I saw a graphic recently on Facebook someone posted. It was a picture off a milk bottle that farmers started printing on the bottle showing the price it costs to produce, the price the supermarkets pay and the price they sell. It was really interesting.

I try and buy most of mine from the local shop it seems to come direct from the dairy. Does anyone know if buying from somewhere like milkandmore.com comes straight from the dairy??


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## RobD (May 2, 2012)

Well I feel slightly better as one of the places I buy milk from is Waitrose, I am very surprised at the CO OP as they are normally very responsible with the way they do business?

Oh well another company to boycott, can add to my list along with Mc Donald's and other hateful places


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## forzajuve (Feb 2, 2011)

RobD said:


> Well I feel slightly better as one of the places I buy milk from is Waitrose, I am very surprised at the CO OP as they are normally very responsible with the way they do business?


It is one of those strange situations where the Coop has been promoting itself as a fairtrade supermarket but it constantly comes bottom of the prices paid to UK diary farmers. Time to put a fairtrade mark on UK products?


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Yes, there's a twitter group under the #agrichat hashtag and that idea has been suggested. Seems logical to me, but I don't really know enough about it. I just hope that if there is enough attention on this issue then knowledgeable people will try to get a good solution in place before it's too late.


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

I heard M&S are no better than ASDA. I would never shop at M&S anyway due to their questionable choice of international suppliers who bribe officials to pass audits similar to the BRC audit in this country.

The farmers are their own worst enemies for not coming together and agreeing price universally.

There is no communication between them or if there is its not doing the job.

Definitely a good idea to spread awareness of this, the bakery where I work only use local dairies.


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

The idea that any supermarket has an interest in anything besides money and perfidy is laughable. Some may be "better" than others, but when the impetus behind any ethical decision is profit, it almost entirely negates the intention.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

True. Very true. But I hope the general public don't use that as a reason to do nothing. Just voicing support for the farmers can make a big difference.


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

Indeed. A quote about evil triumphing and good men doing sod all springs to mind.


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## cjbailey1 (Jan 17, 2011)

My friend's Parent's farm has sold to Waitrose for a long time as they offered the best price and terms. This is despite there not being a Waitrose on the Island until the last couple of years! Unfortunately they are too far out of my way to buy directly else I would be paying them what I'd be paying in a supermarket and getting it in a reusable container!! (and yes... I'm aware that you aren't actually _allowed_ to do that now, but it's not to say it couldn't happen). There is a farm locally who bottle their own and sell it directly from the farm shop - including raw milk, but the cost is preventative for me buying it as it would work out at around 4x the cost of buying from a Supermarket. Unfortunately the cost is now a major factor with everything rising. If the farm were selling it for under twice the price of the supermarket I would be regularly buying it, but (much as I hate saying it) times are tight.


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

I'm all too aware of times being tight and the dairy crisis. My solution is to fund the slight increase in cost of milk from somewhere that pays the farmer a fair price is to give something else up. For me that's biscuits and choc, not completely but enough so that there isn't an increase on the overall shopping bill. I also down switched some other groceries, some of which I can't tell the difference taste wise but I save ££ by not paying for a brand. Have one less pint, smoke one less ***, eat one cake less and you too can feel good about doing your bit whilst being healthy!!!

Just re-read this before posting and I realise it sounds preachy. Apologies if I offend anyone but we if we all made excuses about not being able to change then farmers will be out of business and milk will no doubt triple in price when we have to import it.


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## cjbailey1 (Jan 17, 2011)

I am aware of the things I can give up - the problem is I'm not inclined to give them up, which I know is very bad as I know how much my friends parents struggle. We need to sort a fair price for milk, and many other products where farm margins have been cut to the bone so much that small 'family' farms cannot survive in any way, I wholeheartedly agree with that - but until the price differential comes down massively I cannot justify it. I know the family who own the farm and farm shop near-by and they pride themselves on the quality, but the profit they are making on each of their pints of milk is too high. They would actually stand to make much more money if they lowered the price and got a higher uptake of the products. Yes, bottling the milk themselves is a massive expense and the quality of the milk is superb, but the figures I was shown almost paint a picture of greed on their part.

Edited to add:

I know the reason the margins are so high - they (like many businesses here) are primarily aiming themselves at the "holiday" market where people are prepared to pay a much higher price for things. They do run a restaurant on site as well and it is fantastic food, but come holiday season all the prices get massively bumped which is a massive shame.

Edit again:

I hope this is a one off case, but I'm sure it's not.

On another note - the Dairy Farmers here on the Island tried to create a group to deal with collections, getting the best prices etc. and it fell apart (so I'm told) on two account...

a) Most farmers aren't inclined to talk to each other

b) The farmers that do want to talk are too busy on the farm to have time to go to "meetings"


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

It doesn't sound good if their profit margin is so great but I'd rather it came from individuals rather than the big companies whose profit margins run into millions. My worry is that unless enough people put pressure on firms to pay fair, we'll all be paying £3+ a litre.


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## cjbailey1 (Jan 17, 2011)

I agree. My milk comes from Supermarkets - generally Sainsbury, but Waitrose if I'm going that way instead. The reason for it being those two is I know that they give the best price to the Local farmers. We are slightly different though, being an Island, as even the supermarkets like selling things emblazoned with an IW logo.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

I dont mind paying more at waitrose, infact the whole shopping experience is so much nicer there its worth it. They seem to be one of the more ethical supermarkets.

Their Organic unhom'd is the best milk ive found in terms of taste and microfoam.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Obsy said:


> I'm all too aware of times being tight and the dairy crisis. My solution is to fund the slight increase in cost of milk from somewhere that pays the farmer a fair price is to give something else up. For me that's biscuits and choc, not completely but enough so that there isn't an increase on the overall shopping bill. I also down switched some other groceries, some of which I can't tell the difference taste wise but I save ££ by notpaying for a brand. Have one less pint, smoke one less ***, eat one cake less and you too can feel good about doing your bit whilst being healthy!!!
> 
> Just re-read this before posting and I realise it sounds preachy. Just spent the day trying to get parents of kids who are in care to realise they can afford to have kids living at home and not neglect them , they just need to change how they spend their cash. Apologies if I offend anyone but we if we all made excuses about not being able to change then farmers will be out of business and milk will no doubt triple in price when we have to import it.


Pisses me off when parents say they cannot afford to buy freerange/ethical/higher quality produce because they are on low income...and yet they can afford to smoke like chimneys & eat ready meals


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## Obsy (May 21, 2012)

My nearest Waitrose is 44 miles away which is a shame as I'd happily buy from there. I try and support independant businesses as much as possible.


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## Earlepap (Jan 8, 2012)

Give it time guys. It's only been a couple decades since Hugh Fearnley-Whittingfail started enlightening us all in how to be a better person. With any luck in another ten years everyone will have reappraised their lives, and realised that the answer to most socio-political problems is buying sanctimonious chickens and ethical shark fins.


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

"Everything is someone elses problem ... until it's my problem... then it's a problem"

We live in a Jeremy Kyle nation.


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## marbeaux (Oct 2, 2010)

Blimey that quoted milk price quoted above is very cheap. In Bangkok it's almost twice the UK price


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Milk is cheaper than water. There's no way that can be a sustainable thing.


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

MikeHag said:


> Milk is cheaper than water. There's no way that can be a sustainable thing.


MIke that makes no sense whatsoever considering how much of the planet is made up of water and the fact that ultimately all water goes back into the ecosystem. After all milk wouldnt be possible without water.


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## Mal (Jul 30, 2011)

One of the main clotted cream producers also produces milk (the website blurb may amuse you) which is sold in smaller shops locally and I tend to buy this when I can. I don't know how the economics of their business is set up but at least I know the milk has only come from 20 miles down the road and not travelled all around the country. They do claim to have a close relationship with their farmers but then they would I suppose. I hardly ever buy milk from supermarkets.


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