Britain’s
14,500 dairy farmers are facing an uncertain future as supermarkets
continue to seek to drive down the price of farm gate milk, this despite
a voluntary dairy code of agreement reached in
September 2012 after dairy farmers successfully blockaded supermarkets
distribution centres in summer 2012.
Hundreds
more dairy farmers could be forced out of business if the price paid by
supermarkets for milk is not increased substantially, as many dairy
farmers presently are not even covering the cost of production due to
increased cost of feed, fuel and fertilizers.
The
dairy farmers cause has been backed by celebrity chefs Jamie Oliver and
Hugh Fernley-Whittingstall who have urged the public to boycott
supermarkets that’s used milk as “a loss leader”
The
growing militancy amongst dairy farmers has been driven by the
grassroots Farmers For Action (FFA) established in May 2000 which was
established as a result of disillusionment by the infectiveness of
farming organisations, In April 2013 the FFA even pulled out of the SOS Dairy
Coalition believing it was blunting FFA’s ability to fight the dairy
farmers corner
FFA
have organised numerous rallies of dairy farmers and coordinate
blockades of supermarket depots in Cheshire, Derbyshire and West
Yorkshire.
In
a typical short sighted move UK supermarkets keen to source the
cheapest possible milk and dairy produce are scouring Europe for the
cheapest prices, while ignoring the plight of UK farmers. Over reliance
on an extended food chain is not only environmentally damaging but undermines food sustainability and spells serious dangers as we recently witnessed in the horsemeat scandal.
Planning
is vital in all aspects of farming and nowhere more necessary than in
dairy farming, that’s why in America it is the “Dairy State” of Vermont
that returns the only avowed socialist to the American Senate. Senator
Sanders and his party the Vermont Progressive Party is the most
successful third party in America
DAIRY FACTS:
An
estimated 50,000 farmers and farm workers are employed in UK dairy
farming, their are 14,500 dairy farms in 2012 down from 34,500 in 1996.
Britain’s consume 5 billion litres of milk a year, 1.6 litres per person
per week. 90% of herds are the famous black and
white Holstein-Friesan (others Ayrshire, Jersey and Guernsey). The
average size of UK dairy herd is 123
