Pint of View

Milk Matters...
We all know that there is a constant battle between Britain's supermarkets to keep us customers revolving through their doors, they're forever tempting us with lower prices, better offers or fresher produce. The ever lowering price of groceries in a world where everything else seems to be getting more expensive is a mind boggler, how can the supermarkets afford to still make a profit?

-Farmers Weekly Campaign-

The answer is probably at the expense of someone else. We all know that the supermarkets (the bigger ones especially) have a bit of a reputation for being bullies when it comes to their buyers and suppliers, with all their power and might reigning over the market suppliers would rather be short changed than lose their contract with the supermarkets. The current average price for a litre of milk in Britain is 45p, the entirety of that forty-five pence has got to pay everyone in the chain of the milks production, distribution & retail: the farmer, the lorry driver, the shelf stacker, the checkout attendant, etc etc. is it much surprise that many dairy farmers are left feeling a little deflated about their income. 

-Not sure that the cows particularly enjoy standing in the dairy aisle all afternoon-

Many farmers and their supporters as you may have seen on the news recently have started taking matters into their own hands... We've seen tractors blocking the gates into big industrial dairy units, supporters buying every last carton of milk in a supermarket and then distributing to customers to raise awareness of their cause & now we've even seen live cows parked up in the fresh dairy aisle.

-Many farmers make a loss from their dairy herd-

The amount of dairy farms and young people choosing a career with the cows is on a constant decline, the industry on a whole needs a big boost before a time comes when the milk you pour over your morning Weetabix has come on a boat from a distant land. Imagine a Britain where the grassy pastures lay silent and the only cows you see are those dodgy (but kinda cool) concrete ones in Milton Keynes.

-Milton Keynes' famous concrete cows, bringing the country to the city-

The sensible thing for many of these struggling farmers to do would simply be to change jobs, for instance if you were in a job which took money from your account rather than paid you for your efforts, would you stick around for long? Problem is, for many dairy farming is not just a job, its a way of life. Many farms have been run by the same family for generations and to be the failing link in a long line of farmers, must be devastating. What about diversification? We see a lot of farmers expanding their income through new and interesting propositions: put aside a field and open a campsite? Music festival? Segway tours? The list is endless! I suppose for many diversification is easier said than done and many farmers do not possess the skills required to operate other commercial businesses successfully.

-Worthy Dairy Farm, Home of Glastonbury Festival- 

Raising awareness of this campaign for fairer pay and supporting your local farms and British farmers in general could make all the difference for many farmers and families across the country... Lets not forget however that it's not all doom & gloom across the industry. Some supermarkets such as Waitroise & Co-Op who are already renowned for their fairer, higher quality and forward thinking approach to your groceries are pledged to support their farmers. So, naturally although their milk prices are higher, everyone gets a fairer price and benefits from supermarket led schemes to encourage consumers to not only support, but buy British.

MJT

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