The Great Milk Robbery

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Where would we be without milk? Our tea would be sour, cereals would go dry, scones would go without clotted cream and cheese would be toast. Milk is an important part of all our lives, from the early days, as our bodies develop and grow, right up until old age, when it helps keep our bones strong and our teeth filling-free. Milk is an important source of protein, vitmain A, vitamin B12, vitamin D and calcium.

The case for milk seems fairly obvious, but who is making the case for the milk producers who are facing testing times? Our dairy farmers are leaving the business by the bucket load because they are simply unable to produce milk at the price supermarkters are prepared to pay.

Fortunately for them, Young Farmers across the South West are determind to make consumers realise the damage being done to their livelihoods by supermarkets using (and even perhaps abusing) their awesome buying power. Calling their campaign, “The Great Milk Robbery”, these farmers have donned cow suits and held action days at supermarkets across the Westcountry. I have had the pleasure to join them at some of their campaign days and their efforts must be highly commended. Barely anybody they spoke to had heard of their difficult situation, but many people said they would be more than willing to pay a few pence extra for their milk, if it meant keeping their dairy industry afloat.

The average cost of producing a litre of milk is 21 pence while the farmgarte price (the average price received by producers) is around 17 pence. That’s a loss of 4p per litre for the dairy farmer, whilst the supermarket pockets a tidy profit from the 50 pence a litre they charge at the checkout. Figures from ‘The Great Milk Robbery’ show the retailer’s margin was 0.37 pence in 1994, whils in 2005 the retail margin was 15.5 pence. That’s a 4000% increase in just over a decade.

All the Young Farmers are asking for is a fair price for their milk. Supermarkets just need to pay a few pence more per lite and our dairy farmers would be able to make ends meet. We are concerned though that the supermarktes will put up the price but not actually pass on the profits to the farmer, as has happened several times in the past. Supermarkets may not make masses of profit out of their milk sales but they would still make a fortune from passng trade. How many times have you just popped out for a pint of milk and come home with a  number of other things you didn’t really need?

A recent survey conducted by the NFU shows that south west milk producers are making a loss of nearly £90 million per year, whilst just one major supermarket chain makes over £5 million every single day. So the key message to the supermarkets has been ’stop milking the farmers’. I do not believe we should vilify supermarkets for the sake of it, but there are genuinely concerning practices being employed by some of the major supermarket chains, which are threatening the future of dairy farming.

So why don’t farmers just ask for more for their milk? They can’t. The government broke up Milk Marque, which controlled 37 percent of the market, claiming it was a monopoly and that has left farmers without a single body to negotiate on their behalf. I would like to see the three large, farmer-owned daily cooperatives combine, so they can negotiate a better price with the retailers, Until then, the only choice these farmers have is whether or not to stay in the business that their families may have been in for many generations.

And many milk producers have begrudgingly decided to leave the business. There are over six thousand fewer dairy farmers today that there were a decade ago, and a thousand farmers have left the business in the last twelve months alone. The remainder are facing tough times and may have to leave milk production and find a better cause for their farms.

The collateral damage caused by the loss of our dairy industry will affect us all. Farmers are imperative to the whole countryside economy. They employ local people, shop at local shops, use the local post office and bank. The WI says that every time a dairy farm goes out of business, 27 other businesses are also affected.

Dairy farmers are also environmental stewards, who plough a great deal of their profits back into improving their local environment. With all the financial pressures being placed on them, they will not put so much money back into improving the landscape. Birds, bees, butterflies - all manner of things that make the countryside beautiful, will be affected.

We are also attempting to cut down on food miles - the distance food travels from field to plate (or glass). The collapse of our dairy industry will force supermarkets to import milk from abroad, meaning huge increases in carbon emissions from the transportation. Importing our milk also raises doubts as to the quality of the product. British milk must conform to strict quality and animal welfare standards which might not always apply to imported milk. And what happens if for some tragic reason we were unable to import large quantities of milk for a long period of time? We are already 18% less self sufficient in terms of what we eat than we were a decade ago and our food security is becoming a sombre concern.

So what can you do? Firstly, buy products direct from your lcoal farmer, farm shops or farmers markets rather than at the supermarket. This will enable the profit to go to the farmer, rather than the supermarket. Secondly, make sure dairy products are British; increasing the demand for milk helps push up the price and increases farmers’ incomes. Thirdly, encourage your local shop to buy from the local farmer.

Fourthly, and perhaps most importantly, write a letter to the government asking them to take action. The Office of Fair Trading needs to launch an investigation into whether supermarkets are acting unfairly and abusing their enormous powers.

This is not a case of farmers crying over spilt milk. Dairy farmers have a genuine grievance and their livelihoods are at risk. We need action now or we will lose our dairy industry forever.