Post by stormy on Apr 13, 2007 0:48:17 GMT
The Great Milk Debate
The Great Milk Debate will take place between 23rd April and 4th May 2007. This initiative by the National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) and the National Farmers' Union (NFU) will take the form of a series of debates across the country.
Dairy farmers are currently being paid an average of 17p per litre (ppl) for their milk while it costs them on average 21ppl to produce. 10 years ago they were receiving 24.5 ppl when the cost of production was lower than it is today. It is not surprising then that 1,000 dairy farmers have gone out of business in the last year alone.
Over three quarters of the country is farmland and our countryside looks as it does because of the way it is farmed. At present 80% of the liquid milk consumed in this country is home grown and is also used by our cheese and dairy products industry. If dairy farmers continue to go out of business then we will have to rely on homogenised imports. This country has one of the highest standards in the world for milk production both in terms of quality and animal welfare standards.
The debate needs to be between the dairy farmers, industry and the major supermarkets. Unfortunately many of the supermarkets approached to send representatives to these debates have failed to respond positively.
taken from the countryside allience website
The Great Milk Debate will take place between 23rd April and 4th May 2007. This initiative by the National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI) and the National Farmers' Union (NFU) will take the form of a series of debates across the country.
Dairy farmers are currently being paid an average of 17p per litre (ppl) for their milk while it costs them on average 21ppl to produce. 10 years ago they were receiving 24.5 ppl when the cost of production was lower than it is today. It is not surprising then that 1,000 dairy farmers have gone out of business in the last year alone.
Over three quarters of the country is farmland and our countryside looks as it does because of the way it is farmed. At present 80% of the liquid milk consumed in this country is home grown and is also used by our cheese and dairy products industry. If dairy farmers continue to go out of business then we will have to rely on homogenised imports. This country has one of the highest standards in the world for milk production both in terms of quality and animal welfare standards.
The debate needs to be between the dairy farmers, industry and the major supermarkets. Unfortunately many of the supermarkets approached to send representatives to these debates have failed to respond positively.
taken from the countryside allience website