The Chief

lets face it - Tesco's are not the worst - they all p**s in the same pot

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

Who'd be a pot maker in this day and age?

The Chief

Ok maybe not the right answer here being mr diplomatic

No one forces the farmers to take out the contracts with the supermarkets
they have a choice plain and simple - just like the consumer, i dont have Sky, because its a rip off (and i'm tight) and the truth is it is supply and demand - people always want value for money.

However... i agree that Farm shops 99% of time offer better quality - certainly with regards to meat and it boils down to lazy *****' (like me) getting up of there fat a**ses and shopping around a bit - and ok maybe paying the same if not more but getting a better cut and quality of meat and supporting teh local farmer.

incidentally at 18 years old i worked at a chicken factory (dont laugh) who supplied all the main supermarkets - let me tell you the quality was crap and i swear we used to inject the stuff with water - immediately prior to being frozen, so the consumer who shopped at the supermarket who thought they were getting a good deal was actually paying for
water!!!!!!

The Chief

As long as i didn't get any returns (after being p***ed in)

Scooby-Doo

Surely some farmer did the original deal at 18p causing the price issue and therefore should you not look closer to home for someone to blame ?

shaunywrx

No,no, most farmers (in my experience) would much rather just bleat on and on about how hard up they are, and how hard done by they are, and just put the blame on everyone else, and expect more subsidies.

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

ouch, the truth can be a stinger.

if all the farmers got together and said no more than the S/Ms would have to look at the rates again wouldnt they?
In our industry it happens all the time, concrete suppliers get together and price fix, so do tarmac suppliers etc
every year they tell us next years price hike!

Andy-C

Yes you're exactly right. However the costs would then be passed onto the consumer..............and the consumer wants value for money.

john_s

iTrader: (1)

Noooo.... they don't price fix (honest!)...

Of course, it's pure coincidence that the annual price increases from the different companies are always identical....

*cough*bull$#!t*cough*



john.

Peanuts

iTrader: (15)

lol, pure conincedence that the rates are announced the day after the concrete suppliers AGM as well

farmer boy

Why do some people still talk about us bangin on about subsidies???
Have i mentioned it once???
As to the point about some farmer must`ve agreed a price of 18p,when our milk buyer tells us there will be a price cut,sure we can disagree,shout all we like,but they go ahead with it anyway,because at the other end,the supermarkets will terminate their contract if they don`t get their "discounts"(price drop)
"Reality", i will give you a cow and see how long you will get milk out of her without payin for feed for her.I did hear of someone once who did try to get his animal to live on nothing.He had just managed it,then it died!

hectic

Oi !! you!! Farmer Boy..... Gerroffamoi lannnnnd!! .. seriously tho' get the fek away from my Massey Feruson.
Milk.. its BRILLIANT!!!
.

The Chief

But surely like any industry there is only so much that everyone can drop their prices - if everyone turned around and said 'well suit yourself then' where would the big supermarkets get their supplies from then?

The thing is 99% of us on here are not in the industry and dont know squat about the profit margins that farmers make or any subsidies that they get or are entitled to.

one part of me agrees with you wholeheartedley but the other unfortunately its down to supply and demand.

If every farmer stood to their guns and said this is x price for a pint take it or leave it what would the big 4 do - probably have to swallow it.

just my tuppence worth

farmer boy

Yip, you are right but we have a problem with milk,it being a perishable item,we cant "hold it back" for say 2 weeks.
We are only an average sized farm,how many days could we throw away £400-500 worth of milk per day and still pay the bills at the end of the month?

rik1471

Why bother then? If it's so difficult to make a living I suggest other employment.

The Chief

Maybe so - but then sell it to the general public and **** the big 4.

The general public are an unforgiving bunch - how long would they put up without milk at a supermarket - they'd be riots within days!!!

supermarkets would soon come crawling back.

hey if you get any ideas - just drop me a line of a local farm where i can get some from - cheers

Chip

Anyone read Fast Food Nation. Tells how the big companies dictate prices and force the smaller suppliers either out of business or to agree with what they will pay for the produce.

I for one always use farm shops and will continue to do so. One has just opened about 5 mins away from me and is very busy even though there are 3 supermarkets within 3 miles. I think people are getting fed up with these huge companiews selling not only inferior products but they are also more expensive as well especially when it comes to meat and veg.

I hate it when I see some corporate geezer on TV saying how they support the farmers etc. Tell me then if they do why are they all selling New Zealand lamb when here in Wales we have the best lamb anywhere. It shouldnt be allowed when our farmers are struggling and we are shipping meat half way around the world. Pathetic.

Chip

GC8

There really are some unbelievably stupid an ignorant opinions posted in this thread arent there?

CyprusScooby

Yeah but farmers are all bloody well off anyway! Esp. with all the compensation they got from the foot and mouth crisis! Driving about in their brand new tractors and Discoverys!
I'm from a BIG farming area, South West Scotland, and I know loads of farmers, and I've NEVER met a poor one!

Chip

Go on

shaunywrx

Yes, and this is one of them.

farmer boy

I hear there may be disruption to Asda/Arla milk supplies soon.....

Reality

I'll tell you one thing I wouldn't do - feed it it's dead mates then wonder why they all die costing the country billions of pounds !

But I'm sure that was someone else's fault too.

If there's no money in farming sell your farm to a developer and retire to Monaco .

farmer boy

If everyone done that,where would you get your food from?
Probably only be able to afford a 1 bed flat in Monaco,still would be nice if it looked over the circuit

Reality

To be honest there's not much that Farmers can do - The supermarkets have done what everybody does in business which is to commoditise everything. Then they simply negotiate the best prices.

If there are farmers willing to get paid 18p a litre then that's what the supermarkets will pay - But you can't run a cartel to fix the price (well not legally anyway).

Stick to the Farmers markets and beat the Supermarkets on Quality - it's probably your only shot .

Either that of move to France - They look after their farmers properly

john_s

iTrader: (1)

They'd just buy all their milk in from somewhere (no doubt heavily subsidised) in Europe, leaving UK dairy farmers well and truely in the poo.

John.

farmer boy

On a day like today,maybe workin outside for 3 quid an hour aint so bad.....

Reality

Epecially if you only have to work 22.5 hours

lordretsudo

This is probably completely irrelevant, but it's something that's annoyed me for ages now...

I live in Ingleby Barwick, commonly known as Europe's biggest housing estate. We have a Tesco, lots of takeaways and a couple of newsagents. And that's it. No greengrocer or bakery, despite a captive market. We try to buy vegetables/fruit from grocer's, but it's not really convenient a lot of the time and it seems silly to drive 5 miles or so each way just to get some carrots or whatever.

If this is replicated in the other large housing projects planned over the next decade or so, then that really doesn't help the cause of farmers or anyone else opposed to the supermarkets' monopolies.

farmer boy

Taken from an article published today:

The NFU is to hold crisis talks with ASDA, amid growing controversy over the company's dealings with its farmer suppliers. The supermarket giant stands accused by farmers of undermining milk prices and selling beef imported from Brazil that does not comply with British farm assurance standards. NFU Deputy President, Meurig Raymond, who is due to meet senior ASDA executives on Monday, said he was extremely concerned at the supermarket's aggressive price-cutting policies on milk which were de-stabilising the milk market and putting the future of the dairy industry at risk. "ASDA does need to understand, by slashing the price of a four pint container of milk, it has undermined the market for value-added, branded liquid milks being marketed by their supply group, Arla Foods. This in turn has been a major factor in the swinging price cuts that have this week been imposed on Arla/ASDA milk suppliers. Devaluing liquid milk, which is effectively what ASDA has done, is simply not compatible with achieving a profitable, high quality supply base, to which it is committed." On the beef issue, Mr Raymond said, on the face of it, this was a clear case of double standards. He said: "ASDA has repeatedly assured us that all of the imported beef sold in their stores was reared to British farm assured standards and so did not represent unfair competition. "Yet we now have clear evidence that ASDA has sold beef from Brazil that does not comply with British standards of farm assurance or traceability. In the light of concerns over the disease status of Brazilian beef and poor standards of animal identification, this must be a cause for genuine concern. "I shall be asking for a clear commitment that this practice will stop immediately, and no further non-assured imported beef will be sold through ASDA stores. "The confidence farmers ought to have in ASDA's commitment to its British farm supply base has been badly shaken by both of these issues. We urgently need to restore trust and transparency to the relationship if serious long-term damage is to be avoided."