Dairy Farming Turns Sour
UK - Too many dairy farmers are still fooling themselves they are making money because they are failing to pay themselves and their families a realistic wage, let alone calculating any return on capital.
4 October 2006
1 minute read
Melton-based consultant Andersons draws that conclusion from its latest calculations on dairy farm incomes.
The company's Francis Mordaunt says farmers face an ever greater price/cost squeeze, despite rising prices for milk in the shops and on the doorstep.
Dairy Kirby & West has just implemented a 2p-per-pint increase to offset what it says are its rising costs.
Mr Mourdant said: "Dairy farmers have had fairly stable prices for some time, but they are now beginning to come back down.
"The real problem is that several of their main costs - fertiliser, fuel, feed and labour - have gone up."
The retail price of milk rose by 19.5 per cent between June 2002 and June last year, according to a joint Defra, Milk Development Council and Andersons study, while the price paid to farmers fell by 4.8 per cent over the same period.
Source: thisisleicestershire.co.uk
