Tesco Funded Study Blames Farmers for Food Waste

Hampton · Apr 9, 2023

Turnip said:
i get there are limited numbers of buyers for farm commodities, but no-one is being forced to produce those commodities. Cash up and move on if it is that bad. Otherwise do something about it, but as I said with the lack of solidarity in farming and consumers who don't give a toss that is going to be difficult.

The conversation has been about veg, but imagine it’s about apples or pears.
Farmer has orchards covering his farm, always made a good living from it, then one day, the supermarket decides to slash the apple price and pay the farmer less. What does the farmer do?
Sell somewhere else?
Cut all the trees down and plant something else?
What if they decide to buy apples in from abroad instead?
Or, as they did with eggs, what if they decide to offer the farmer one price for apples, but then buy them in from abroad at a higher price rather than offer the UK grower a higher price.
The plans and scheming beggars belief

robs1 · Apr 9, 2023

Hampton said:
The conversation has been about veg, but imagine it’s about apples or pears.
Farmer has orchards covering his farm, always made a good living from it, then one day, the supermarket decides to slash the apple price and pay the farmer less. What does the farmer do?
Sell somewhere else?
Cut all the trees down and plant something else?
What if they decide to buy apples in from abroad instead?
Or, as they did with eggs, what if they decide to offer the farmer one price for apples, but then buy them in from abroad at a higher price rather than offer the UK grower a higher price.
The plans and scheming beggars belief

But farmers are often their own worse enemies, sell cattle and sheep dead weight and don't even get me started on milk .

Hampton · Apr 9, 2023

robs1 said:
But farmers are often their own worse enemies, sell cattle and sheep dead weight and don't even get me started on milk .

To be fair though rob, I sell the dairy cross cattle I buy in as stores deadweight. I used to sell them live, but I think I was averaging £200 less. Did it for years then switched. What’s the point in being a martyr when all your neighbours sell dead?

I do sell the homebred sucklers live however

melted welly · Apr 9, 2023

There’s some old films on YouTube, wish I could remember what the titles were, of Uk ag in 60s or early 70s and there’s piles of apples getting dumped, the last tomato grower on (maybe) Isle of Wight shutting up shop, greenhouses empty, rotting away, cress farm too. Sad to see what was being lost. No supermarket cartel back then, just the market and govt policy.

Tarw Coch · Apr 9, 2023

melted welly said:
There’s some old films on YouTube, wish I could remember what the titles were, of Uk ag in 60s or early 70s and there’s piles of apples getting dumped, the last tomato grower on (maybe) Isle of Wight shutting up shop, greenhouses empty, rotting away, cress farm too. Sad to see what was being lost. No supermarket cartel back then, just the market and govt policy.

The tomato grower on the isle of white packing up rings a bell as being on one of the series mud sweat and tractors

Turnip · Apr 9, 2023

Hampton said:
The conversation has been about veg, but imagine it’s about apples or pears.
Farmer has orchards covering his farm, always made a good living from it, then one day, the supermarket decides to slash the apple price and pay the farmer less. What does the farmer do?
Sell somewhere else?
Cut all the trees down and plant something else?
What if they decide to buy apples in from abroad instead?
Or, as they did with eggs, what if they decide to offer the farmer one price for apples, but then buy them in from abroad at a higher price rather than offer the UK grower a higher price.
The plans and scheming beggars belief

Funny that you drag up a 6 month comment on the day that I was thinking about this thread as well. Heard a statistic today on the radio that the food market in the UK is split 60% retail (supermarkets) and 40% wholesale. So selling somewhere else is definitely an option. Cutting down trees for firewood and convert to arable is another one. Converting the orchard to a camping is another one.
As I mentioned I don't have the answers but there are always options.

Hampton · Apr 9, 2023

Turnip said:
Funny that you drag up a 6 month comment on the day that I was thinking about this thread as well. Heard a statistic today on the radio that the food market in the UK is split 60% retail (supermarkets) and 40% wholesale. So selling somewhere else is definitely an option. Cutting down trees for firewood and convert to arable is another one. Converting the orchard to a camping is another one.
As I mentioned I don't have the answers but there are always options.

Of course, but is cutting down apple orchards for firewood a good option?
Seems very short term to me.
(And this is happening)

delilah · Apr 10, 2023

Turnip said:
Funny that you drag up a 6 month comment on the day that I was thinking about this thread as well. Heard a statistic today on the radio that the food market in the UK is split 60% retail (supermarkets) and 40% wholesale. So selling somewhere else is definitely an option. Cutting down trees for firewood and convert to arable is another one. Converting the orchard to a camping is another one.
As I mentioned I don't have the answers but there are always options.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001kwrn

If not got time to listen to all of it, just skip to Tim Lang from 28.30. First indication that he is getting there.

delilah · Apr 10, 2023

onesiedale said:
That must have been some seriously old honey!
our trading standards accepts 20 year shelf life on honey.

In a previous life I collected the waste from a high end preserves factory. The margin on buying in 25kg barrels of honey and scooping into tiny glass jars must have been phenomenal.
The job was quite an eye opener into where some of the 'local' jam brands sold around the UK are made, you will know one of them

.

wr. · Apr 10, 2023

onesiedale said:
That must have been some seriously old honey!
our trading standards accepts 20 year shelf life on honey.

It's all in small jars now and it's beautiful on my toast in the morning. Damn, they've found honey in the tombs in Egypt which is still edible.

DaveGrohl · Apr 10, 2023

delilah said:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001kwrn

If not got time to listen to all of it, just skip to Tim Lang from 28.30. First indication that he is getting there.

Given that it says the programme is 29 mins long it seems like he’s getting there for a very brief period of time. I take it you put the wrong time?

delilah · Apr 10, 2023

DaveGrohl said:
Given that it says the programme is 29 mins long it seems like he’s getting there for a very brief period of time. I take it you put the wrong time?

Apologies. 26.30.

Humble Village Farmer · Apr 10, 2023

Hampton said:
To be fair though rob, I sell the dairy cross cattle I buy in as stores deadweight. I used to sell them live, but I think I was averaging £200 less. Did it for years then switched. What’s the point in being a martyr when all your neighbours sell dead?

I do sell the homebred sucklers live however

Because when all the liveweight options have gone, supermarkets will control that market too.

When they do, you will be selling for the cost of production.

delilah · Apr 10, 2023

Humble Village Farmer said:
When they do, you will be selling for the cost of production.

And throwing the carbon in for nothing.

Hampton · Apr 10, 2023

I agree with both of you, but it’s over £200 per animal. Basically, that’s the profit. Put them in the live ring and the same buyers buy them.
I did it for years. Sent them dead for last 2 years. I do around 100-120 per year dairy blues. That’s 20-24k per year.
Martyr

Henarar · Apr 10, 2023

Humble Village Farmer said:
Because when all the liveweight options have gone, supermarkets will control that market too.

When they do, you will be selling for the cost of production.

yep, just as well sell up and work for them properly like

Humble Village Farmer · Apr 10, 2023

Hampton said:
I agree with both of you, but it’s over £200 per animal. Basically, that’s the profit. Put them in the live ring and the same buyers buy them.
I did it for years. Sent them dead for last 2 years. I do around 100-120 per year dairy blues. That’s 20-24k per year.
Martyr

I know, it's very difficult. We're all guilty of going to the corporates because it's easy.

Henarar · Apr 10, 2023

Humble Village Farmer said:
I know, it's very difficult. We're all guilty of going to the corporates because it's easy.

Not sure I have, not RT so can't sell to a lot direct, the ones I can tend to be smaller outfits but they are getting taken over

yellow belly · Apr 10, 2023

Turnip said:
Funny that you drag up a 6 month comment on the day that I was thinking about this thread as well. Heard a statistic today on the radio that the food market in the UK is split 60% retail (supermarkets) and 40% wholesale. So selling somewhere else is definitely an option. Cutting down trees for firewood and convert to arable is another one. Converting the orchard to a camping is another one.
As I mentioned I don't have the answers but there are always options.

the option is stewardship that pays £200 an acre or more for wild life

or as one block of 1500 acres of land near here was bought by city money for rewilding

wheat under £200 a tonne the above option are more profitable on some land

but weather could make next years crop prices look better with hindsight in 2024

Old apprentice · Apr 10, 2023

Minnet wants WLA, that will be rt, to stop finishers buying at livestock auctions then the corporate will put the screws on when auction infrastructure starts to colapse.

Tesco Funded Study Blames Farmers for Food Waste

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0 %

Up to 25%

25-50%

50-75%

75-100%

100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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