Black Top Milk scheme launched by the Free Range Milk Marketing Board

[JP1]

Mentioned on R4 Farming Today this morning

There is a subscription report on The Grocer but I found this video article :

https://www.facebook.com/midlandstoday/videos/vb.21263239760/10154875181174761/?type=2&theater

 

[More to life]

@runny egg is this you?

 

[jockthethistle]

SID is probably out trying to buy some as we read about it ... jtt

 

[Sid]

At last its taken long enough to get there!

700 farmers signed up...700 million litres to sell at a 25% premium the builders and machinery dealers will be rubbing there hands with glee!

 

[RobFZS]

Took some time, but time to get behind it.

 

[RobFZS]

At last its taken long enough to get there!

700 farmers signed up...700 million litres to sell at a 25% premium the builders and machinery dealers will be rubbing there hands with glee!

The ones that are left anyway..

 

[buffalo_soldier]

Off and running then, bet there is a fair few processors watching how this goes.

 

[jockthethistle]

I hope they can convince the public to pay £2 a pint for it .. while getting it delivered in glass bottles to the door step .. Non homogenized as well .. while black birds may be excited about this prospect .. they will be disappointed as bottle tops won't be made of foil .. good luck guys .. jtt.

 

[Farmer1001]

Yes we launched it to the media, trade, retail and NFU representatives on Tuesday ahead of the public launch tomorrow. Further facts and info available across all spectrums of social media. We took as long as required to get the campaign designed, planned and ready for launch rather than rush a job, and now its out there. The objective is and always has been as follows. Capitalise on the market opportunity of "free range" milk; overall demand for ALL eggs has grown by 20% and value went up by a staggering 50% since FR came in, caged, barn and enriched have NOT dropped over the period. Communicate direct with consumers about how damn good British dairy farming is - where is the voice on our behalf? Contracts - influence change within the culture to get away from contracts that allow buyers to change prices and you cant opt out before they take affect, these contracts ONLY exist in dairy farm supply, retailers buy from processors on forward fixed term prices but processors gamble on buying as cheap as possible, our standard contract is fixed prices for 12 months with 3 month notice periods if you wish to leave and not renew, we can sell forward so we can buy forward - simple!

There are a host of farmer meetings starting week after next across the country to encourage support for a scheme designed to add value and demand for British milk, we do this then we all benefit regardless of whos milk is in the bottle based on competition between processors to hang onto farmers. We have been working tirelessly behind the scenes with consumer groups and retailers about how best to roll this out; and yes retailers are seriously interested which is why some were represented on Tuesday. The 25% price increase quoted by the report on the radio is slightly misleading; what he asked was do consumers buy on price or would they pay more for a product they value? 2015 YouGov poll found 86% would and 83% expected it to come from cows in fields, the real message here is that consumers do support farmers but we dont exploit this relationship. What we farmers need to do is get behind this, an attitude of "lets see how we can make this work" rather than "lets see how this can fail". The conversations behind closed doors about the future of the industry is seriously worrying unless we grasp the nettle; when one market analyst tells you "the next down turn will be far more brutal than the last if we carry on as we are" then its time to sit up. The reality is no one in the market is making an effort to trade milk any different now than in the past and we know where that got us, add Brexit with possible tariff free imports of dairy and no BPS and you can see where he is coming from. For detailed info on how the milk is handled and processed then please come to the farmer meetings, these will be advertised across the social networks. I wont have the time to do a running commentary on here. Thanks for the support; but we need it more than ever, never know if you shout loud enough then buyers may panic and offer great contracts to hang on to you guys - and that can only be a good thing!

 

[Farmer1001]

I hope they can convince the public to pay £2 a pint for it .. while getting it delivered in glass bottles to the door step .. Non homogenized as well .. while black birds may be excited about this prospect .. they will be disappointed as bottle tops won't be made of foil .. good luck guys .. jtt.

JTT, 25% on top of 2 litres currently sold at 89p/2 litres or 25p/pint will see the milk at 32p/pint - doesnt look that bad?

 

[jerseycowsman]

@runny egg
I graze my cows "free range" for as long as possible because it is cheaper, not necessarily because the welfare of my cows is better than someone who keeps their cows in all year. I don't really think you can compare caged birds to housed cows. I feel slightly uncomfortable using that as a selling point.
Please don't take this as a negative comment, I congratulate you on trying to promote good British food.

 

[Farmer1001]

@runny egg
I graze my cows "free range" for as long as possible because it is cheaper, not necessarily because the welfare of my cows is better than someone who keeps their cows in all year. I don't really think you can compare caged birds to housed cows. I feel slightly uncomfortable using that as a selling point.
Please don't take this as a negative comment, I congratulate you on trying to promote good British food.

We dont compare or use this as a selling point to consumers, my message was how the egg market as a whole benefited from the concept of FR and how we could as well. You wont find us comparing systems in order to gain market. Hope that clarifies.

 

[RastaBoy]

What I like is the fact this makes it very clear it's not knocking the indoor system which I find hugely refreshing.

 

[Agrispeed]

https://www.facebook.com/midlandstoday/videos/vb.21263239760/10154875181174761/?type=2&theater

The comments on that are quite errr... interesting.

Although it is interesting to see that most of the negative comments are on (perceived!) rich farmers and poor welfare...

 

[Sid]

The comments on that are quite errr... interesting.

Although it is interesting to see that most of the negative comments are on (perceived!) rich farmers and poor welfare...

Interesting? Uneducated more like. How do we educate them? God knows.

 

[Farmer1001]

A good place to start is to stop with saying consumers need educating and talking about them as if they are aliens, saying consumers need educating implies they are uneducated, as in thick. They know what they know because we dont tell them any different, we farmers need to educate ourselves as to the demands of the modern day consumer, respond to the demand, explain what we do and you may be surprised they actually do listen, not all but enough to make a difference. Egg producers did and so should we, afterall no consumer = no need for a dairy farmer. I just got back from Canada where I struggled to find retail milk under £1/litre, even with quotas etc you still need a consumer prepared to value dairy and pay for it. I could say we have so much to learn, what I would rather say is the opportunities are massive if we could just see them. Grab the nettle and go for it, you might find its doesnt actually sting!

 

[Sid]

A good place to start is to stop with saying consumers need educating and talking about them as if they are aliens, saying consumers need educating implies they are uneducated, as in thick. They know what they know because we dont tell them any different, we farmers need to educate ourselves as to the demands of the modern day consumer, respond to the demand, explain what we do and you may be surprised they actually do listen, not all but enough to make a difference. Egg producers did and so should we, afterall no consumer = no need for a dairy farmer. I just got back from Canada where I struggled to find retail milk under £1/litre, even with quotas etc you still need a consumer prepared to value dairy and pay for it. I could say we have so much to learn, what I would rather say is the opportunities are massive if we could just see them. Grab the nettle and go for it, you might find its doesnt actually sting!

I did not say they were thick i said they were uneducated.
The definition of uneducated is -uninstructed, unenlightened, uninformed.
The consumer always finds it hard to believe anything the farming industry says as it been fed too many sob stories in the past and never any good news ones. I have been involved with marketing campaigns before and have dealt with consumers misunderstandings and expectations.
Perhaps with the premiums you are gaining, at last only 5 months later than you said, you can educate the consumer on the merits of dairy,the whys and wherefores of dairy production and how it works with the environment. Oh and don't run down other production systems or the indoor guys will be after you. Good luck you'll need it and more money than you will ever dream of!

 

[Coo man]

So the milk will be contract processed but is there any retailers actually interested in selling it yet?

 

[RastaBoy]

A good place to start is to stop with saying consumers need educating and talking about them as if they are aliens, saying consumers need educating implies they are uneducated, as in thick. They know what they know because we dont tell them any different, we farmers need to educate ourselves as to the demands of the modern day consumer, respond to the demand, explain what we do and you may be surprised they actually do listen, not all but enough to make a difference. Egg producers did and so should we, afterall no consumer = no need for a dairy farmer. I just got back from Canada where I struggled to find retail milk under £1/litre, even with quotas etc you still need a consumer prepared to value dairy and pay for it. I could say we have so much to learn, what I would rather say is the opportunities are massive if we could just see them. Grab the nettle and go for it, you might find its doesnt actually sting!

Whilst I agree with your comments and welcome your direct no nonsense approach do these consumers need that info. Surely the simple fact these cows graze grass is enough for them. I don't actually think that many care. I'm amazed at the positive response from our customers to paying more to help us.

 

[unlacedgecko]

Interesting? Uneducated more like. How do we educate them? God knows.

I rent tack ground from a nearby dairy farmer. He has a zero grazed system with robots.

7 or 8 times a year 20 plus children (and appropriate supervision) arrive for a guided tour. He has done this for the past 20 plus years. This maybe a good start?