Dairy Farmers are not 'milking it'

lisyloo

I'd like to know what is different between dairy farms and say glove factories, shoe factories or coal mines.
One argument is animals involved, another is exposure to import prices, stewardship of the countryside?
Anymore reasons to explain why dairy farmers are a special case for protection from global trade?

CLAPTON

lisyloo wrote: »

I'd like to know what is different between dairy farms and say glove factories, shoe factories or coal mines.
One argument is animals involved, another is exposure to import prices, stewardship of the countryside?
Anymore reasons to explain why dairy farmers are a special case for protection from global trade?

simple

farmers are entitled to 'fair' prices
whilst glove manufacturers are not

it's universal truth which requires faith to fully understand

SkyeKnight

This has been going on for years and years - so how come anyone is still making milk? As lisyloo points out, there is no particular reason to shield milk producers from capitalism and no-one else - but then no-one else goes on making a product for a huge loss year after year. So, I have a couple of theories:
(1) The price paid for milk is less than the cost of production. Fine, but don't they also get EU subsidies - so if the subsidies are high enough then you would expect to buy milk for less than its production cost? Any idea how much extra money farmers get? The linked BBC article just says it costs 62p to make 4 pints and they are paid 48p (which surely no-one could afford for more than one year).
(2) Most farmers are actually making a profit and it's just the more inefficient farms that are losing money?

No idea otherwise why we have been getting these headlines for about a decade now.

SkyeKnight

This certainly way pre-dates any milk embargo by Russia, for example in 2003:
http://www.themilitant.com/2003/6743/674310.html
They were apparently receiving 18p per litre which cost 20p to produce.

chewmylegoff

A few nights ago there was a report on the news showing farmers protesting about milk prices in a sainsbury's carpark. One of them had bought a calf on a bit of rope and put a sign around its neck which said "is there a future for me".

It reminded me rather of tube drivers pretending to strike over health and safety concerns. "I don't care about myself but won't someone please think about the baby cows....oh the bovinamity".

gazter

Also the price of oil plays a major part of this, the price of agricultural commodities are directly connected to the price of oil...

skintpaul

Should customers boycott all the supermarkets, until they give dairies a better deal?

Pennies to the big boys, but could mean all the difference to farmers.

chewmylegoff

skintpaul wrote: »

Should customers boycott all the supermarkets, until they give dairies a better deal?

Pennies to the big boys, but could mean all the difference to farmers.

Why should consumers take action to force supermarkets to pay more than the market price for milk? Should we also boycott supermarkets to force them to buy other products for more than their market price and pass those cost increases on to us? Petrol? Water? Oranges? Chocolate? Should we go further and petition other businesses to pay their supplies more?

If not then why must milk specifically be protected from competition?

CLAPTON

skintpaul wrote: »

Should customers boycott all the supermarkets, until they give dairies a better deal?

Pennies to the big boys, but could mean all the difference to farmers.

maybe people could just send a few percent of their income to the local farmers
you know the ones that make footpaths unusable, don't maintain styles etc

Thrugelmir

That old chestnut. Buy British.

Government should supply it to schools for free again. Would help reduce kids drinking all those sugared drinks.