Farmers take milk off shelves at large supermarkets Re price of milk

[easy-lift guy]

Excuse my ignorance but I just don't have a clue how any of this works!

 

It costs a farmer say £1 to produce x amount of milk supermarkets pay him 80p, they sell it for£1.20 but say it is a loss leader! Are the farmers tied into selling it to the supermarkets at a loss? If so why can't they all get out and start again. Surely a few days stopping milk production might do the trick.

 

The term loss leader is somewhat dubious. Claiming lost leaders by selling products at cost or below cost is actually not true since all chains fudge the numbers to cover the actual cost of products purchased from suppliers and in turn sold to consumers. What one has to understand is that grocery stores sell thousands of products at fractional percentages to earn either a gross or net profit. Most of the better run grocery stores here state side opperate at slightly above a net profit after all expenses. The lesser more poorly run chains tend to feed off one another and the quality of product and price for goods speaks for it's self. Because the British Government heavily subsidizes many different industries the true cost to produce say a liter of milk will never be known by the general public and quite honestly if said price was stated with no price supports in place or imports of milk from other countries the milk industry would dry up very quickly. Allowing price supports or quotes to come into play along with importing milk and milk products from other countries only makes matters worse for the english producers and consumers. Since the government has the ability to control supply and demand by artificial creating demand for goods and services by way of quotes and price supports the plight of the producers of finished goods and consumers of said goods will always be in doubt. The stores and the producers are part of the problem and since the citizens seem oblivious to the consequences of their actions or lack there of, the status quo will continue until the country either runs out of natural resources or funds to keep everyone fat and sassy. When that happens things really start to become interesting:sneaky2:

easy-lift guy

[mendiplogs]

Excuse my ignorance but I just don't have a clue how any of this works!

 

It costs a farmer say £1 to produce x amount of milk supermarkets pay him 80p, they sell it for£1.20 but say it is a loss leader! Are the farmers tied into selling it to the supermarkets at a loss? If so why can't they all get out and start again. Surely a few days stopping milk production might do the trick.

 

Hi meterh some farmers get 25p per LT others as low as 18p per LT IT LIKE BUYING HARD WOOD AT SAY £50)60 green timber per ton into yard then selling for £70 per 1:5SQ MT there's only one way that's going to go and that's down hill fast thanks Jon

[Graham w]

Excuse my ignorance but I just don't have a clue how any of this works!

 

It costs a farmer say £1 to produce x amount of milk supermarkets pay him 80p, they sell it for£1.20 but say it is a loss leader! Are the farmers tied into selling it to the supermarkets at a loss? If so why can't they all get out and start again. Surely a few days stopping milk production might do the trick.

 

the herd will still need milked to prevent mistitus

 

 

also if you were to restock dairy farms to produce beef you would flood the beef market. that would lead to falling prices e.g. hardwood at £20 a cube everywhere but nobody wants it

[hamdogg]

Excuse my ignorance but I just don't have a clue how any of this works!

 

 

 

It costs a farmer say £1 to produce x amount of milk supermarkets pay him 80p, they sell it for£1.20 but say it is a loss leader! Are the farmers tied into selling it to the supermarkets at a loss? If so why can't they all get out and start again. Surely a few days stopping milk production might do the trick.

 

 

The thing is, like some said the cows need to be milked! And there is a lot of contracts where the farmers have to sell the there Dairys, also once the cows have been milked and you have a full tank of milk, if you are refusing to sell the milk, what are you going to do with it? As there not allowed to tip it down the drain or spread it on the land, huge fines, it's only if every farmer in the country did it, they wouldn't be able to do much about it!! Vicious circle really!

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

the herd will still need milked to prevent mistitus

 

 

 

 

 

it

 

 

That's a consequence of selective stock manipulation (or GM to put it another way)

 

They'd need milking because they've been bread for intensive (over) production. There's absolutely nothing says you HAVE to sell your product though.

[hamdogg]

That's a consequence of selective stock manipulation (or GM to put it another way)

 

They'd need milking because they've been bread for intensive (over) production. There's absolutely nothing says you HAVE to sell your product though.

 

 

Like I said in my comment, what to do with the milk??

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

Like I said in my comment, what to do with the milk??

 

I genuinely don't "get" this whole scenario....

 

Maybe it's self destructive stubbornness, but if I had something for sale and the person wanting to buy it didn't offer what I was happy to part with it for, I wouldn't sell it.

 

Pour it away. After a week or so the supply chain would dry up and the retailers would be screaming for product.

 

Is that just too simplistic?

 

I know of a farmer local that was penalised for having his swedes just a fraction too big to fit through the sizing hoop so the buyer tried to hit him with a penalty price. He said no thanks and turned the sheep in to eat the lot rather than accept the lower price. They do make 'em stubborn in Cornwall mind!

[mendiplogs]

I genuinely don't "get" this whole scenario....

 

Maybe it's self destructive stubbornness, but if I had something for sale and the person wanting to buy it didn't offer what I was happy to part with it for, I wouldn't sell it.

 

Pour it away. After a week or so the supply chain would dry up and the retailers would be screaming for product.

 

Is that just too simplistic?

 

I know of a farmer local that was penalised for having his swedes just a fraction too big to fit through the sizing hoop so the buyer tried to hit him with a penalty price. He said no thanks and turned the sheep in to eat the lot rather than accept the lower price. They do make 'em stubborn in Cornwall mind!

 

Hi Kevin if you do not get it then come to Somerset and talk with farmers here thanks Jon

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

We got plenty here Jon.

 

You hit the nail on the head earlier, you wouldn't keep selling logs if you were paying more to buy them in and process them than you could make selling them.

 

Perhaps we just have too much milk?

[Graham w]

That's a consequence of selective stock manipulation (or GM to put it another way)

 

.

 

thats true dairy cows are at the highest risk but any cow with an open udder that isnt worked either milked or feeding calfs is at high risk from mistitus. it can be prevented by pumping the cow full of penicillin this works with beef cattle but not sure if thats good for milk