Food for Thought

Personally, I thought today was a run-of-the-mill kind of Tuesday. But according to a press release I have just received: "This is a great day."

The reason? Well, today is the launch of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and the six sector companies who will decide how levy money is spent in the future.

It has been a couple of years coming, but the idea is that reforming the levy organisations will bring better value for money, more transparency and cut out duplication. As part of this all of the groups concerned will move to Stoneleigh, Warks in April 2009 and share a common site.

So it is really a 'great day'?

In truth it is probably a bit soon to make such a bold claim. It is still not clear exactly what changes will be seen at a grassroots level as a result of these reforms and it will probably take months before anything exciting can happen.

But at least the infrastructure is now in place to bring about change and DairyCo is already hinting that in time this could include levy cuts.

And if it - and the other sector bodies - can deliver what the industry needs, but for less money, then that has got to be a 'great day'.

The news that supermarkets and milk processors have agreed to pay £116m in fines because of their involvement in retail price initiatives is getting afrmers talking on FWiSpace.

Here's the OFT's full statement:

Following the OFT's Statement of Objections (SO) of 20 September 2007 which provisionally found evidence of collusion between certain large supermarkets (Asda, Morrisons, Safeway, Sainsbury's and Tesco) and dairy processors (Arla, Dairy Crest, Lactalis McLelland, The Cheese Company (formerly Glanbia Foods Limited) and Wiseman) on the retail prices of some dairy products, certain of these parties have now admitted involvement in anti-competitive practices and have agreed to pay individual penalties which, combined, come to a maximum of over £116 million.

With a view to maintaining strong and effective competition law, the OFT will continue with its case against the remaining parties.

The SO set out the OFT's provisional findings that certain large supermarkets and dairy processors have colluded to increase the retail prices of one or more of liquid milk, value butter and UK produced cheese. The OFT's provisional findings were that the collusion took place through the sharing of commercially sensitive information in 2002 and, in some cases, in 2003. Details on the scope of the OFT's infringement allegations are set out below.

The OFT has now concluded early resolution agreements with Asda, Dairy Crest, Safeway (in relation to conduct prior to its acquisition by Morrisons), Sainsbury's, The Cheese Company and Wiseman based upon the provisional findings made in the SO. These parties have all admitted involvement in certain of the anti-competitive practices identified by the OFT in the SO and have undertaken to co-operate fully with the OFT in its investigation, including providing further evidence as far as reasonably possible.

These parties have accepted a liability in principle, and will pay penalties which amount to a maximum of over £116 million. However each party will receive a significant reduction in the financial penalty that would otherwise have been imposed on it, on condition that it continues to provide full co-operation.

The OFT has also taken into account information provided by the parties involved in the early resolution discussions which demonstrated the pressures they were under at this time to support dairy farmers.

Earlier in the year, Farmers Weekly started an initiative which we called The Big Debate. The idea was to take a controversial farming subject, set out the arguments surrounding the issue and then let readers decide the final verdict.

The first question we asked was about wind turbines but now we’ve come up with our second. We’re asking farmers: Have the past 50 years left a good or bad legacy for UK farming?

I admit that it is not an easy question to answer. When I first read Matthew Naylor’s article which argues that the past 50 years have left a bad legacy for UK farming I found myself agreeing. But then I read former NFU president Lord Plumb’s countering article and found myself agreeing with him too.

This could mean that I’m not very decisive. But what I’d prefer to think it that it is because the issue is not clear cut and there are pluses and minuses on both sides.

There's a really interesting thread developing on the FWiSpace discussion forums about which was the best era in which to farm.

Ian Ashbridge on Alastair Darling's nasty surprise for farmers

At first, it looked so benign. Alistair Darling's first pre-budget report had the ring of a fairly unoriginal, but standard-grade piece of school work. He repeated a lot of what Gordon Brown had said in March, nicked a few ideas from the Tories, put the words "I have decided..." in front of them and sat down with a smirk. I gave it a 'C'.

But once the Conservatives had expended their considerable - and not unforgivable - reserves of righteous indignation, we started to see just what Alistair Darling had really meant. And it wasn't pretty.

Post from FW's arable editor Robert Harris:

Brussels’ decision to approve zero set-aside for this autumn and next spring’s drillings is no real surprise.

But at least the official rubber stamp removes any lingering uncertainty and will allow those growers who wish to return their fields to production to push on in good time and establish the crop of their choice.

Officials, and indeed our own farming leaders, deserve credit for speeding the process along.

The quick decision is an attempt to boost cereal production; indeed, EU ministers hope it will climb by 10m tonnes next harvest, easing the tight feel to the market.

But, with the market having already factored this in, don’t expect prices to ease on the back of this ruling.

Meanwhile, longer-term decisions about the set-aside’s future will kick off in late November as part of the CAP Health Check. Watch this space.

It's been astonishing to watch cereals prices accelerate in quite the spectacular way they have in recent months.

Of course there was a good case for some strengthening in values. Global stocks are at an all-time low, America is throwing up bioethanol factories like they're going out of fashion. And a series of weather problems have pared down harvest not just in the UK and Europe, but in Canada, Australia and elsewhere.

It's great to buy your groceries on-line but there's been a hiccup in East Sussex. An order placed on 20 August cannot be delivered until 30 August due apparently to lack of staff.

A young mum in Uckfield with a four year old and a 10 day old baby was telephoned by the great supermarket Tesco and told that she could go and collect her shopping from Lewes almost 10 miles away.

Unable to drive for six weeks, she has had to make alternative arrangements - So much for Every Little Helps!

According to a recent survey by the insurance group UNUM of nearly 1000 workers, only 43% were satified with career progression opportunities.

This has got me thinking about farming - and sadly career development opportunities are still thin on the ground for some employees.

If we want to attract and retain the most talented youngsters into our sector, we need to offer them all the opportunities for self development and advancement that other industries do.

Some farmers and farm managers appreciate this - I suspect some however take the view:
Work hard here for five years lad, then you might get to drive the old (small) tractor.

Farming’s a tough industry, full of tough people. You have to be to cope with the ups and downs. Feed wheat at £130/t and foot and mouth, in the same week! Drought stricken crops in April and a deluge in July! Most people would simply give up.

But the great thing about farming is that tough people grapple with tough times and succeed. The only worry is that tough people are getting worn down by people who seem to lack commitment, who have jobs that are 9-5, who invest no personal equity in their occupations. All too often they seem to clash horrifically with the enthusiasts who invest everything in doing the job properly.

Maybe that helps explain the frustration welling up in farmhouses across the land, as the inability of government agencies.......

WHEN dread livestock disease foot and mouth led last Friday’s Ten O’Clock News Farmers Weekly journalists knew it would be no ordinary weekend – not for farmers, not for farming and not for farm journalists either.

For many it was an unwelcome rewind to March 2001 and the devastating foot and mouth epidemic that followed, claiming 7m animals, costing the UK £8bn and forcing many farmers from the industry.

Within half an hour a core team of FW journalists was hard at work, establishing facts and loading information onto the FWi web-site. Our new FWiSpace on-line forum was used to field questions from worried farmers. Journalists chased contacts until well after midnight.

First thing Saturday the team reconvened in FW’s south London newsroom. Newsgathering

A couple of nights ago EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel made a speech to a dairy conference in Brussels in which she praised the booming state of the EU dairy market.
"All too often in the past I've found myself defending policies in a given agricultural sector when prices were low and farmers were unhappy," she said.
"No one would claim that dairy prices are in difficulties at the moment. They have been riding so high that we have been able to set all dairy refunds at zero, for the first time since they were introduced."
As far as commodity markets are concerned, she is right. Skimmed milk powder is up 47% on last year to £2000/t, whole milk powder is up 53% to £2300/t. Butter is up 12% to £1900/t
But Mrs Fischer Boel is deluding herself if she thinks British dairy farmers are also "riding high".
Their prices are still stuck at around 19p/litre, meaning the average producer is still losing about 2.5p on every litre he produces.
Which begs the question, where is the profit from the booming dairy market going? Retailers do not appear to be raising their prices to consumers. Could it be that processors are pocketing the profits? What do you think?

Farmers Weekly is holding out for a hero. We have joined forces with the NFU to seek a farming champion. As part of the 2007 Farmers Weekly Awards, we are looking for someone worthy of the title NFU Farming Champion.

For years, shoppers and politicans have taken low food prices for granted. But now weather worries around the world are making it increasingly difficult to ignore how vulnerable our food supplies can be. The latest chapter in this undoubtedly long saga was opened this week by the National Office of Statistics. Its latest report on food prices

People put hours of thought into ways possible ways to diversify their business and put their assets to best use. But have you considered that your most valuable asset might be you?

The six sector companies which will replace the levy boards in 2008 are looking from top-quality individuals to apply for positions on their boards. They are positions which will put you at the forefront of deciding how the millions raised by collecting statutory levies are actually spent. They could also earn you £500/month.

Many people will assume that they won't be considered because they aren't well-connected or are inexperienced in that kind of arena. But what the sector companies really need is enthusiastic people who understand the sector and the wider challenges they face. They are also keen for some new younger faces.

You may consider yourself an 'ordinary' farmer, but don't rule yourself out of the running. You've everything to gain by putting in an application and absolutely nothing to lose.

Entrepreneurship has dominated farming's history.

From Robert Bakewell to Turnip Townsend, people in agriculture have consistently developed new ideas into successful businesses. And then subsidies came along.

Henry Fell, chairman of the Commercial Farmers Union, makes an unlikely Cassandra. Remember the mythical Trojan blessed with the gift of prophesy but cursed because no one would believe her? I couldn't help thinking of Cassandra as Henry Fell spoke during the Agricultural Engineers' Association conference in London on Tuesday.

Next week sees the launch of the Great Milk Debate - the National Federation Womens' Institutes has teamed up with the National Farmers' Union to bring awareness to the general public of the plight of the dairy industry. Farmers, milk processors and retailers wills have the opportunity to face the public.

Over 90 meetings throughout the country have been planned and some have already taken place - over 90 people attended a debate at Hailsham in East Sussex.

Is all this too little too late? Having the W.I on your side has got to be a good thing - remember their slow hand clapping Mr Blair a few years ago?

What you can do......

What a glorious Easter weekend we have enjoyed in the south-east. Most of us have staggered back in to sunny Sutton -how different life is here in suburbia to where some of us went walking in the Brede Valley.

We parked at Jempsons an unusual superstore at Peasmarsh and explored the East Sussex hills between Rye and Northiam.

It is so refreshing to see that there are still a few independent stores in the country for people unable to spend a day away from the shops but also fantastic to know that you can still go walking in this overcrowded country of ours and see nobody else for hours except an enthusiastic farmer mending a fence and putting in a new stile for keen ramblers Thanks to him and many others who still work while we play!

It is said that you know you are getting old when policemen start looking younger than you.

But does that also apply to retailers? Meet Tesco's dairy team - one of the most powerful groups in the country...

A colleague took a phone call last week from a Tesco spokeswoman saying that they would have an announcement this week which we "might be interested in". Talk about underselling it!

Tesco's decision to pay more to 150 farmers supply local milk and to offer dedicated milk supply contracts to about 850 producers and a base price of 22 pence per litre is a real breakthrough.

Although it will only directly impact on 1000 farmers the benefits should be felt through the whole of the dairy industry. The market leader has moved and hopefully others will follow.

It's not the whole solution - what about milk going into other dairy products like cheese and butter? Don't farmers supplying those markets need a sustainable price too?

Nor is it as ground-breaking as Tesco would like us to believe. Haven't M&S, Waitrose and even Asda being doing similar things for some time?

But if the rest of the retailers follow suit then it could mark the start of a much brighter future for the dairy industry.

Three cheers for Farmhouse Breakfast Week which began on January 21. Organised by the Home-Grown Cereals Authority and backed by Food from Britain, this year's event sparked more than 1,000 media articles, valued at £3.3m, all promoting British breakfast ingredients.

Every 12 seconds another fly-tipped fridge, freezer, settee or other rubbish is dumped in our countryside, writes FW deputy editor Mike Stones. Nearly 2.5m incidents of unlawful rubbish dumping were recorded in the year to April 2006. And the cost to local authorities, let alone farmers, was just under £100m.

They are stark statistics and it's time to call a halt to the cost, to the inconvenience and to the grief. That's why Farmers Weekly is backing the Countryside Alliance's new campaign Fly-tipping - scrap it.

I've just had a funny turn in the local branch of Morrisons supermarket. I was loitering around the cooking oils section (as I sometimes do when things are quiet on the mag) checking to see whether they were stocking British cold-pressed rapeseed oil.

Ask any teacher why they do the job and they'll tell you more or less the same thing - that there's something tremendously fulfilling about imparting knowledge to enthusiastic pupils. And when that child goes away with a clearer understanding of the way the world works, you feel as if you're really achieving something.
What has this to do with farmers? We're not suggesting you open a school on the farm (although a few people have done that). But what you could do is think about taking part in this year's Open Farm Sunday bash on June 10.

The World Bank wants the US to cut its tariff on ethanol imports: That's the subject of a recent post on Simon Robinson's excellent Big Biofuels Blog, writes FW deputy editor Mike Stones. It refers to mounting pressure on the US to remove its 54 cent per gallon duty imposed on imported ethanaol. Yet US energy secretary Samuel Bodman pledged only recently to retain the duty despite international opposition. "No one in the administration is looking to end the tariff ore subsidy prematurely (certainly not before the end of 2008), " he is reported as saying. So much for free trade in the Land of the Free.

It sometimes seems as if there is never any good news for the farming industry. But today there is – if you are in Scotland.

The Scottish Executive has announced that it is going to introduce legislation forcing all catering outlets to declare the country of origin of the beef they serve.

With one in five people regularly choosing to eat out, rather than stay at home and cook, it is an important step forward.

Research shows that country of origin is important to the public when it comes to meat and many diners assume they are being served domestically-produced beef when they are out, even when they are not. Now they are going to know.

The industry’s response to DEFRA's latest farm income figures has been lukewarm and rightly so.

The figures do show an increase in the Total Income from Farming and in average farm incomes. But when you look at the figures in more detail they are pretty dismal.

Average net farm income per cereals farm for 2006/7 is estimated at £27,900 but the figure for lowland grazing livestock farms is just £7,700 and the figure for hill livestock producers only £9,300.

Welcome to Farmers Weekly’s new blog which aims to give you an insight into the latest news and views from the world of food and farming.

I’m Isabel Davies and I have worked on the newsdesk of Farmers Weekly for over seven years. But I should warn you that I am not going to be only person posting here…

The idea is that this is an FW team blog where our journalists can pitch in from wherever they are in the world. This means you are going to find people posting from key events such as the SIMA show in Paris in March or the Cereals event in June.