TASK FORCESSUGGESTIONS
TASK FORCESSUGGESTIONS
The UK milk industry has been closely scrutinised by the
government commissioned Milk Task Force, which published
its report in January. Many recommendations call for
research or direct action from the Milk Development Council,
so Jessica Buss asked what action it planned to take
MANY of the recommendations in the Milk Task Force report fall within the remit of MDC and it is keen to put them in action where appropriate.
"There is much MDC can pick up and offer to implement," says the organisations chief executive Kevin Bellamy.
MDC was directly urged to look at benchmarking dairy farm businesses (see panel). "But producers dont want to publish their accounts as it is sensitive information. We will need to come up with a system everyone is happy with and then we are happy to make it available."
Mr Bellamy believes the research of Nuffield scholar and milk producer Christian Fox may help. "Mr Fox is investigating ways to compare costs, used around the world, without revealing commercially sensitive information."
Mr Bellamy would also be willing to help processors develop a benchmarking system to reduce inefficiency in the food chain.
Another sensitive issue is farmgate milk prices, but more information is becoming available to producers, with 13,000 receiving fortnightly reports from the MDC Datum service. Its web-site, www.mdc.datum.org is updated daily.
The report also urges co-operation in milk promotion, such as took place in the 18-month generic advertising campaign which ended recently when the dairy companies decided to stop contributing funds. Mr Bellamy remains hopeful they will support advertising again.
Other promotional activities are already on the agenda of the Dairy Council, he says. "The industry roadshow is happening and the council is keen to co-ordinate school milk promotion with Milk Bars going into schools now.
"Consumer perception of fat is a problem and we aim to address that in future generic advertising campaigns."
Knowing more about consumer trends could also help the industry and research into that will be considered by the MDC research committee, he adds.
Other research projects suggested in the report are likely to be investigated too. "If we see potential markets for UK milk and products, we have to consider doing some research. This could include probiotic research and new product development as the report suggests.
"But these can be small and niche markets and we need to demonstrate potential improvements in milk volume sales or prices, before committing large sums to them."
However, there are some added value products worth considering here. One such product already marketed in Scandinavia is Night Milk for drinking at bedtime. This branded product, produced by cows at night, has a higher melatonin level and is supposed to help people sleep, he explains.
Collaboration between re-search funding bodies here and abroad already takes place and MDC is keen to encourage more, assures Mr Bellamy. "We are involved with the International Dairy Federation to prevent duplication of research and share in ideas. At home, we match fund many projects with other bodies.
"But there is scope for more collaboration in commercially funded research where there is more duplication because the information is sensitive or valuable – such as market research." *
Policy
• Government should keep quotas under review, while they still exist, including considering a break with the land use link and a minimum use rule.
• UK producers should receive full compensation as EU support prices reduce.
• All dairy products originating in other member states should be subject to the same food safety and animal welfare standards as the UK.
Business assistance
• Better co-ordination of business advice schemes currently provided.
• Minimum delays between applying, securing and receiving grants.
Industry structure
• MDC should look at providing benchmarking data on the internet.
• DEFRA should make Farm Business Survey results more accessible and useable.
• Purchasers should consider their role in the benchmarking process.
Collection and distribution
• Purchasers should increase co-operation in milk collection to realise cost savings.
Processing
• All dairy businesses should take part in the benchmarking process.
Retailing
• Better communication between supermarkets and suppliers to aid the success of new products.
Pricing
• Pricing should reflect market forces in the supply chain, but greater transparency is needed. This should be aided by MDC Datum.
Consumer trends
• Efforts to reverse the decline in milk consumption should emphasise its low fat content and nutritional attributes.
• Government should seek amendment of EU law which stops companies expanding the market by increasing the variety of milks available.
• Government should review whether labelling rules adequately avoid confusion on the country of origin of milk.
Promotion and advertising
• The Dairy Council should consider an industry roadshow for food and farming events.
• Better co-ordination of school milk activities, but not at the expense of the current school milk programme.
• All parts of the industry should continue to co-operate in a co-ordinated promotion strategy to create and maintain markets. This is deemed too important to leave to a single part of the chain.
Market opportunities
• Research should be done on the growth prospects of the EU market for cheese as a high value commodity, as lower value commodity products could come onto the EU market following EU enlargement.
• Research to identify why consumption of cheese and other dairy products varies in different countries.
• Research is needed into the potential for milk-based functional foods or ingredients for the food service sector.
• Research should be urgently undertaken into the supply of different dairy products currently used in food service and its future opportunities and requirements. This should also consider the scope for use and identification of UK milk in such outlets.
Better understanding
• Different parts of the food chain should gain a better understanding between them, promoting co-operation and greater efficiency.
• Industry organisations should collaborate when commissioning research to avoid duplication and missed opportunities.
• The National Dairy Farm Assured Scheme standards should become an industry benchmark.
• Hope to benchmark costs.
• May research consumer trends.
• Aims to collaborate.
It would be useful to compare milk production figures, but its sensitive information says Kevin Bellamy (inset).