all things dairyall things dairy 1PB

It’s quite right that dairy farmers want to know what DairyCo is doing to update the public

and the media about the current situation, says

DairyCo’s head of marketing and communications, Amanda Ball.

“Our job in marketing and communications is to make every effort to ensure dairy farming is presented in a fair light and to let consumers know what they can do to support our industry.

“So in this special edition of your quarterly newsletter we focus mainly on our public-facing activity. We also showcase how DairyCo works collaboratively across the industry – with unions and industry bodies

– with your best interests first and foremost in our minds.”

Amanda continues: “An essential part of our approach is to work with print and broadcast media, alongside our own websites and social media, to tell your story. DairyCo provides helpful, informative and colourful insight into farmers’ passion and commitment to caring for the animals which produce healthy and nutritious products.”

She adds that using the right facts and figures is important. “As Napoleon Bonaparte said: ‘War is ninety per cent information’. So as well as the information unearthed by our market intelligence colleagues being used to help farmers make informed business decisions, it is also essential in supporting our media work.”

DairyCo recently distilled this information into a fact-packed flyer for farmers and others to hand out to the public. The flyer (see back page) features infographics, used to help build understanding of the current factors affecting milk price, presented in a digestible format.

“It’s good to give the public a reason to value our dairy products. Informing and educating them about the responsible farming standards that are behind our assurance

schemes, are a core part of our messaging. The flyer is a resource to create awareness and can be handed out by you and used at events such as Open Farm Sunday.

“We’re currently investing £300,000 per year in our public-facing communication and education activities. Our #DiscoverDairy campaign is delivered in a quirky and entertaining way through the information website www.thisisdairyfarming.com and an e-newsletter, ‘Moosflash’, which is all promoted through our YouTube and Twitter (@thisisdairy) channels. In addition, there is our all-important work with schools, through the Food – a fact of life programme.

“The results from our regular surveys pleasingly show the public is generally very supportive of the dairy farming industry. All of this work that DairyCo is doing, alongside the invaluable work done by others, some of which is featured in this publication, is helping us maintain and further improve that reputation.”

Find out more about DairyCo’s activities in all these areas in this issue and make sure you come along to one of our regional meetings to hear about how you can get involved.

Spring 2015

Special Edition

Long-term growth opportunities for the dairy sector remain strong, but the pressures brought by the present economic climate continue to make times tough for many. So what is DairyCo doing to raise awareness of the current issues to the public? This special edition of all things dairy explains.

Dairy dilemma

Support Red Tractor One of the main

ways in which shoppers can help British farmers is to Trust the Tractor. As the UK’s largest food assurance scheme, Red Tractor ensures the food they buy is traceable, safe to eat and has been produced responsibly – from farm to fork. The flag in the logo, for example the Union flag, indicates the origin of the produce.

Here are a few of the stats and facts that we

have provided to the public and media over the last few months, which have been pulled together into a flyer. See the back page to find out how to order your own copies to hand out locally.

A supply/demand imbalance has meant that wholesale prices have slumped, which in turn affects the price paid to farmers.

Supermarkets are in fierce competition over the prices they charge for milk. The price for 4 pints of milk since around this time last year has fallen by 16%**

DOWN

16%

Between April 2014 and February 2015…

Farmers feel that charging such low prices devalues what they take huge prideand care in producing

hig

heS

T£1

.56

low

eST

£0

.89

!

-33%

-49%

-36%

-35%

For many, the price they received for milk has fallen dramatically… up to 11.3ppl reduction.

DOWNBY

21%

**Source: eSA Retail, 4 pint price as at 18.02.15

all things dairyall things dairy 32

DairyCo, through our busy press office, is actively working with

numerous national and regional newspapers. we have recently contributed to features in key titles such as The Times, The Daily Mail, The Yorkshire Post and The Financial Times.

Broadcast media, including BBC’s Politics South, The One Show, Countryfile and Radio 4’s Farming Today, have all used evidence-based material or spokespeople from DairyCo.

There are a stack of pre-prepared facts, figures, pictures, statements and willing spokespeople ready to deal with almost every eventuality.

These contributions are not always acknowledged, as the briefings or introductions are often behind the scenes. But here’s an example of how DairyCo worked with the journalist and farmers involved in a major piece in The Guardian last year – ‘The battle for the soul of British milk’.

The Journalist

Jon HenleyThe GuardianA good feature article has,

in my opinion, to achieve a careful balance between the human stories that will engage readers emotionally and the more factual background and context that will inform them intellectually.

This is particularly important in a story like ‘The battle for the soul of British milk’. It sets out to be a responsible (ie non-sensational), in-depth examination of an important but highly complex subject that can be difficult for people to properly understand, but about which many of them feel very strongly indeed.

In such stories, which can often be minefields, it is vital as a journalist to get your facts right, to back up your arguments with relevant figures and statistics, and to quote people who speak with experience, knowledge and authority, and who are properly representative of all sides in the debate.

DairyCo helped me enormously in this respect. First,

they provided me with detailed and up-to-date industry statistics and helped me to interpret and understand them. Second, they put me in touch with Neil Baker: it was fairly easy for me to find people who would argue persuasively against so-called ‘mega-dairies’ but not so easy to find experienced and articulate farmers who could put a strong case for them. Neil was a crucial voice in the story, giving it balance and authority.

The Farmers

Steve HookEast SussexWe need to tell our story and what’s more, the public want to hear it. The best tale is told by individual dairy farmers. I felt this article run by the Guardian would be a well-informed, deeper and positive look at the directions our industry can take, and was glad to be involved.

You need to know what you’re talking about and be confident of ‘dairy facts’, so get these from DairyCo and/or NFU – sources that are sound. Apply those facts to your dairy farm and how they relate to you, so those facts become real. And enjoy the process. Journalists will make you feel at ease but be aware of what the journalist’s angle is. Be careful in what you say but enjoy telling your story; and tell it with passion.

Working with the mediaDairyCo is providing facts, figures and spokespeople to the media on a daily basis. Here’s how one story came together…

all things dairyall things dairy 32

A key part of DairyCo’s role is to correct misinformation. Jane King, former editor of Farmers Weekly, joined AHDB as chief executive in February this year. When a doctor made a number of claims about dairy products in the Daily Mail last year, Jane welcomed the industry response.

“…It is absolutely right that DairyCo should co-ordinate a robust response to such statements, particularly when made by a supposedly informed doctor.” Farmers Weekly, 5 September 2014

Working with the media

Neil BakerSomerset

The question for me is why wouldn’t you engage with the media? If you’re proud of what you do, it’s important to get out there and tell people. For this story, the journalist, Jon, came down to the farm for almost the whole day. I showed him around and explained what I do. He could see the difference between the old housing – built for human comfort and the new – built for cow comfort.

At the end of the day, there’s no substitute for people coming to the farm to see for themselves, such as on Open Farm Sunday, so a journalist visiting is a chance to communicate this personal experience much more widely. DairyCo acting as a conduit works well; they are there to help manage the process, make sure you are the right farmer for the story and boost your confidence.

Fraser JonesPowys

I think it’s important people get an insight to the reasons behind the pressures the industry faces on a day to day basis. Then they can make an informed decision whether to agree or disagree.

The media is one of the best ways to do this and I’ve generally found journalists to be professional and unbiased – they are looking for the facts from all parties so they can relay these to their readers. Bodies like DairyCo play an important role informing journalists and helping farmers like myself check facts. There’s nothing worse than false information being published that has the potential to harm the industry rather than enhance it.

Promoting the value of dairy

DairyCo’s sector director Duncan Pullar says that DairyCo’s investment in consumer-targeted campaigns has increased in intensity in

recent months.

Our focus is on informing the public about dairy farming and encouraging consumption of dairy products that have a quality logo and a clear country of origin.

While dairy processing companies compete for market share with their products, Red Tractor assurance – as the biggest quality assurance scheme in Britain – is a common denominator. It’s valued by most retailers and that gives consumers confidence in the production standards on-farm and in the processing chain. This is why DairyCo takes every opportunity to promote the value of this to the public and consumer journalists.

To explain more about our work in this area, we hosted a webinar for 60 people in February that showed examples of how DairyCo promotes dairy farming to the public.

This was an excellent opportunity for my colleagues and I to talk to dairy farmers and answer questions relating to our consumer-facing website www.thisisdairyfarming.com, our digital engagement using our @thisisdairy account on Twitter and our all-important work with schools through the Food – a fact of life programme.

Working with others in the sector, including the farming unions, Dairy UK and The Dairy Council, DairyCo is playing its part in getting a share of coverage of the big issues the industry faces, giving insight and evidence-based facts to inform the debate without straying into lobbying or political comment.

I am pleased we have been able to get our points into news and current affairs programmes like Countryfile, the One Show and TV news, as well as daily papers, to ensure there is balance in the reporting. While it often goes unacknowledged, we feel that this is becoming a critical part of our work supporting dairy farmers.

working with the media

Be a dairy farming ambassador Contact us to talk about how we can help with media training and put you on our list for possible interviews.

Or put a thisisdairyfarming.com banner on your farm gate and get the public ‘genned’ up on the dairy industry. Call Diane Symes on 07966 760 123.

!Imag

e co

urte

sy o

f Ric

hard

Sta

nton

all things dairyall things dairy 54

Diane explains that DairyCo uses a number of ways – such as social media – to encourage the public to look at its consumer-facing website www.thisisdairyfarming.com She says: “We also work with schools under the banner Food-a fact of life and support events and initiatives designed to bring farmers, their products and the public closer together.”

DairyCo’s online newsletter Moosflash keeps the public abreast of facts and stories. And #DiscoverDairy, promoted through DairyCo’s @thisisdairy Twitter feed, uses film, fun and facts to educate and engage. “We’re now getting a strong following,” says Diane. “The videos on our YouTube Mooviechannel had over 100,000 views in 2014. That equates to over 145,000 minutes of viewing time. And we had 106,500 visits to the website during 2014, up 20% on the previous year.”

Reaching the publicThere are many exciting new ways to tell the public about the great job being done by dairy farmers, says Diane Symes, DairyCo’s consumer marketing manager.

The Dairy Council provides science-based information on the role of dairy foods as part of a healthy, balanced and sustainable diet to consumers, health professionals, the media and industry. It’s a subsidiary of Dairy UK and staffed by registered dieticians and registered nutritionists. The public can download a range of materials from its website, including booklets giving dietary advice during pregnancy,

With 65% of shoppers recognising the logo, Red Tractor is a trusted reference point for shoppers eager to know where their food is from. Its continued success is driven by ensuring consumers know what Red Tractor and the logo stand for. So every year it runs activities alongside DairyCo, the farming unions, food manufacturers, foodservice operators and retailers, to encourage people to look out

for Red Tractor products. 2015 will see Red Tractor working even harder to drive consumer and retailer awareness – increasing in-store advertising, developing new brand partners, organising large-scale consumer-targeted activities and events and raising awareness through ongoing social media campaigns. Visit www.redtractor.org.uk for more information.

Working together

all things dairyall things dairy 54

Milk and dairy products have many health benefits. To raise the profile of this, DairyCo is working in partnership with The Dairy Council in a three-year programme to translate science into useful information for dieticians and nutritionists. Recently, there has been a great result with a highly-publicised U-turn on saturated fats in dairy products.

We’re delighted to announce that DairyCo and The Dairy Council are jointly sponsoring this year’s great family event, The Milk Race, taking place in Nottingham on 23-24 May. As well as promoting the nutritional benefits of milk, there will be opportunities for cycling fans to learn about dairy farming in The Milk Race ‘Village’.

World Milk Day on 1 June will be supported by DairyCo, as will Open Farm School Days – taking place throughout June – and Open Farm Sunday on 7 June. All dairy farmers can get involved and open their doors; their story is the one their local communities want to hear. The more people learn about modern farming, the more they will support farmers.

reaching the public

‘Catching ‘em young’ is really important, so as part of AHDB, DairyCo supports www.foodafactoflife.org.uk. “The levy boards work together in conjunction with the British Nutrition Foundation, providing some great resources to get farming, including milk and dairy production, back on the agenda in classrooms.”

!

Our ‘Discover Dairy’ campaign has been developed to run parallel with Red Tractor Assurance activity and is underpinned by a call to action to ‘Trust the Tractor’. DairyCo is supporting Red Tractor Week again this September. Diane says that last year, 227 pieces of media coverage in newspapers, online and on radio and TV were secured. “That’s not all”, she says. “Red Tractor’s attendance at the Big Feastival in 2014 saw 50,000 visitors over three days and over five million mentions of Red Tractor on Facebook and Twitter!”.

Get involved!Open your farm for Open Farm Sunday or Open Farm School Days. Call LEAF’s Annabel Shackleton on 024 7641 3911 or visit www.openfarmsunday.org

You can help us too – tell your friends and colleagues to visit www.thisisdairyfarming.com or follow us on Twitter @thisisdairy to find out more.

weaning and childhood, documents on the nutritional composition of dairy foods, and information on common misconceptions surrounding dairy. Most materials either hold the Information Standard certification of quality assurance from The Royal Society of Public Health or are endorsed by the British Dietetic Association. Visit www.milk.co.uk for further details.

Dairy UK is the trade association for the British dairy industry. It brings together producer co-ops, milk purchasers and processors, dairy farmers and doorstep deliverymen throughout the UK. Under the banner of its Dairy Makes a Difference campaign, it works closely with industry partners and decision-makers to represent the interests of the dairy industry. Some of its recent activities include the

Dairy All-Party Parliamentary Group report on the sustainable competitiveness of the sector and the development of the National Johne’s Management Plan along with DairyCo. Dairy UK is also bringing the European dairy industry to our shores in October to showcase the strengths of the British dairy industry and share experience with its European colleagues. More on www.dairyuk.org

all things dairy6

“A recent piece of analysis we have carried out looks at whether the low

retail prices for milk in many outlets

has led to increased volume sales,” she says.

“Major retailers started to drop milk prices in March 2014, which ‘appears’ to have prompted an upturn in milk sales. This could be viewed as a positive move in that more milk is being consumed.

“But we also need to take account of previous analysis that found an increase in retail milk sales was predominately the result of population growth. This can be seen from the last supermarket ‘price war’ in 2010-11, which did not lead to any significant additional growth in retail milk sales.”

Patty says that closer examination of the picture in 2014 shows three key areas

which have contributed to the faster growth.

“Firstly, the frequency of milk purchases has increased, in line with the general trend in grocery shopping towards more frequent trips to high street convenience stores.

“Then whole milk sales also rose by 4% in the 52 weeks ending 12 October 2014, which is likely to have been driven by the growing proportion of young children in the population.”

Lastly, she says, volumes of skimmed milk sold rose 8.5% over the same period, with a 24.7% rise in the volume

consumed by the ‘pre family’ age group.

Milk is relatively inelastic – but it would appear that some people have bought a little more over the past year. It appears from the data that approximately two thirds of the growth in milk sales has been due to existing buyers purchasing more milk. A third of the growth has been due to demographic change. It is not entirely clear why people are buying more, but the drop in the price appears to be the most logical start point.”

insights

AHDB DairyCo’s Patty Clayton says the supermarkets’ role in the current situation has also been under close scrutiny.

Do low retail prices increase sales?

Heifer rearing – worth the investment?A recent DairyCo-funded study has shed light on the critical areas of youngstock rearing.

Dr Alana Boulton from the Royal Veterinary College, who conducted the study, says that while rearing is sometimes perceived as the ‘non-productive’ period of the dairy farming system, the cost of a higher plane of nutrition for calves is generally recouped later. This can be through: calving at a younger age; savings on labour, housing and overall feed costs; and/or greater first lactation yields.

“Providing the necessary nutrition to sustain rapid growth rates (>750g a day) during the first two months of life should not only result in more economical heifer rearing but also in greater milk performance,” she says.

A survey on the cost of rearing from birth to calving, including fixed and variable costs, formed part of the study. It found an average cost of £1,819.01 – considerably more than previous estimates.

The average period for repaying the investment in rearing was also calculated, with the average 530 days, translating into approximately 1.5 lactations before heifers begin to make a profit for the farm.

The factors identified as having the most significant effect on cost of rearing were age at first calving, the percentage of time the heifer spent at grass, calving pattern, herd size and breed.

A webinar hosted by Alana will be available on the DairyCo website shortly.

What does the public think?DairyCo commissions an independent research organisation to track and monitor consumer behaviour and attitudes on a quarterly basis. This gives DairyCo insight to any changes resulting from positive/negative media coverage and any on-going campaign activity. This is particularly relevant at the moment, with press interest in the milk price situation galvanising public opinion in support of dairy farmers. The latest research says:

And these are the top four reasons they give:

of the public would be disappointed to see dairy farming significantly reduce or disappear completely from Britain*86%

“The rural way of life would change as dairy farming is one

of its backbones”

70%“i would worry about the effect

on dairy farmers’ lives and careers”

63%“it might make the dairy products i buy more expensive, as they would have to

be imported”

60%“it would lead to the collapse of a British industry”

59%

GB RETAIL MILK MARKET

VO

LUM

E (M

ILLI

ON

LIT

RES)

PR

ICE

(£ E

xP

EN

DIT

UR

E/LI

TRES

SO

LD)

VOLUME (MILLION LITRES) PRICE (£ ExPENDITURE/LITRES SOLD

4,800

4,700

4,600

4,500

4,400

4,300

4,200

4,100

4,000

3,900

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

52 w/e 1

7 Oct 10

0.68

0.66

0.64

0.62

0.6

0.58

0.56

0.54

0.52

Sour

ce: K

anta

r W

orld

pane

l

*YouGov survey January 2015. Sample size: 2245

all things dairy 7

Dairy will continue to remain at the heart of the event, he says, with almost every exhibitor offering products of interest to dairy farmers.

“And two key features will spotlight dairy. Firstly, the calf rearing demonstration, a UK ‘first’, focusing on new best practice with live calves. Secondly, we also have the return of the Lely robotic milking and feeding demonstration with 40 cows on-site,” explains Nick.

The event will also be staging

• The National Dairy Show with 300 stall places open to seven breeds.

• Farm health planning seminars, feed science forums and business debates

• Healthy feet workshops and foot trimming demonstrations

• Forage field exhibition

“For the first time, dairy farmers will also be able to book stand space with stalls in the Livestock Hall for the sale of surplus breeding stock,” adds Nick. “Find out more at www.livestockevent.co.uk or contact us on 0845 458 2711.”

Livestock Event 2015 The NEC, BirminghamIt’s not too early to put Wednesday 8 and Thursday 9 July in your diary

Positive farmingA new DairyCo grant scheme for farmers to attend conferences at home and abroad has proved increasingly popular over the past six months.

Ten farmers were recently sponsored to go to the Positive Farmers Conference in ireland. one attendee was Derbyshire dairy farmer Sue Dalton, who said: “The conference gives a good balance of scientific research and farmer experience. The benefits of attending are not only the information from the speakers but the opportunity to network with like-minded farmers from ireland and the UK.”

DairyCo is running the scheme again this year. The events include the Cattle lameness Conference on 22 April, the Total Dairy Seminar on 10 June and the international Dairy Federation Conference in lithuania on 20-24 September. Visit the DairyCo website www.dairyco.org.uk and search for ‘grants’ to download a grant application form or email Sharon Brown on sharon.brown@dairyco.ahdb.org.uk

other news

Complimentary ticketsTo help dairy farmers through the industry’s extraordinarily difficult times, RABDF is providing every UK dairy farm with one complimentary ticket to the Livestock Event. The ticket will be delivered in your June issue of all things dairy. You will also have the opportunity to purchase additional tickets for partners and herdsmen at a favourably reduced rate.

Vaccination is most effective when it is designed to meet the particular needs of the farm. Each dairy business is unique, so every owner should work with their vet to create a bespoke programme. A successful programme should include what disease to vaccinate against, which animals will benefit from it and when the cattle will benefit most from the protection.

DairyCo, along with its research partners at the University of Nottingham and the Royal Veterinary College, has produced a film demonstrating the correct technique used to vaccinate cattle. It also gives best practice guidance and tips on how to enhance the management of cattle health through implementing a safe

and effective vaccination programme.

It includes such tips as:

1. Storing and using at the correct temperature

2. Using at the correct time, interval, dose and route

3. Importance of good hygiene when using the vaccine and equipment

4. Ensuring adequate safety for people and the animals involved

5. Ensuring accurate recording of vaccinations.

The film, available at www.dairyco.org.uk/vaccination, is an ideal aide mémoir for farmers and a learning tool for new entrants into dairying.

Keep on top of cattle health with a new DairyCo film on safe and effective vaccination techniques.

Safe and effective

vaccination“This year, the Livestock Event will be all

about sharing information, ideas and no- nonsense practical advice to keep your business on track,” explains Nick. “We want

you to find out about relevant products and concepts that will save you money, discover

relevant practical and technical ways to further improve herd efficiency and investigate the latest new products and innovations. It’s about future investment to stay

ahead of the game.”

2015 is going to be a tough year. The RABDF is therefore planning a Livestock Event which will provide you with a first class experience, offering even more than before, says RABDF chief executive Nick Everington.

all things dairyall things dairy PB8

Save the date

For more information on any of these and other events call 024 7647 8696 or visit dairyco.org.uk/events DairyCo is a division of the

Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)

Agriculture and Horticulture, Development Board,

Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire CV8 2TL

T: 024 7669 2051 E: info@dairyco.ahdb.org.uk

www.dairyco.org.uk

Andy Dodd, DairyCo technical extension officer, explains that it isn’t just about genetics for milk production – it’s also about health, welfare, management and type traits, each one of which can make an important contribution to profitability and all of which can be improved through breeding.

“The guide concentrates on the theory and provides tips on using breeding tools in practice

and helps to pinpoint which figures to seek out and prioritise.”

He says that although most people are familiar with genetic indexes for milk, fat and protein, it’s a common misconception that indexes only relate to production.“

Genetic indexes are far more and their application for non-production traits is becoming increasingly

important in today’s health and welfare-conscious society.

“In measuring an animal’s genetic merit and assigning it a genetic index, every effort is made to disregard the effects of its environment and to strip all of its performance down to the bare genetics. This means that a 12,000 litre cow from a high input system can be compared with one in a specialist grazing herd averaging 6,000 litres.

Equally, bulls whose daughters are milking in different production systems can also be fairly compared.”

DairyCo’s Breeding briefs, a guide to genetic indexes in dairy cattle, can be downloaded or requested by post from www.dairyco.org.uk

New breeding briefsHigh quality cattle are at the heart of profitable dairy farming. To support better breeding decisions, DairyCo has launched Breeding Briefs, a guide to genetic indexes in dairy cattle which identifies the tools of genetic improvement.

1

Breeding briefsA guide to genetic indexes in dairy cattle

other news

Get the factsDairyCo heard the call from Farmers For Action and others to have a factual resource to

help inform the public about the various factors affecting the market. So we have produced a fact-packed flyer for handing out to the public and sending to the media. It features signposting to www.thisisdairyfarming.com and @thisisdairy, alongside the Red Tractor logo on one side and an infographic on the other. Take a look by downloading a copy from the DairyCo website and order copies to hand out by calling 024 7647 8696.

These are really challenging times for dairy farmers.

Farmers feel that charging such low prices devalues what they take huge prideand care in producing.

For many, the price they received for milk has fallen dramatically…

COST OF PRODUCTION

Many are saying they are unable to cover their costs.

Supermarkets are in fierce competition over the prices they charge for milk. The price for 4 pints of milk since around this time last year, on average, has fallen by 16%.**

Around half the milk we produce in this country goes for bottling and the rest goes into making cheese, yogurt and other dairy products.

Britain’s dairy farmers are competing in a global marketplace where currently there is a supply & demand imbalance.

This has meant that the wholesale prices have slumped, which in turnaffects the price paid to farmers.

However, liquid milk is only part of the picture…

Your support can make a difference to Britain’s dairy farmers

52% USED FOR MILK

2% condensed milk

2% yogurt

2% butter

1% wastage

2% cream3% other10

% milk

powder

27% cheese

16%DOWN

April ’14 - Feb ’15*up to 11.3ppl reduction.

£0.89LOW

EST

£1.56HIGHEST

Buying Cows

9%

11%

10%

11%

Labour

Feed & Forage

Business Administration

7%

14%

35%

3%

Utilities & Land Rent

Fuel & Machinery

Cow Health & Welfare

Building & Machinery Deprecation

21%

DOWNBY

SUPPLY

DEMAND

- 33 % - 49 % - 36 % - 35 %

*Source: AHDB/DairyCo League Table. **Source: ESA Retail, 4 pint price as at 18/2/15 ppl=Price per litre

www.votebritishfood.com

The NFU has launched a national campaign to highlight the importance of food and farming ahead of the general election.

Great British Food Gets My Vote urges politicians to back British farming in their manifesto and asks the British public to continue buying British food and supporting British farming. As part of the campaign, the NFU has taken out adverts in national newspapers. Farmers are also being encouraged to invite their local parliamentary candidates onto farm as well as displaying banners in their fields. NFU President Meurig Raymond said: “With less than three months before the general election, British agriculture and the future of domestic food production must be recognised as a hugely important issue for Britain.”

For more information and to vote, visit www.votebritishfood.com

1 April Levy Payer regional meeting Ashbourne, Derbyshire

10 April Levy Payer regional meeting Penrith

16 April Levy Payer regional meeting Dumfries

22 April Cattle Lameness

Conference - Sixways Stadium,

Worcester

23 April Spring farm walk -

Treuddyn, Mold, Wales

23 April Spring farm walk -

Lydney, Gloucestershire

23-24 May Milk Race -

Nottingham

7 May Grassland UK - Royal

Bath & West show ground,

Somerset

1-30 June Open Farm

School Days - Nationally

1 June World Milk Day -

Globally

2 June DairyCo research

day - Carmarthen, Wales

7 June Open Farm Sunday -

Nationally

24 June Open day at

Dolphenby, Cumbria - with

winners of Dairy Farmer of the

Year 2014