Wales Farmer 4 NEWS DairyCo Wales annual conference May 2013 Parc yScarlets, Llanelli, March 15th


Debbie James reportsfrom the event which focussed on maximisingpotential in the Welsh dairy supply chain


MAKE THE MOST OF IT: Wales is well-placed to


grow some of the best forages for milk production. PICTURE: Debbie James.


Make the most of the green, green grass at home


WELSH milk producers are being urged to reduce input costs by becoming better grass- land managers. Lee Truelove,First Milk’s head of communications,said


farmers in acountry renowned forits excellent grass growing climate relied too heavilyon inputs sourced from overseas. “The Brazilian soya fields have as much to do with milk


production in west Wales as the grass we see in the fields as we drive down the M4,”hesaid. “This region is well-placed to


grow some of the best forages, equal to Ireland, wheregrass is


very much integral to milk pro- duction.” Mr Truelove questioned


whether the averagemilk from forage figureof30% washigh enough and urged farmers to


consider the farming model that best suits Wales. First Milk, he said, intended


to work with farmers to help them become better grassland managers butstressed thatthis


strategy would not be narrowed to aparticular system. “It is not about asystem, it is


about maximising the advan- tages dairy producers have in west Wales,” he said.


Gulfindairy efficiency too wide, says minister


■ Controlling costs key to better profit


THE gulf between Wales’ most and least efficient milk producers is too wide, according to Wales’


agriculture minister. Alun Davies (left) says cost


control is keytoprofitablemilk production and questioned why alitreofmilk on the least effi- cient farms cost 12 pence more to produce than alitreonthe best performing units.


“I don’t see whythe consumer


should paymorefor milk because of inefficiencies in pro- duction,’’ the minister fornatural resources and food told farmers during his opening address at the DairyCo conference in Llanelli. “Weneed to have amilk price


wherepeople whoare efficient arerewarded with good profits, butnot at amilk price thatisso high thatitsubsidises inefficien- cy.’’


Mr Davies said the dairy sec-


tor needs structures and mecha- nisms to help underpin its long- termviability. “Obviouslyitisfor the dairy


industry and individual farming businesses to ensurethey are profitable, butIwant to makeit clear thatIamcommitted to


partnership working and will ensurethatthe Welsh Government


uses public


resources to support the industry to invest, to embrace newtech- nology and adopt advances in research and development,”he added. “This drive forimprovement


and efficiency will help shape a successful and prosperous dairy industry rather than one with a continued dependence on sub- sidy.” As aformer businessman, Mr


Davies said he understood the pressures of business,but sug- gested thatmoreresilient enter- prises were better able to with- stand those pressures. Poor weather and price volatility had been twokey chal-


lenges to resilience in 2012 but the minister warned of the inevitability of those challenges being repeated in futureyears. “Weknowthereisgoing to be


morebad weather and we know thattherewill be morebad years; farmers have to be moreresilient to withstand those influences without having to rely on the public purse forsupport,”he said.


Mr Davies wants to see more


producer organisations estab- lished in Wales to deliverbetter contractual terms to milk pro- ducers. He also thinks morecan be


done to create jobs in the dairy- ing sector,inpart by increasing the volume of milk the country produces.


Consumer loyaltyonly extendstoprice, farmers warned


FARMERS have been warned not to over-estimate the loyalty of consumers to British-pro- duced milk. According to the agriculture


manager of Morrisons,loyalty onlyextends to stores thatprice


milk competitively. Louise Welsh said price


remained the keydriverfor milk sales and shoppers continued to shop around fortheir milk. Supermarkets have been accused of driving down the


milk price butMsWelsh defend- ed their position. “If we start selling milk thatis


dramaticallymoreexpensive than our competitors,our cus- tomers will simplygoelse- where,”she insisted.


Ms Welsh said cut-price deals


on fresh milk continue to draw shoppers into discount stores. And she warned thatcus-


tomer loyalty to British cheese wasalso price sensitive. “Customers must see British


For the latest Wales farming news: walesfarmer.co.uk


cheese as value formoney or they maylook forcheaper imports,” she added. “Wewouldn’t want asituation


whereBritish food becomes too expensive and people opt for cheaper imports.Itisimportant


to us thatfood is affordable.” She said Morrisons waskeen


forits farmer suppliers to be competitive and it wasworking with First Milk to encourage producers to get moremilk from forage.


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