My husband and I have a bit of an on-going debate/dispute going on. He sees the dilemma of the smaller, more sustainable (mmm?) farmer as eventually getting through the public and the decision-makers. Then there will be a tipping point and things will have to get better, when the realisation dawns that 2 dairy farmers a day are leaving the industry. I'm afraid I am more cynical - as long as the supermarkets, our new lords and masters, have their "dedicated suppliers" and their guaranteed supply of milk the rest of us can just...well...sink or swim. What do you think?
In the meantime, calves born on a small farm have a good start in life.
It will probably be a bit of both. ie the tipping point will come much later than you expect. There was a bit of a revision/chink of light about 2 years ago? when the supermarkets put up the price of milk to the suppliers but it did not last long. Perhaps there will be another "revision" soon. Where is the NFU in all this? I think they spend too much time selling insurance!
ReplyDeleteI must say that "sustainable" has not captured the public imagination as much as I thought it might.