It seems impossible to record reflections on the year gone by without using phrases like “what a year it’s been”, or “let’s hope next year will be better”. I think nearly all of us will have said similar things during the past few months. 2020 is closing with 75% of people in England living under…
The government has just announced outline plans for changes to the agricultural subsidy regime, post-Brexit and many are understandably concerned about what this will really mean for the future of UK food and farming. Following hot on the heels of the Agriculture Bill, which passed into law on November 11th, DEFRA have now published ‘The…
Resilience might seem like the latest buzzword, it was previously used as a technical term to measure the ability of a substance to return to its usual shape after being bent, stretched, or pressed. Now it’s used to describe the ability to be happy, successful, again after something difficult or bad has happened. It might…
There are many calls for farming and food production to become more sustainable. But making big changes to the way they farm is a risky business for producers. Choosing to reduce inputs, keep less stock on land and sell less tonnes of food will reduce farm incomes, unless people are willing to pay a price…
This Saturday we will be taking over the Coffee House Project Instagram account at 12.45pm. For the last three years, we’ve been proud to partner with Cotteswold Dairy as the milk sponsors for Bristol’s Coffee Festival but this year, as with many other events, instead of being there we’ve had to get creative. Normally like…
Like most people, farmers need a sense of purpose in their work and in their lives. For many this purpose has become little more than a need to pay the bills each month. This is particularly true when milk producers are paid price for their milk that barely covers the cost of production on farms.…
Last week the Obesity Strategy was launched, in part because evidence shows being overweight remains one of the biggest risk factors in fighting Covid-19. Almost two-thirds (63%) of adults in England are overweight or obese and concerns have been raised that this may have contributed to the high number of coronavirus deaths in the UK.…
144 people look likely to lose their jobs following Medina dairy’s decision to close the Watson’s Dairy site in Hampshire this week. According to reports, the final straw for Watson’s was the loss an important retail customer, thought to be Sainsbury’s. A statement from Medina Dairy said “The proposed closure reflects the extremely challenging…
The Coronavirus pandemic has caused huge upheaval in the milk market and had a marked impact on the fortunes of local dairy farmers. Photos in newspapers of milk being tipped down the drain on farms, have appeared alongside empty milk aisles in the supermarkets. This has led anxious shoppers to seek out local suppliers and…
Yesterday the newspapers were full of stories about how we’re now moving into the next phase of easing lockdown, and I have to wonder as we start to move towards ‘normal’ if the changes made during the pandemic will continue into the future? Almost straight away during lockdown we saw people adapt their shopping habits.…
The Agriculture Bill was introduced to set out the way in which agriculture will be funded after leaving the EU, with the introduction of a new “public money for public goods” payment scheme putting the focus on animal welfare, the environment and sustainability. The Bill recently had its third reading in the House of…
Today we’re launching a competition with Good Housekeeping. 5 prizes to be won! Savour the flavour and celebrate premium free-range dairy with an exclusive Pasture Promise selection from traditional British pasture-based dairy farms. We’re giving five winners the ultimate dairy feast to take you through from breakfast, to lunch and afternoon tea – washed down…
The Irish Food Board, Bord Bia, have announced the introduction of a new ‘Grass-Fed’ Standard for Irish milk, which requires cows to be fed a minimum of 90% grass. It sounds like there is little room for anything else in the diet of these cows, but just how much grass does 90% grass-fed really mean?…
When I started In Conversation With, I never imagined how the world could change from one post to the next. Only 6 weeks ago farmers were seen as pariah’s in the media but this pandemic has shown they are essential workers working hard to keep the nation fed. I hope this new respect for our…
Reports of dairy farmers having to dump unwanted milk, whilst people struggle to find enough milk on supermarket shelves, have understandably caused confusion and anger amongst consumers. We now have an oversupply of milk from farms, as milk processors struggle to switch milk away from coffee shops and food service outlets that have been closed,…
It’s such a simple thing for most of us to open the door, step out into the sunshine and go wherever we please. So it’s no surprise perhaps that many are already starting to feel trapped, as restrictions on our movements are imposed to halt the spread of this ruthless Coronavirus pandemic. There are now…
We recently commissioned Censuswide UK to carry out a survey on our behalf, to examine changes in consumer attitudes to food supplies, in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic. The survey of 1,000 people asked them about the difficulties they have recently encountered in finding milk and dairy products and find out how many have…
Welcome to In Conversation With… and this month it’s great to talk with Vicki Hird. Vicki is an award winning author, strategist and senior manager who has been working on environment, food and farming issues for over 25 years. With Vicki, I want to talk about Food and Farming and issues such as Brexit, food…
It seems one of the success stories of this year’s Veganuary is that 1 million vegan burgers were sold in KFC, but is that really a success story? In many ways this represents the problem with the food industry. There is a drive by certain agents to ditch nutrient rich meat and dairy from pasture…
So heated has debate and opinion about climate change become, I am beginning to wonder if it may soon generate more hot air than all the world’s cars, planes and livestock put together. Tonnes of carbon dioxide are being exhaled every day, in the vehement condemnation of ruminant livestock and calls for an end to…