How much milk do you drink?

[Kauri]

The West Australian today...

Milk drought looms: farmers

REGINA TITELIUS

WA could run out of fresh milk this summer and may have to import reconstituted milk from interstate or overseas, WAFarmers said yesterday.

The organisation's dairy spokesman Tony Pratico said a milk shortage was imminent because many dairy farmers struggling to make ends meet had switched to the cheaper option of winter production.

He said it would be naive to believe that the State's milk processors would favour Victorian or New Zealand powdered milk over imported milk from such countries as Chile and Argentina which produced the world's cheapest milk but did not necessarily have adequate quality control.

The industry was already on its knees, with farmers leaving at an alarming rate and more would leave if a better price could not be secured.

"It's not a matter of talking about whether the industry is going to collapse because we're already here, it's already happening," Mr Pratico said.

The number of dairy farmers in WA had dropped to 260-270 as farmers struggled to make ends meet by getting an average price of just 27 ¢-28 ¢ a litre.

A price of 35 ¢ a litre, which was comparable to what farmers got in the Eastern States, would be a good starting point to making dairy farming viable.

An attempt by the WA industry to establish a cartel to negotiate prices with milk processors was thwarted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in a draft determination on Monday.

Agriculture Minister Kim Chance yesterday expressed disappointment at the ACCC's initial ruling and said he would try with the industry to get a positive outcome from ACCC.

Mr Chance acknowledged that WA could have a milk supply shortage this summer but said if processors were to succumb to imports, they were likely to come from Victoria and New Zealand rather than other countries. WA Independent Grocers Association president John Cummings said supermarket giants were "the only winners" with milk. He said the dairy industry's problems could be solved by supermarket giants cutting unfair profit margins rather than lifting the retail price.

A spokesman for National Foods, one of four processors in WA, said if there was a milk shortage, the company would use existing WA milk supplies for table milk and have to consider limiting production of dairy products. The spokesman did not believe reconstituted milk would be imported.

Coles and Woolworths did not reply to requests for comment.

 

[Milk Man]

He said it would be naive to believe that the State's milk processors would favour Victorian or New Zealand powdered milk over imported milk from such countries as Chile and Argentina which produced the world's cheapest milk but did not necessarily have adequate quality control.

I just had a quality assurance audit. I have to write everything I do down. When I purchased feed, when I check milking /refrigeration equipment, water quality tests etc etc. Basically overkill, but i'd rather be safe than have some poor little kid have an anaphalactic reaction because the milk had anti-biotics in it.

What quality control do you think South America has? I reckon youd be safer snorting their cocaine. Did you know that only one in twenty five containers of fruit imported are checked for chemical residue? Pull your head in government! :swear:

 

[It's Snake Pliskin]

I like light milk. A nice big glass in the morning is great.

 

[Kauri]

In The West australian....

Gold medal plan could save dairy farmers

JENNIFER ELIOT

Struggling dairy farmers want WA to adopt a European scheme under which consumers choose to buy a marginally more expensive brand of milk in return for a guarantee that a set amount of the price will go to farmers.

The scheme involves branding the milk carton with a gold medallion to give consumers a way of ensuring that dairy farmers make enough money to remain viable.

Lobby group WAFarmers said the scheme would go a long way to helping rescue the ailing industry, which has seen producers quit in droves as farm gate milk prices plunged in the wake of deregulation in 2001.

WA farmers say they receive an average price of 28 ¢ a litre but need closer to the 35 ¢ paid to their Eastern States counterparts to be viable.

Their plight was made worse this week when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission rejected a bid by the WA industry to form a cartel to negotiate with milk processors.

The industry's hard times have sparked fears that WA could suffer a milk shortage this summer as farmers switch to winter production in a bid to cut costs.

WAFarmers president Trevor De Landgrafft said the German system would ensure the continued viability of WA's milk industry. "This German system quarantines a piece of the retail price, so that consumers who buy these products are guaranteeing that extra money goes back to farmers," he said.

Challenge Dairy chairman Larry Brennen praised the idea but said it would have to be audited.

Independent Grocers Association president John Cummings said the association supported any plan to put more money in farmers' pockets, but said a better solution was to cut back on home brand milk and fix a wholesale price.

 

[Milk Man]

That sounds like a good plan! A step towards re-regulation. I shall speak to some industry reps and see what we can do. Would people mind giving an extra 10c per litre to ensure the viability of the industry?

 

[RichKid]

That sounds like a good plan! A step towards re-regulation. I shall speak to some industry reps and see what we can do. Would people mind giving an extra 10c per litre to ensure the viability of the industry?

And as long as you can guarantee by that medallion or similar scheme that there is real milk (and not water) you'll have me hooked on it as well. People are price conscious these days but if you can ensure quality and that it's for Aussie farmers' benefit I'll be happy to pay a little bit extra.

 

[Kauri]

That sounds like a good plan! A step towards re-regulation. I shall speak to some industry reps and see what we can do. Would people mind giving an extra 10c per litre to ensure the viability of the industry?

From the West Aussie paper..
In one of the biggest ever responses to a telephone poll by The West Australian, 1936 readers said they would be prepared to pay 7 ¢ a litre more for gold medal-stamped milk to ensure the survival of WA dairy farmers. Only 22 people said they would not pay the extra 7 ¢.

 

[Smurf1976]

From the West Aussie paper..
In one of the biggest ever responses to a telephone poll by The West Australian, 1936 readers said they would be prepared to pay 7 ¢ a litre more for gold medal-stamped milk to ensure the survival of WA dairy farmers. Only 22 people said they would not pay the extra 7 ¢.

Nearly 99% support. Things with such overwhelming support are generally doable if someone takes it up promptly enough. If the poll is accurate then gaining political support ought to be pretty simple at least from the major parties.

 

[Kauri]

Nearly 99% support. Things with such overwhelming support are generally doable if someone takes it up promptly enough. If the poll is accurate then gaining political support ought to be pretty simple at least from the major parties.

Should have quoted the full article.

Thumbs up for dairy farmers' rescue plan

BEN SPENCER

Agriculture Minister Kim Chance has joined almost 2000 West Australians calling for WA to adopt a milk pricing scheme aimed at rescuing the State's financially troubled dairy farmers.
Dairy farmers want WA to copy a European scheme in which consumers choose to buy a marginally more expensive brand of milk in return for a guarantee that a set amount of the price would go to farmers.

The scheme involves branding the milk carton with a gold medallion to give consumers a way of ensuring that dairy farmers make enough money to survive.

In one of the biggest ever responses to a telephone poll by The West Australian, 1936 readers said they would be prepared to pay 7 ¢ a litre more for gold medal-stamped milk to ensure the survival of WA dairy farmers. Only 22 people said they would not pay the extra 7 ¢.

Mr Chance distanced himself from calls from the Independent Growers Association to cut back on home brands, saying consumers should act in their own interests.

It was "practically impossible" to revert to the system where the Government set the wholesale milk price because that would now be in breach of the national competition policy.

"That would involve the State being very heavily fined by the Commonwealth and we are just not going to make that decision," he said.

Mr Chance said the task would be to ensure that milk producers who supplied Challenge Dairy Co-operative and did not have direct access to the liquid milk market received their gold medal proceeds.

But he was confident such a problem could be worked through.

Independent Action Group president Greg Dean joined the chorus of support for the plan, saying there was no future for family-owned dairy farms without some action.

"There is no doubt since deregulation that dairy producers have got a very raw deal," he said.

But Harvey Fresh marketing and export manager Kevin Sorgiovanni said he would only support the idea on the basis that it applied across the board, including home brands.

"If that's what they want to do, then we would be 100 per cent behind it - but it can't just be a few," he said.

 

[ghotib]

I drink very little, but the household goes through about 4 litres a week. I know that because I do the shopping.

Milk Man, I buy from supermarkets but I buy Dairy Farmers instead of the home brand. The price difference is noticeable though, and I do wonder if it goes to the farmers or just gets absorbed in distribution somewhere. Do you know?

I like the WA proposal. A bit like what's happening with growers' markets for fruit and veggies, and that seems to be a growing trend.

Ghoti

 

[happytrader]

I tend to bulk buy everything when it is priced accordingly so I had no idea exactly how much we were going through. I dont drink the stuff myself but my partner tells me at least 30 litres a week. Instead of getting more expensive the uht stuff is getting even cheaper. I have absolutely no problem buying Devondale full cream milk at 99c a litre and have never paid anymore than that. It seems to be on sale at least every 4 to 6 weeks for that price.

Cheers
Happytrader

 

[Milk Man]

I drink very little, but the household goes through about 4 litres a week. I know that because I do the shopping.

Milk Man, I buy from supermarkets but I buy Dairy Farmers instead of the home brand. The price difference is noticeable though, and I do wonder if it goes to the farmers or just gets absorbed in distribution somewhere. Do you know?

I like the WA proposal. A bit like what's happening with growers' markets for fruit and veggies, and that seems to be a growing trend.

Ghoti

Pretty sure that supermarkets agree to take a certain (large) amount and in return they get it cheaper. It would then be packaged as home brand. Same in reverse for us. We get more money if we buy the right ($50/L, but varies with demand) to supply milk.

This is widely referred to as 'quota milk' or 'market milk' and the daily balance is 'manufactured milk'. EG: If 'Milko Moomoo' supplies 10000L/day and has purchased 7000L litres of quota then he gets app.45c/L for 7000L and app. 30c/L for the balance. Works out he averages app. 40.5c so how you can get by on 35c I dont know. Average 42c/L puts a farm thats not financed into the black though; unless theres something majorly wrong.

 

[Bloveld]

Hello
Is it possible to get raw milk in Perth?
Steve

 

[Milk Man]

Hello
Is it possible to get raw milk in Perth?
Steve

Ask your closest farmer. Theyll probably give you some. If you want it to feed animals they usually have milk that gets discarded. It contains stuff like anti-biotics, colostrum, mastitis etc but ive asked my vet and he reckons it wont hurt calves so... Unless you want to make your own cheese or yoghurt. How come you want it raw?

 

[Bloveld]

This is a good summary of why I ask.
http://www.mercola.com/2004/apr/24/raw_milk.htm

 

[Milk Man]

This is a good summary of why I ask.
http://www.mercola.com/2004/apr/24/raw_milk.htm

Thats probably why I think they water it down. Fresh unpasteurised and unhomogonised milk tastes heaps better than bottled stuff. If you get milk off a farmer just ask for them the BMCC (cell count) of their milk. Under 300 is good but under 200 is better (mines about 250). This represents the bacteria levels. Much higher than 300 and you might get the squirts or something.

 

[amohonour]

When i was a little boy i can remember bottles of milk and that nice pure cream sitting on the top. Thats when milk tasted good. That was real not like the watered down stuff we get now. Oh yeah and coke tasted better out of a glass bottle then too. Ahh, nothing's the same is it? Yeah used to get a pie with sauce, kitchener bun and a buttered bush biscuit for .25cents. Man I'm getting old. lol

 

[Kauri]

In todays West...re helping the Dairy Industry...

Big shops snub plan to help WA dairy farmers

JENNIFER ELIOT


Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have failed to back a plan that could save the State's struggling dairy farmers.

Milk processors Harvey Fresh and Peters and Brownes will begin talks today with lobby group WAFarmers, with an eye to introducing a gold medallion scheme that would give consumers a way of ensuring dairy farmers made enough money to remain viable.

Gold medallion milk would carry a 7 ¢ premium which would bring WA farmers - who get 28 ¢ a litre - into line with their Eastern States counterparts.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has blocked WAFarmers from getting processors to meet amid fears of price fixing, insisting all discussions take place on an individual basis.

It has not ruled out the introduction of the scheme.

WAFarmers dairy section president Tony Pratico said talks had taken place with National Foods but Coles and Woolworths had not responded to requests to meet.

He said the involvement of Coles and Woolworths was critical because processors had indicated they would not take part unless the major supermarkets did so.

"Processors are worried that if Coles and Woolworths don't join in, homebrand products will get a 7 ¢ premium, which would go back to the supermarkets and not to farmers, and only work towards increasing their premiums," Mr Pratico said.

"Making sure all processors were involved would also mean that no one would be disadvantaged and the scheme would potentially last longer."

National Foods, which makes Pura milk, supported the scheme in principle.

But the company would like to see it rolled out Australia-wide, a plan rejected by WAFarmers.

"We are against the scheme being rolled out nationally because we already have a national scheme, introduced to help farmers make the transition through deregulation, but all that's doing is seeing 11 ¢ leave WA for Victoria."

National Foods also raised concerns about administration costs.

Cookernup dairy farmer Malcolm Hayes said it was imperative all processors agreed to take up the gold medallion scheme.

"Without Coles and Woolworths on board, all it would do is make other processors less competitive," Mr Hayes said.

"Farmers need the scheme now if we are to survive into the future. At the moment, we are losing money and people are leaving the industry in droves."