APPENDIX 22
Letter to James Gray MP from Mr R J White
In reply to your letter concerning the plight of
Dairy Farming. At White Lodge Farm we have 260 acres, all grass
carrying 160 dairy cows plus 90 head of heifers and calves. My
son and myself are employed. In 1996 are margin over concentrates
was £1,332 per cow, or 22.130 pence per litre. Today it is
£990 per cow or 16.671 pence per litre. This represents a
25 per cent drop in margins over three years.
On top of this our barren cow price has dropped from
an average of £450 in 1996 to an OTM scheme price of £270
now, on approximately 30 cows per year. This is a further £5,400
per year.
Also the returns from calf sales has dropped dramatically.
Friesian bull calves in 1996 were selling for approximately £80,
today the scheme price is £40 and this is set to end 31 June
1999, these calves then become worthless without an export market.
Beef cross calves have also dropped by £30 to £49 per
head, this is likely to drop further when the scheme finishes.
These reductions in income are out of our control as the milk
price is set by the dairies and all other scheme prices are set
by the Intervention Board, which the markets tend to follow. All
of the set costs in running a farm of this size are increasing,
particularly veterinary work and drugs, fuel and machinery repairs.
Over the last five years considerable money has been spent on
updating this unit, at present further investment on improvements
are impossible, and all buildings and machinery will gradually
deteriorate if not repaired or replaced on a regular basis.
This all points to a gloomy outlook for those of
us who stay in farming and for any young people thinking of joining
the profession.
12 June 1999
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