Memorandum submitted by Michael T Davies
(DFoB 16)
1. I am a dairy farmer, near Droitwich,
milking a herd of approximately 150 cows and producing about
one million litres. Our family have milked cows here since 1913 retailing
the milk in Droitwich until 1954 and then selling the milk
wholesale through the MMB and latterly through Dairy Farmers of
Britain. I have farmed for 40 years and my daughter has been
a partner for 12 years. Five years ago we diversified into
making Ice Cream (with the help of a DEFRA grant). This has been
a successful venture.
2. We have been members of Dairy Farmers
of Britain since its inception. Our loss has been £43,831.00 capital
investment and £16,444.00 milk cheque. This totals our
loss at £60,275.00.
3. In addition I would like you to refer
to page 6 of the Wisemans' annual report 2009 which clearly
shows the reduced price that a Dairy Farmers of Britain member
has received in comparison to a direct supplier to a Robert Wiseman
Dairy£261,800.00 less for an average producer
of one million litres.
4. We live 4 miles from the Wiseman's
Dairy, in Droitwich, and our milk has been delivered into there
ever since it opened. However they will not purchase direct so
we have to sell to one of the co-operatives (now Milk Link).
5. In December 2005 I expressed my
disappointment with the unsatisfactory state of the Milk Industry
by visiting my local MP, Peter Luff who took the matter up and
passed on my comments to, the then, Minister of Agriculture Margaret
Beckett and then had a response from Lord Bach.
6. I still believe there is something fundamentally
wrong with the British Dairy Industry that is not being addressed
by the NFU and all other interested parties.
7. I would ask the committee to consider:
A. Why was the Milk Marketing Board disbanded?
B. We operate a global market yet the co-op Frontera,
in New Zealand, control 95% of the milk in their country.
C. Why was Milk Marque split into three co-operatives?
D. Why have the co-operatives had to shoulder
the burden to supplying the commodity market?
E. No matter which co-operative I supplied my
milk would still have gone into Wisemans yet Dairy Farmers of
Britain were in direct competition in the retail marketplace.
F. Skulduggery within the marketplace: Johal
Dairies versus Freshways; OFT enquiry into collusion between milk
processors and retailers (£120 million paid in fines).
G. Has our reduced income of £320,000.00 over
the past 12 years been a result of unfair trading within
a de-regulated marketplace?
Michael T Davies
September 2009
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