National News The Brexit Thread 🇬🇧🇪🇺

bashamwonderland said:
Our wool farmers are burning or composting their wool because it costs them money to package it and sell it at something like 30p per kilo.

Our milk farmers are committing suicide and going out of business at a rate of knots because they can't get an appropriate rate for their milk.

This has been happening for some time. You are probably right to say the damage has already been done - our fruit veg and animal produce is mostly produced abroad for peanuts, and grown by North African or Eastern European workers earning a fraction of the minimum wage here in the UK.
Click to expand...

Regarding the price of wool it’s also worth looking at the Agriculture Act 1993, which led to the disbanding of the Milk Marketing Board as well as supporting price support for wool farmers.

Nope it’s not an EU Act, it was brought in to UK legislation by a Tory government led by John Major.
 
carefreeoufc said:
The Milk Marketing Board was scrapped as it was classed as a monopoly by the Gov. in the early 90s the board was able to control production and minimum pricing.

Since then the dairy industry has seen gradual reductions in the price of milk (as low as 14-16p per litre depending on who you sell to). The prices have been driven down by certain supermarkets and also wholesale milk distributors (Freshways, Dairycrest etc).

The price of milk is not decided by the EU nor is it driven down by milk produced and sent from foreign countries. It’s driven down because the producers are basically told you accept this price and you deliver your 4000L or whatever twice per day, every day or we go somewhere else.

As a result of this many family farms have either been swallowed up by larger robot dairies or commercial producers. You really need a herd of around 200 plus minimum and you need a contract with someone like Waitrose for a decent price.

Yours, Son, Grandson, Great Grandson and Great Great Grandson of one of the last profitable (id imagine) dairy farms in Oxfordshire.
Click to expand...

Bring back milk protectionism, then. Would be good to see farmers doing well again because it looks like they haven't been doing well for some time.
 
bashamwonderland said:
Bring back milk protectionism, then. Would be good to see farmers doing well again because it looks like they haven't been doing well for some time.
Click to expand...

Personally, I think the prospect of farmers doing well as we look towards a trade deal with the US etc. have well and truly passed.

Who knows, maybe Boris and the rest of the Govt. will look to “Back British Farming”, that or they’ll open our markets to the first bidder and agriculture in this country will be similar to the steel industry.
 
bashamwonderland said:
Our wool farmers are burning or composting their wool because it costs them money to package it and sell it at something like 30p per kilo.

Our milk farmers are committing suicide and going out of business at a rate of knots because they can't get an appropriate rate for their milk.

This has been happening for some time. You are probably right to say the damage has already been done - our fruit veg and animal produce is mostly produced abroad for peanuts, and grown by North African or Eastern European workers earning a fraction of the minimum wage here in the UK.
Click to expand...
The UK has been uncompetitive in a lot of industries for sometime. The City of London and financial industry will be next. Initially the impact of Brexit, but will Covid 19, realisation has come that Institutions don't need to have a massive presence in the City.

Isn't it ironic that a lot was made about Brexit being about immigration, yet they are prepared to let 3 million come in from Hong Kong?
 
bashamwonderland said:
Bring back milk protectionism, then. Would be good to see farmers doing well again because it looks like they haven't been doing well for some time.
Click to expand...

It would.

The reality will be that the likes of Dyson will continue to hoover* up smaller and/or independent farms though. Lower margin, greater volume.

Still, at least that means they're not moving offshore. Oh...

*shitty pun intended - it is becoming scary how much farmland he owns in the UK now though
 
Because the EU interventions in farming are always a great "success". This article is from 2018 however it remains valid & current.
www.politico.eu

Europe’s hidden milk lake threatens fragile market

Brussels bought up a huge amount of milk to try to boost prices. The danger is that these stocks are now forcing prices down.
www.politico.eu www.politico.eu

The issue is the consumer on a race to the bottom for price.
I can go to a local shop and buy 2 x 2 litres of milk for £2. £1 a bottle, 50p a litre retail.
My local dairy farmers get paid 27p per litre.
Between the farm and the processor everyone has to get their profit, that is reality.
If that milk was 50p a bottle more it wouldn`t make much difference to me but a massive difference to the supply chain.
Unfortunately contracts and reduced competition means an increase rarely reaches the farm.
 
carefreeoufc said:
The Milk Marketing Board was scrapped as it was classed as a monopoly by the Gov. in the early 90s the board was able to control production and minimum pricing.

Since then the dairy industry has seen gradual reductions in the price of milk (as low as 14-16p per litre depending on who you sell to). The prices have been driven down by certain supermarkets and also wholesale milk distributors (Freshways, Dairycrest etc).

The price of milk is not decided by the EU nor is it driven down by milk produced and sent from foreign countries. It’s driven down because the producers are basically told you accept this price and you deliver your 4000L or whatever twice per day, every day or we go somewhere else.

As a result of this many family farms have either been swallowed up by larger robot dairies or commercial producers. You really need a herd of around 200 plus minimum and you need a contract with someone like Waitrose for a decent price.

Yours, Son, Grandson, Great Grandson and Great Great Grandson of one of the last profitable (id imagine) dairy farms in Oxfordshire.
Click to expand...

I missed this ^^^ great post!!
 
Sheik djibouti said:
Capitalism and consumerism at it's very very worst.
Click to expand...

The problem is that if we (the consumer) lose contact with where our food comes from price point matters more than origin.
Then we are back to food labelling that is so "busy" and bound by legislation the consumer looks at an image and assumes it is "local".
I would rather buy my milk from the local farm vending machine at £1.10 a litre, its only pasteurised and nothing else.
The farmer gets more of the money per litre and the food miles/energy consumption is massively reduced.
Not everyone in the City can, or chooses, to do so.

Consumerism is at the root of many of our societal problems we can agree on that!
 
Essexyellows said:
The problem is that if we (the consumer) lose contact with where our food comes from price point matters more than origin.
Then we are back to food labelling that is so "busy" and bound by legislation the consumer looks at an image and assumes it is "local".
I would rather buy my milk from the local farm vending machine at £1.10 a litre, its only pasteurised and nothing else.
The farmer gets more of the money per litre and the food miles/energy consumption is massively reduced.
Not everyone in the City can, or chooses, to do so.

Consumerism is at the root of many of our societal problems we can agree on that!
Click to expand...
And capitalism drives that consumerism...it has to to make profits that make people rich.

Which is why the current system is so f**ked!

Unless we learn how to be responsible and do what is right, rather than what is quick, or what makes the highest return, the current system will not end well..... warning signs are already there if you chose to see them.

But hey....whilst individuals are so hell bent on feathering their own nest....this will perpetuate....and christ knows where it will end. If you put you and yours first, you can only hope that you'll be long gone before it gets too bad or you have to be involved in the expense of the clean up that is so inevitably needed ;)
 
Sheik djibouti said:
And capitalism drives that consumerism...it has to to make profits that make people rich.

Which is why the current system is so f**ked!

Unless we learn how to be responsible and do what is right, rather than what is quick, or what makes the highest return, the current system will not end well..... warning signs are already there if you chose to see them.

But hey....whilst individuals are so hell bent on feathering their own nest....this will perpetuate....and christ knows where it will end. If you put you and yours first, you can only hope that you'll be long gone before it gets too bad or you have to be involved in the expense of the clean up that is so inevitably needed ;)
Click to expand...
Added to this that the worse kind of capitalism is the unfettered version it's only going to get worse as we move into a less regulated world.
 
Essexyellows said:
The problem is that if we (the consumer) lose contact with where our food comes from price point matters more than origin.
Then we are back to food labelling that is so "busy" and bound by legislation the consumer looks at an image and assumes it is "local".
I would rather buy my milk from the local farm vending machine at £1.10 a litre, its only pasteurised and nothing else.
The farmer gets more of the money per litre and the food miles/energy consumption is massively reduced.
Not everyone in the City can, or chooses, to do so.

Consumerism is at the root of many of our societal problems we can agree on that!
Click to expand...

What's the difference between consumerism and capitalism?

Asking for a friend...
 
m said:
What's the difference between consumerism and capitalism?

Asking for a friend...
Click to expand...

Consumerism is the desire to purchase goods/services.
Capitalism is the production of said goods/services to satisfy desire.

Inextricably linked and drive each other...

One thing this current situation has taught is what is essential and what isn`t.
 
Essexyellows said:
Consumerism is the desire to purchase goods/services.
Capitalism is the production of said goods/services to satisfy desire.

Inextricably linked and drive each other...

One thing this current situation has taught is what is essential and what isn`t.
Click to expand...
I'd take issue slightly with your definition of capitalism.

Socialist, Communist and Marxist (and every other "ist" you care to think of) ALSO produce goods/deliver services. Capitalism does it with the express intent of making profit from it with the express intent of keeping the gains for the producer, rather than redistribution for everyones benefit.
 
Whingit said:
600 UK job losses, and we remainers are the traitors ?
www.bbc.com

Dyson cuts 900 jobs amid coronavirus impact - BBC News

The company behind the first bag-less vacuum cleaner said 600 of the cuts would be in the UK.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
Click to expand...

Unfortunately there happens to be something called
COVID-19 our and about at the moment that has hit the economy bad ( it might have been worse if Boris hadn’t asked Rishi to dip in the jar to help ) it is inevitable that some companies are going to suffer and this global thing and not just a U.K. problem.
 
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