Milk

[Ric.ror]

It seems to be the latest thing for people to be up in arms about
Yet this morning, on the farming programme, an ex member of the NFU said the average EU payment to dairy farmers was £26K
What's the true picture?

[anotheoldgit]

/// Milk
It seems to be the latest thing for people to be up in arms about ///

You could say that,

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3192984/Mother-posts-picture-breastfeeding-son-friend-s.html

Sorry for the interjection but when I read this and your headline, I just couldn't help it.

[Old_Geezer]

Difficult to know, unless one knows the profit/loss of a dairy farm, subsidy included. In any event a producer being squeezed so they sell at less than it costs to produce is unsustainable and ought not be propped up by subsidy. This flaw in the system needs to be sorted unless we are happy to import all milk products and have no UK dairy industry.

[andy-hughes]

Ric - it's impossible to know if a subsidy of £26K represents a living wage for a farmer, or a drop in the ocean of the debts being incurred by this situation - I suspect that there is no hard and fast way of measuring the impact.

From what I read and hear, this is a global market downturn, and the notion of farmers taking milk off supermarket shelves is not remotely helpful - although it is easy to understand their frustration, and desire to be seen to be doing something to make their views known.

[andy-hughes]

With regard to AOG's humorous aside - it seems there are no lengths beyond which attention-seeking women will not go in order to gain said attention - even if it means exploiting their own and friends' children to do it.

[mushroom25]

after coming to power in 1997, the previous labour administration would have happily let british farming go to the wall..... until the ravages of the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak showed them that actually, farming helped keep the countryside looking nice for the tourist industry.

maybe that's a lesson this administration has still to catch up with.

[Ric.ror]

Mushroom - I was under the impression that Farmers were very well compensated for the F&M epidemic (I may be wrong and have zero knowledge on the subject)
AOG - I am giving you best answer for a bit because I knew you get a lot of abuse for venting your spleen on here but I would like you to unofficially share it with Andy's second comment on this thread too ;-))

[Ric.ror]

/\ know not knew

[mushroom25]

//Mushroom - I was under the impression that Farmers were very well compensated for the F&M epidemic //

they were. compo wasn't my point though, but the physical presence of farming. when it isn't there, the countryside changes; many people don't realise how extensively the british landscape is managed and husbanded. the government needs to recognise that subsidising farmers helps maintain the country for the benefit of tourists.