Histronics by farmers at Tesco meeting

Jip

Just listening to it on RTE 1 now, it's laughable the threats they're making. I understand that farming is tough work from distant family members nad have sympathy for those who are really finding it tough(none for those who have full time jobs and receiving various grants) but this is just silly.

Can I expect them to do the same at Superquinns and Dunnes meetings this week ? More so Marks and Spencers, the vast majority of their food stuff is from Britain.
Every week I have to sort through British and Israeli potatoes in my local Superquinn to get Irish ones but yet again is this just looking for the easy target with Tesco being British ? If they really want to make a mark they need to do this on every store and retailer in the country that sell British potatoes, otherwise it will be seen as just a gripe with a British retailer.

sorella

Of course people will buy what is cheapest if there is a big price difference. We go across to Asda in Strabane once a month because food prices here are too high. The difference is not small.

I am puzzled re farmers; our last landlords farmed but had full time council jobs, and their own homes/lifestyles were luxurious. Several cars also.

Carlow52

Just another reason not to buy any Irish farm produce that in the main is over priced and poor quality.

Walshe justified the action on the basis that the thugs involved will have no income this year.
Try explain that to the 300k+ unemployed: the last time something like that happened on the streets of Dublin that did not involve taxi drivers or farmers, the protesters were battened by guards with no Id's.

kfk

Carlow52 wrote: »

Just another reason not to buy any Irish farm produce that in the main is over priced and poor quality.

Walshe justified the action on the basis that the thugs involved will have no income this year.
Try explain that to the 300k+ unemployed: the last time something like that happened on the streets of Dublin that did not involve taxi drivers or farmers, the protesters were battened by guards with no Id's.

Poor Quality??? Could you explain! Irish farm products are among the best in the world.

What was it again that those useless hairy bongo banging dole drawing hippies were protesting about?

Carlow52

kfk wrote: »

Poor Quality??? Could you explain! Irish farm products are among the best in the world.

What was it again that those useless hairy bongo banging dole drawing hippies were protesting about?

Given that you are located in Healy Rea country your delusionary notions as to the quality of Irish produced farm produce [potatoes carrots cabbage lettuce onions cauliflower brussels sprouts etc] is understandable.

Dole is paid to people who cant find work whereas the EU in the main pays farmers not to work: hence they have time to be thugs who want us to pay higher prices for poorer quality stuff and at the same time:
1 pollute our environment with all sorts of sh!te
2 dump dead animals whereever they like
3 prevent the development of hill walking and other tourist focussed activities by more thuggery.

The demo to which I refer was held in a public place with a license, the thuggery yesterday was on private property where the hotel staff were assaulted and terrorised.

Perhaps a dose of swine flu or F+M would keep these thugs occupied.

mikemac

A litre of milk costs around €1.14, at least I think that's what I paid last time.
Of course you can pay more or pay less then this.
Of this a farmer gets around 27 cent per litre.
It's the creamery and the retailer who make most of the money here.

I haven't read about this incident before I saw this thread and I don't realy know what happened.
And I don't know was it dairy farmers or who exactly was protesting.

Just chipping in that's with most products you buy, you can be sure it isn't the farmer making the money.

Don't forget that the grant system keeps thousands employed. If that system ever goes, you'll be reading about protests but it'll be by displaced Dept of Agriculture staff moreso then farmers.
It's going to happen soon, eight regional offices to close

Bitten & Hisses

mikemac wrote: »

It's the creamery and the retailer who make most of the money here.

Most liquid milk processors would contend that it's not a great business to be in, but that's not the issue here.
The issue is retailer margins. The retailer does everything possible to protect their margins, at the expense of all others in the food chain. Reading some of the comments here, you'd think that the retailers are some benevolent philanthropists and but for them, the farmers would have the ordinary member of the public paying through the nose for the ****e they're producing.
Most farmers use their EU payments to subsidise their operation. Without these payments, farmers all over the country would go to the wall. To qualify for these payments, farmers must jump through endless hoops, satisfy the whims of government bureaucrats and satisfy environmental requirements. To state that farmers are polluting the water supply (Perhaps you should look at some raw sewage from towns going directly into watercourses) and dumping carcasses all over the country is false and disingenuous.
The point is, most EU subsidies ensure that you get cheap, locally-produced food, produced to the highest standards. Of course, retailers have been able to maintain and increase their margins while dropping prices. You see all them 2 for 1 or 3 for 2 offers in your local supermarket? The suppliers pay for them, not the retailer. Ultimately, the EU subsidy pays for this type of activity.

johnstown

CAP subsidies are in place for the purpose of keeping the price of food low and for food security in the EU. A lot of farmers do not make money and do indeed rely on the subsidies to keep them afloat. For others who are larger in operation that may not be the case.

I am from a farming background and neighbours of mine are one of the largest recipients in the country. However, while they do receive a considerable amount, their outgoings are also considerable and they suffered a bad loss last year due to weather conditions. You can be guaranteed that on average the price received for produce is below the average cost to produce. Thing is, some farmers can produce below the average.

Most farms in Ireland are also too small and the lack of availabilty of land for sale and the price do not allow more efficient farmers to progress.

snowman707

Carlow52 wrote: »

Try explain that to the 300k+ unemployed: the last time something like that happened on the streets of Dublin

If farming goes down the swanee there will be 3 times your 300k on the dole, then you will need cheap milk & spuds

newman10

Bitten & Hisses wrote: »

The issue is retailer margins. The retailer does everything possible to protect their margins, at the expense of all others in the food chain.

If this is so why can I buy 2 litres of milk at 20 - 30 % in Tesco Killarney cheaper than 2 litres of Dawn. Am I correct in saying that both are packaged by Kerry Group in Killarney and sourced from the same pool of farmers.

Farmers also have to look at the Farmer owned Co-ops for some of the answers. Where does Co-op dividend go.

Bitten & Hisses

newman10 wrote: »

If this is so why can I buy 2 litres of milk at 20 - 30 % in Tesco Killarney cheaper than 2 litres of Dawn. Am I correct in saying that both are packaged by Kerry Group in Killarney and sourced from the same pool of farmers.

I can't answer that as I don't know where the own-brand milk is bottled. It could well be in Northern Ireland for all I know, or it could be in Dawn, Killarney.
It's not as if the people in Dawn are there, arms around the supermarket buyer going "Right so lads, we'll do this own-label cheap for ye now because we love ye so much". The supplier will more or less be told what he's going to do and he can take it or leave it. Retailers use their muscle to get the last penny out of suppliers and will threaten to de-list them. It's easier for a retailer to change supplier for own-label product as Joe Public won't know there's any difference, therefore the supplier finds themselves between a rock and a very hard place.