The poor farmer hypocrisy

Panch18

whelan2 wrote: »

Where anyone shops is their own business, no dont normally shop in Dunnes.About once every 6 months. Eldest lad is on a special diet for training so I shop about 4 times a week to make sure he has fresh stuff. No point doing a big shop and throwing it away.

I don’t really care where you shop to be honest, it’s the hypocrisy I’m trying to expose

Nobody on this forum should be buying their meat or veg from anywhere only their local butcher or green grocer

These guys are fighting the big supermarket chains and losing, we should be doing our best to support them, they pay a fair price for their purchases from farmers, the very least we should be doing is support them in return

It’s the same for any small local business, you support them to keep them alive. As farmers we expect the public to support us and buy Irish food, it should be engrained in every farmers mentality to do the same for his local businesses

fergus1001

Farming grants

CloughCasey1

fergus1001 wrote: »

Farming grants

Bus Eireann

whelan2

How many on here actually do their families grocery shopping each week? I know a good few do. But have often been listening to people preaching were people should be shopping and they haven't a clue of the price of bread etc in a shop.

CloughCasey1

whelan2 wrote: »

How many on here actually do their families grocery shopping each week? I know a good few do. But have often been listening to people preaching were people should be shopping and they haven't a clue of the price of bread etc in a shop.

1.58 for brennans/irish pride/ptb in the bigger shops white loaf. Another cartell.☺

whelan2

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

1.58 for brennans/irish pride/ptb in the bigger shops white loaf. Another cartell.☺

The point I ws making is in an ideal world yes we would all be buying from local butchers, grerngrocer etc. But economics force alot of people's hands. Those who push the local shopping on us normally never do the shopping in their house.

ganmo

How many eat their own animals?

Selling the raw material wholesale and buying retail is fairly bonkers to me

whelan2

ganmo wrote: »

How many eat their own animals?

Selling the raw material wholesale and buying retail is fairly bonkers to me

Think the big problem is not getting your own animal back

foxy farmer

A bit like the co op committee members who get their ration from other Miller's. Why? they're cheaper of course. To hell with loyalty and sentimentality. It's the bottom line at the end of the day that matters.

White Clover

whelan2 wrote: »

Think the big problem is not getting your own animal back

I think that would only happen in a minority of places.
On meat quality, we have our own beef and lamb, the quality of the meat is 100 times better than any supermarket.

We had lamb chops the other evening, after the first mouthful I knew it wasnt our own, "We" had forgotten to take them out of the freezer the evening before. The ones we were eating were from the super market.....absolute rubbish is all they were, and LOTS of farmers buy meat in the supermarket, makes no sense whatsoever.

MF290

White Clover wrote: »

I think that would only happen in a minority of places.
On meat quality, we have our own beef and lamb, the quality of the meat is 100 times better than any supermarket.

We had lamb chops the other evening, after the first mouthful I knew it wasnt our own, "We" had forgotten to take them out of the freezer the evening before. The ones we were eating were from the super market.....absolute rubbish is all they were, and LOTS of farmers buy meat in the supermarket, makes no sense whatsoever.

Similar to that we'd buy our meat off a local butcher. Was having shepards pie and the mince definitely tasted strange. Asked the mother and she said it was from the supermarket butchers. Very surprised I could taste the difference tbh.
If you kill your own animal you end up with a freezer full and half the stuff you'd never use.

ganmo

MF290 wrote: »

Similar to that we'd buy our meat off a local butcher. Was having shepards pie and the mince definitely tasted strange. Asked the mother and she said it was from the supermarket butchers. Very surprised I could taste the difference tbh.
If you kill your own animal you end up with a freezer full and half the stuff you'd never use.

And ya expect consumers to buy it?

Haven't bought any lamb at home in ages the neck and the heart are the cuts I don't like but next time ya try a different recipe.

Failing that with beef ya can make burgers

oldsmokey

MF290 wrote: »

Similar to that we'd buy our meat off a local butcher. Was having shepards pie and the mince definitely tasted strange. Asked the mother and she said it was from the supermarket butchers. Very surprised I could taste the difference tbh.
If you kill your own animal you end up with a freezer full and half the stuff you'd never use.

Anything thats too tough, get it minced - everyone luvs a burger!

hurling_lad

whelan2 wrote: »

The point I ws making is in an ideal world yes we would all be buying from local butchers, grerngrocer etc. But economics force alot of people's hands. Those who push the local shopping on us normally never do the shopping in their house.

I do the family shop in Aldi or Lidl for the same reason that I try to grow more grass and feed less meal to my cows: because it makes economic sense to do so.

freedominacup

Dakota Dan wrote: »

So where will they keep the dairy beef calves if the land is planted?

Don't jump down my throat. A question was posed and I'm giving an answer to it.

50,000 farmers farm 16% of the agricultural land area producing 6% of the national output. It would be a timescale measured in hours fir the rest of the industry to take up that slack if a magic wand was waved and these farms ceased production overnight. So to directly answer your question on the other farms that remain in production in this unlikely scenario and quite easily at that.

Bass Reeves

Panch18 wrote: »

Would Ye not support yer local butchers??

As farmers we complain about Larry taking us for a ride, about the big supermarkets taking us for a ride, Glanbia taking us for a ride etc etc

But yet when we have the small chance to exercise the small bit of power we have with our cash we do the same as every other Tom, Dick and Harry in this country and buy our food at the supermarkets, especially meat and veg

Shame on Ye

That’s the real hypocrisy right there

The local butcher will take you for a ride as well. Got him to kill a few lambs for me 8-10 years ago. He was going on holidays so he only hung them for 5-6 days and then cut them up.

whelan2 wrote: »

I go to the butchers often. But in reality the prices they charge it is not sustainable to do all your family meat shopping there.

This is the nub of the matter

Panch18 wrote: »

Sorry whelan but I’m calling rubbish on this, absolute rubbish I’m afraid

For starters our local butcher is doing deals which are top class value, most butchers are

Secondly, you are milking how many cows is it again, and you can’t afford to pay a bit extra for a bit of extra quality and to support a local business?? But yet you expect joe public to pay top dollar for your milk

Thirdly you know that 1 particular supermarket is better than the other for particular kinds of meat which tells me that you are buying most of not all of your meat at a supermarket

You’re not alone amongst the farming community however, there are plenty more

I repeat, shame on Ye

Punch you are full of crap. Yes if you live near abig town or city the local butcher will have offers. there is a good chance the chicken in his kiev's and Maryland are not Irish which in the large supermarket chains you will see the farm number on the package. I will hold my hand up and say I never buy branded milk any longer. When it retails for over 1 euro/litre (recently it was 1.3/L when I can buy own brand board bia approved milk for 75c/L.

Most of these local butcher and greengrocers were not exactly saints when dealing with farmers. They would switch from you next week to another producer if the product was cheaper

Panch18 wrote: »

I don’t really care where you shop to be honest, it’s the hypocrisy I’m trying to expose

Nobody on this forum should be buying their meat or veg from anywhere only their local butcher or green grocer

These guys are fighting the big supermarket chains and losing, we should be doing our best to support them, they pay a fair price for their purchases from farmers, the very least we should be doing is support them in return

It’s the same for any small local business, you support them to keep them alive. As farmers we expect the public to support us and buy Irish food, it should be engrained in every farmers mentality to do the same for his local businesses

Get a reality check

MF290 wrote: »

Similar to that we'd buy our meat off a local butcher. Was having shepards pie and the mince definitely tasted strange. Asked the mother and she said it was from the supermarket butchers. Very surprised I could taste the difference tbh.
If you kill your own animal you end up with a freezer full and half the stuff you'd never use.

Crap Its the same milk, meat and chicken. Only difference is that some suppliers hand meat longer than other. There was a supermarket near me that was at that. The beef and lamb was tough and tainted. There meat sales fell hep presto two years later they have changed

Floki

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Crap Its the same milk, meat and chicken. Only difference is that some suppliers hand meat longer than other. There was a supermarket near me that was at that. The beef and lamb was tough and tainted. There meat sales fell hep presto two years later they have changed

I take it you don't subscribe to the thinking that Kobe beef is worth a premium and that it tastes different than other beef.
Could also go on about forestry reared bacon or grass fed chicken and on and on and on.

Something wrong with your taste buds Bass??

Question for the floor.

How do you know an egg from a grass fed hen?

Lady Haywire

Floki wrote: »

Question for the floor.

How do you know an egg from a grass fed hen?

Yolk is orange compared to a paler version of yellow. :P

On meat shopping here we do a mix of both. My parents would very rarely buy any meat in a supermarket & only then it'd be on special off or specialty stuff from the butcher counter in SuperValu. My mother prefers organic stuff too when she can get it. Plus has to be branded milk for her whereas I have notions and try to buy the local Raw stuff when I can. :rolleyes:
I, on the other hand, will buy supermarket meat but can still taste the difference :pac: And even then I'll only buy mince & fresh chicken or steaks (Lidl has the best steaks imo but I like mature meat and our local butcher kills quite young heifers) I quite like being able to look for marbled steaks too as the butcher cuts them fresh off the one lump so I can't choose what i like. We either get fresh caught fish from a local lad here or go to the market where there's a chap from Donegal, though do like the odd bit of Donegal Catch plaice!

I don't think it's fair to criticise folks for shopping all in the one place for convenience & budget measures. At least most (if not all) fresh LIDL/ALDI meat is Irish as i've heard stories about the chicken in those butcher deals.

Dakota Dan

freedominacup wrote: »

Don't jump down my throat. A question was posed and I'm giving an answer to it.

50,000 farmers farm 16% of the agricultural land area producing 6% of the national output. It would be a timescale measured in hours fir the rest of the industry to take up that slack if a magic wand was waved and these farms ceased production overnight. So to directly answer your question on the other farms that remain in production in this unlikely scenario and quite easily at that.

Wessel3

some of the best chicken etc ive had is from lidl and some of the worst saltiest sheeite is from the butchers

Muckit

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I will hold my hand up and say I never buy branded milk any longer. When it retails for over 1 euro/litre (recently it was 1.3/L when I can buy own brand board bia approved milk for 75c/L.

And you are dead right. Guess what? Because it's the same milk only different carton. I was on a tour around local Arrabawn a few mths ago and they made no secret that they supply most big supermarket chains and sell under their own brand. Seen them stacked on the trolleys in cold room side by side.

CloughCasey1

Muckit wrote: »

And you are dead right. Guess what? Because it's the same milk only different carton. I was on a tour around local Arrabawn a few mths ago and they made no secret that they supply most big supermarket chains and sell under their own brand. Seen them stacked on the trolleys in cold room side by side.

Comes to the shops in the one truck and the same milk man stacks both brands!!

patsy_mccabe

Have any of you ever eaten 'jamon Iberico puro de bellota' or acorn-fed pure breed Iberico ham. I had it once in Spain. Was over there once with work and our sales guy there recomended it. Never tasted meat as nice.
All you need is a story folks.....and Bord Bia are not the ones to come up with it.

Bass Reeves

Muckit wrote: »

And you are dead right. Guess what? Because it's the same milk only different carton. I was on a tour around local Arrabawn a few mths ago and they made no secret that they supply most big supermarket chains and sell under their own brand. Seen them stacked on the trolleys in cold room side by side.

Years ago at work got a great laught told the townies that the own brand milk was different, it came from the back two teats ( nearer the backside) they lapped up this info. It was great until a lad explained about milking machines and trucks collecting the same milk:D

Yes Kobe beef is different as is parmasen cheese and brie and different quality's. I like to taste the rib from 15-20 year old cow finished in french/spansih border. But lots of butchers buy now from wholesalers who buy from abbatoirs and factory's depending on demand and price.

Willfarman

I had a sirloin from a 16 year old water buffalo cow recently. Was well hung. Was very tasty but couldn't call it tender or comparable to a young animal. I am bemused at the old cow beef premium product stories! Cows used to die and go to the dogs or a hole before the canned beef factories.

Another point about butcher/green grocer vs supermarket is opening times. Monday evening around 7 or 8pm is when the big shop is almost always done in our house. The butchers and greengrocers are long gone home by this time so if you want to buy fresh meat/veg for the week then you buy it in the supermarket.

I'm fairly sure judging by how busy shops are in the evening that I'm far from a small minority of people who do most of their shopping late in the evening.

I do try to pick up some stuff from butchers now and again and fresh fish from the fish mongers but most of the time it's simply not practical.

Floki

CloughCasey1 wrote: »

Comes to the shops in the one truck and the same milk man stacks both brands!!

I have relations in the retail business (they make more of a margin on a litre of milk than the farmer but that's another story) but three different vans deliver milk to this shop.
One from strathroy. One from Glanbia and one from a local farmer.

There's lots of misinformation floating around here.

Another one for the floor.
What's the difference taste wise in milk between silage fed cows, grass fed cows and brassica fed cows?

Panch18

Bass Reeves wrote: »

The local butcher will take you for a ride as well. Got him to kill a few lambs for me 8-10 years ago. He was going on holidays so he only hung them for 5-6 days and then cut them up.




This is the nub of the matter




Punch you are full of crap. Yes if you live near abig town or city the local butcher will have offers. there is a good chance the chicken in his kiev's and Maryland are not Irish which in the large supermarket chains you will see the farm number on the package. I will hold my hand up and say I never buy branded milk any longer. When it retails for over 1 euro/litre (recently it was 1.3/L when I can buy own brand board bia approved milk for 75c/L.

Most of these local butcher and greengrocers were not exactly saints when dealing with farmers. They would switch from you next week to another producer if the product was cheaper



Get a reality check



Crap Its the same milk, meat and chicken. Only difference is that some suppliers hand meat longer than other. There was a supermarket near me that was at that. The beef and lamb was tough and tainted. There meat sales fell hep presto two years later they have changed

Bass if you think that meat and chicken are the same everywhere they you really don't have any taste buds or any kind of defined palate at all - which it turns out is often the problem - most people wouldn't know good food

Fact is there is plenty of value to be had at your local butchers if they are anyway half decent. for the record I'm from South Tipp, about 15 miles from Clonmel and our local butcher is supplying top class quality at equally as good value as any supermarket. so not a city in sight

Panch18

Molly Hundreds Pension wrote: »

Another point about butcher/green grocer vs supermarket is opening times. Monday evening around 7 or 8pm is when the big shop is almost always done in our house. The butchers and greengrocers are long gone home by this time so if you want to buy fresh meat for the week then you buy it in the supermarket.

I'm fairly sure judging by how busy shops are in the evening that I'm far from a small minority of people who do most of their shopping late in the evening.

I do try to pick up some stuff from butchers now and again and fresh fish from the fish mongers but most of the time is simply not practical.

This is a very valid point and something that a lot of small shops and businesses face when going up against the big boys, given the cost of labour nowadays its extremely difficult for small local operators to compete

Panch18

You know farming is doomed when you have a fair few on here choosing/defending/sympathising with the supermarkets

We really are approaching the end game in Irish farming