Dairy Farmer
The farmer has asked for his name and location to remain anonymous.
How do you think the public perceive farms?
60% good, 20% indifferent, 20% bad
Do you think that's changed recently?
Yes. Well I can't help but think that the money that's being spent by the Vegan people on two page advertising to give us a bad name or score some points. All advertising works so it's bound to have worked. We haven't caught up with that yet but there are people who are actively trying to give us a bad image and they will be successful.
Do you believe that is down to the power of advertising? Social media and that?
Well there's an awful lot of conversation/people who will just ignore what they say and want to go on eating beef but there would be some anti feeling. The British public love an underdog, so whilst it can be shown that the milk prices are making you loose money, they'll love you. But as soon as you're making a profit they'll hate you again. And there's a proportion of the public that swing that way.
So how do you feel when you see four pints of milk in the supermarket for £1?
... Silence... Disappointed
My blokes are alert to be aware of things like illicit cameras being set up on the farm or any gates that are left open/shut when they shouldn't be, anything like that we have to keep a look for because we feel that there will be people looking for bad publicity. You can always show something in a bad light with a camera if you want to.
So how many cows do you have at the moment?
Currently 285.
How much pride do you take in what you do?
Pride comes before a fall. I take enough pride without being vain. I've been to farms where the sense of pride, the sense of enthusiasm, the sense of raw hard work left me weak at the knees. I could never ever throw my heart and soul into every job they've done. And do you know what? They've sold up, I'm still going.
*Shown image of the farm from 1930* - That's what we started from. That's literally how we bought the place. And what you're actually looking at there is the main earner. Those poultry was the only bloody thing we made money from.
Was there a conscious decision to pursue dairy rather than meat?
Yeah, traditionally dairy has got a higher amount of work per acre, more workers, more activity, more man hours per acre than cereals but it does guarantee a higher return. So if you're limited by 400 acres, it seemed right to intensify that area of the farm that was showing the highest turnover and returns.
Companies specialise to focus on doing one thing really well. To make money you need exelence and this is a great example of that. The fact of the matter is, there was some time when you were guaranteed some kind of livelihood from dairy farming whether you were good at it or mediocre. It's becoming increasingly obvious that in order to have a future you need to know what you're doing.
My family came with 20 Short Horns and my father looked after those with his father throughout the war. I have got some milk cheques from 1946. What we produced in a month then is what we produce in a day now. Our cows are still bread form those short horns now.
I am proud of the fact that we've got a bit of heritage, but other farmers call it baggage because it gets in the way of making more cutting edge decisions.
*Provided an image of the farm when it was first bought in 1930:
What do you think the future of the dairy industry is with all these super farms that have automated parlours etc?
Well these are the kind of places I see going bust.
How come?
Because they've got an extra layer of management. 'Going bust' is a bit vague but what worries me is not so much that they can out perform me but what they will do is help the depressed prices and then the rest of us who have to match those prices. The only real standard is what is sustainable from the cows back.
They'll come and go. When you've built a super dairy, you've also made a super industrial estate. In reality that's what happens.
Ultimately there is a certain amount of milk that is required on British soil.
Milk 20p for a pint - What British agriculture looks like
A lot of people take farming for granted, perhaps because they don't know what you guys do..
I used to be a bit more vain about how hard we work, but now I know how bloody hard we work. There was an advertisement with a pop star and he actually mentioned a working hard farmer is a lifestyle choice and that was a turning point in advertising as he didn't go harping on about what a hard life it is. The thing is we get invisible returns, when I get the cows in in the morning and Im up on top of the downs and I am looking at the best of the British countryside and I realise I am being paid to do what other people only dream about doing on the weekend. and what's more you have to say well that is of value because if I lived in town I'd have to get in my car and drive out somewhere, get a B&B but before that I'd need a job, pay taxes, etc to even get here. So in that case it really does have financial value, we completely ignore it but it has. And the other perk I have with this job is my commute is from the top to the bottom of the my wellington boot, that's how far I go to get to work. I get a season ticket to get on that for nothing!
People who come here for walks etc have to get up at half 5 in the morning, demist the car, get on the road, sit in a load of traffic and go to work. I regard someone who's trying to make a living as not just the salary and the job but where you've got to live, how you've got to travel. The work life balance for me is as soon as you get in your car and you go to work - thats work. We've got a privelege
Do you feel that you're being taken for granted?
No. If you wanted to buy a saucepan today, you go to the shop to buy a bloody saucepan. You take fro granted the fact that people may have been screwed over just to get it on the shelves of Tesco. I don't see why I should expect too much
My father describes a time when Argentinian beef was coming into the country for next to no money and Canadian cheese, and it was all coming into the UK in the 1930s and it was u
The public are all for high quality produce but when you actually get to the supermarket it is the cheapest that they want.
Agricultural Consultant
Gave me some sources however I am not allowed to publish them online as they are confidential to the business.
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