Ian Potter Associates s11

IAN POTTER ASSOCIATES 29th February 2008 Specialist Agricultural Quota & Entitlement Brokers Telephone 01335 324594 Fax 01335 324584 Ceefax BBC2 Page 24 Website www.ipaquotas.co.uk Email [email protected] Today Last Week Change 4 Weeks Ago Same Week 2007 12 month average Clean 1.00ppl 1.00ppl - 1.10ppl 1.50ppl 2.02 Lease 0.10ppl 0.10ppl - 0.10ppl 0.10ppl 0.14 AMPE 26.60ppl 27.00ppl 18.70ppl 28.35 MCVE 28.23ppl 28.85ppl 20.37ppl 27.53 Producers 12,514 - -697 in 12 months 12,561 13,211 12,794 in E & W 28ppl contract from Muller ups the pace Muller has unveiled its new direct supplier milk contract, which offers 28ppl for a typical producer. Obviously, the devil is in the detail and Muller farmers will be only too aware that others who have issued new contracts have offered a price incentive to mask dramatic changes in terms, which are usually detrimental to producers. It would appear this may not be the case with Muller’s, who are offering, for example, existing direct suppliers the ability to leave after 6 months notice. It will be interesting to learn whether the UK’s largest yoghurt processor utilised significant parts of the NFU’s (E&W) draft contract and what influence the NFU has had on the contract. Preferential terms to those under notice to leave milk co-op Oh dear, oh dear, we seem to have uncovered evidence that one of our co-ops is tailoring the terms it offers to farmers who are currently under notice to leave at the expense of those members not under notice. Deals such as refunds on hygiene penalties, promises of no more capital contributions (ever) and bonuses approaching 1ppl are filtering through. If you are under notice to leave your milk purchaser and have been offered a juicy carrot to stay please let Ian know. No names will be disclosed and all information will be treated in the strictest confidence. ASDA/Arla 1,000 cow herd hangs up the clusters In a dramatic turn around of events, Dutch owned Lavernham Holsteins have decided to shut up shop at the former Strutt & Parker farms unit in Suffolk. Having only been on the farm for a little over 3 years, the ASDA dedicated suppliers who deliver in excess of 6 million litres have suddenly done a complete U-turn from buying up cows to expand to 1,000 plus to selling up. The departure must surely register with those responsible for negotiating 1st April farm gate milk prices. The reality is amongst dairy farmers there is minimal confidence and the position across the UK is very fragile. Dairy UK very concerned over proposed quota reform Whilst Dairy UK is in favour of the abolition of milk quotas, it is certainly at odds with the NFU (E&W) over the proposed 2% increase to all member states from 1st April 2008. Dairy UK has published a very interesting guide “The CAP Health Check and the Dairy Sector” and put simply they want a soft landing but like many others, including Ian, are convinced that an immediate 2% quota increase is more of a hard landing, especially for the UK, who will gain zero benefit from any increase. Dairy UK points out such an increase will “stimulate production in other parts of Europe, boosting supply and cutting EU dairy commodity prices.” Dairy UK prefers a gradual incremental increase in quotas between now and 2015 equally across all member states. The Commission would prefer to agree such increases during 2008 to remove the necessity to have annual arguments as to what is an acceptable increase. French milk production up 450 million litres Following relaxation of the rigid quota movement restrictions, France is expected to produce an additional 450 million litres of milk this year with some farms producing 20% more milk. The result is that some processors are taking delivery of significantly more milk than they have contracts for, hence the spot price for milk in France has crashed to 14p/litre compared to the ex-farm gate price of 26.5ppl (Source: Dairy UK) Arla profits weigh in at £90 million Despite having to battle with constantly upward raw milk prices, particularly in Denmark, and the shock waves from the Danish cartoon fiasco, Arla has succeeded in returning a £90 million profit. The majority of the £90 million will be returned to its members. £6m investment for Greenfield 1,200 cow dairy Russian dairy processors, Wimn-Bill-Dann, have opened a state of the art dairy near St Petersburg, where an investment of just over £6m will accommodate up to 1,200 cows. The reason for the investment is to ensure they have a constant quality supply for their processing factory. The operation is one of four Wimn projects, costing more than £20m, including the building of a 2,700 cow unit. Watchdog inaccurately criticises co-ops milkshake contents as “The Strawberry Swizz” Strawberry milkshakes made by Milk Link, under the Moo brand, are one of several items highlighted by the Food Commission as products which appear to contain strawberries but contain no traces of strawberry. Unfortunately, the research was done last autumn, prior to reformulation of Strawberry Moo, actually, which saw a change to include natural colouring and flavourings in the shakes. Milk Link has agreed with the Commission that they no longer use additives to produce the flavour or colour, however their website has yet to be updated. MDC staff scoop Nuffield Scholarships Joanne Speed and Brian Lindsay were both successful in being awarded Nuffield Scholarships to study lameness in dairy cows and climate change in the dairy industry respectively. WANTED SDA MOORLAND NAKED ACRES If you have naked Moorland acres (i.e. land without Entitlements) or your claim has minimal or no historic element attached to it we

TEN IN CALF HEIFERS FOR SALE – Beat the vector free summer period movement closedown A level bunch of 10 well grown commercial heifers P.D. 5-6 months in calf to a Hereford bull. All will be TB and Bluetongue tested. Note, they are located in Ashbourne in a Bluetongue surveillance area and to move them to the North and Wales they must be moved before 16th March. Contact Ian for details. have a client who is prepared to pay a premium for upto 500 acres, which can be in smaller parcels. Contact Joanne at the office.

All views expressed in this bulletin are those of Ian Potter Associates and a shed load of dairy farmers. It is necessarily short and cannot deal with the various issues that arise in any detail. As a result it must not be relied on as giving sufficient advice in any specific case. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the content but neither Ian Potter Associates nor Ian Potter personally can accept liability for any errors or omissions. Professional advice must always be taken before any decision is reached