Dairy farmers told industry future is positive if they take more risks
UK - Dairy farmers could make better profits if they took more risks and developed their businesses, speakers at the Pasture to Profit conference at Stafford said this week.
18 January 2007
1 minute read
The industry faced a positive future if alternative farming systems were considered and farmers made the most of their skills, even if finances to develop their business weren’t available, delegates were told.
Tom Rawson, who milks 200 organic cows with his wife and parents on their 340 acre farm in Yorkshire, turned to organic dairying after deciding he could not afford to expand his herd.
By becoming organic, their milk price went from 16ppl to 22ppl and the family were soon able to invest in facilities to process their own milk under the Clever Cow organic milk brand.
‘Unknown market’
While Mr Rawson admitted there were risks, the business has benefited from trying to do something different.
“In processing our own milk we were entering an unknown market,” Mr Rawson said. “But we could see the potential – there were 4mn possible customers in our catchment area.”
Source: Farmers Weekly
