Reader TTS

FARMGATE MILK PRICES IN THE UK HAVE RISEN THROUGHOUT 2008, AND THE ROLLING 12 MONTH AVERAGE SHOULD REACH 26P/LITRE BY MARCH 2009. BUT DAIRY FARMERS’ COSTS OF PRODUCTION HAVE BEEN RISING JUST

AS FAST, WARNS FARM BUSINESS CONSULTANT ANDERSONS. “However, the 2007/08 and 2008/09 milk years should return the sector to a reasonable level of profitability that gives producers some

return on capital,” says the firm’s head of business research Francis Mordaunt. “The continued upward movement in prices is somewhat against the EU and world trends. A continued lack of

supply in the UK, as producers have leftthe sector, has helped insulate the remaining farmers from falls in dairy commodity prices elsewhere, and the link with cost of production established

by some retailers for the liquid market will have helped those producers who signed up.” SOME COSTS FALL If current farmgate prices can be maintained into 2009, profitability may even creep

up for a time as input costs fall, especially fuel and cereal-based feed. Even fertiliser costs may reduce, but many farmers will have already committed at least some of their requirements

for the 2009 forage season. These conditions may encourage fewer farmers to leave the industry, especially at a time when the margins for the alternatives of growing cereals and letting

property have deteriorated sharply. However, downward pressure on farmgate prices is bound to come from the commodity cheese and other product sectors unless consumers insist on British or

locally produced dairy products. Behaviour could change as recession bites. PRICE CUTS WORRY “The recent 2p/litre cut in milk price by Dairy Farmers of Britain, although driven by business

restructuring, may be the start of other price cuts. The retailer tracker schemes will pick up the cost reductions from March 2009, and these price cuts will certainly be followed by other

milk buyers, particularly those sourcing for commodity processing, who have not already cut prices,” says Mr Mordaunt.   Other factors will continue to drive producers out of milk

production. Age or retirement , historic under-investment, the need to respond to NVZ regulations and a lack of optimism in all parts of the industry are likely to contribute.  FEED COSTS

The livestock industry as a whole was faced with sharply higher feed costs during 2008. Not simply from the headline rises in cereal prices, but also from rapid increases in the price of the

proteins like soya. For 2009, producers can look forward to some costs reducing, although for some it may take time before these feed through to farm margins, says Mr Mordaunt. “Any

production systems relying on grass are likely to see costs moving in the opposite direction. Most fertiliser for the 2009 season has already been contracted at far higher prices than were

paid in 2008. If fertiliser prices have permanently shifted to a different level, then there will be increased interest in the targeted use of livestock manures to replace at least part of

the purchased fertiliser requirement. Although the new NVZ regulations are obviously unwelcome in terms of the increased costs they impose on farmers, it may be possible to make the best of

a bad job and use stored manures effectively.” This article is adapted from Andersons’ Outlook publication. Andersons is running a series of professional seminars in February and March

looking in greater detail at the prospects for the farming industry in 2009 and beyond, in the following locations: • Brooksby College, Leicestershire, 23rd Feb • Harper Adams College,

Shropshire, 24th Feb • Saxham Business Park, Suffolk, 26th Feb • Worcester RFU, Worcestershire, 4th Mar • Salisbury Racecourse, Wiltshire, 5th Mar • Exeter Racecourse, Devon, 6th Mar • 

Westmorland Showground, Cumbria, 10th Mar • Royal Highland Showground, Edinburgh, 11th Mar • Askam Bryan College, Yorks, 12th Mar • East of England Showground, Cambs, 18th Mar • RAF Club,

Piccadily, London, 20th Mar The cost of the half-day seminar, including lunch, is £112 plus VAT.