Kite Consulting John Allen, Becki Leach

There was lots for hosts Will Evans and Ben Eagle to discuss with the guests on this week’s podcast. Firstly, along with the usual milk market update, Chris Walkland and John Allen discussed the very positive news regarding Muller’s acquisition of Yew Tree Dairy and the wider commitment to the sector being shown by UK based processors and how this is supports a positive outlook for UK farmers. Chris & John also joined NZ AgFirst CEO; James Allen and Kite’s Edward Lott in reviewing the past NZ dairy season and discussing Fonterra’s opening forecast price for the season ahead, including the comparative Cost of Production and how this could impact on farmer confidence, sentiment and investment. James looks ahead to the changing structure of NZ dairy including political, environmental and export market influences and they discuss how this compares to the UK.

Other than the sad news about Mona Dairy, the remainder of Chris' milk market report is fairly positive this week. Will and Ben are then joined by Łukasz Wyrzykowski, Managing Director at IFCN and Judith Bryans, Chief Executive at Dairy UK to discuss World Milk Day & dairy across the world. Judith gives an update on Dairy UK and the situation with the potential changes to food labelling and how this may affect the industry. She outlines why World Milk Day is such a significant event in the dairy calendar and introduces the theme for this year, emphasising the importance of education and promotion of dairy as a sustainable and healthy form of nutrition. Lukasz outlines the crucial role of dairy nutrition in diets across the world, the different perceptions of dairy in terms of affordability and accessibility and difference in consumer trends, as well as what this means for farmers. They discuss the priorities of global dairy going forwards, where the sector should focus it’s messaging and the need to carefully plan policies so that ambitions for world dairy can be achieved.

On this weeks Podcast we’re joined by the Managing Director of Arla Foods UK, Bas Padberg, Kite Director John Allen, and Senior Consultant Becki Reay who will be discussing Arla and the more than £300 million worth of new UK investments that they’ve announced so far this year. In addition to previously announced plans for its Taw Valley site, Arla have announced that they will be updating and expanding their dairies and creameries at Lockerbie, Stourton, Aylesbury and Westbury. They go on to talk about what this means for the industry and for the future. Chris Walkland gives his usual Milk Market report for this week.

This week Will and Ben are joined by Catherine Paice, the Editor of Dairy Industry Newsletter; Kite Director John Allen and Rory Christie who farms in South West Scotland to discuss the Dairy Industry Newsletter Conference. Catherine outlines what they wanted to address at DIN, specifically in terms of global demand, supply and food security, what steps have already been taken and what needs to be done going forward. John and Rory discuss what they took from the conference and stress the importance of processors better understanding their farmers, especially in terms of sustainability, emphasising the need for processors and retailers to find ways of adding value to milk and feed back in at farm level to create secure supply chains for the future. Along with his usual milk market report, Chris covers the Cheese investment in Northern Ireland and what it means for the industry.

After Chris’ report this week; recorded from the DIN conference & including guest appearance or two, Will and Ben are discussing the Cream Awards with last years Young Farmer category winner; Charlotte West and David Cotton, Chair of the judging panel. Charlotte describes her experience entering the family business and how her decision to focus on and prioritise the farm team helped to create structure & improve understanding, positively impacting not only the team but animal health. David outlines why awards such as the Cream Awards are so important to not only individuals but the wider farm team and how the new categories reflect the changing dairy sector. He discusses with Becki what the judges are looking for, as well as how the judging process works and why Charlotte stood out during this process. Plus a reminder, there’s still time to put in an entry, with the deadline at the end of May.

After Chris’ report this week, Will and Ben are joined by Andrew Jones, a farm owner who entered a contract farming arrangement and Kite consultant Tillie Williams to discuss contract farming. Andrew outlines his experience as a business owner and the circumstances that led him to explore contract farming in the first place, including the process of finding/recruiting someone who would be a good fit for his business and how he manages that relationship now. Tillie explains why business owners may choose to explore this as an option, the benefits to both parties and importance of doing your due diligence, as well as things to focus on to ensure a successful partnership.