Organic milk supplies are coming under threat as farmers switch back to conventional milk production – on the grounds it is more commercially viable.
Securing organic milk supply was “the greatest challenge faced by the industry”, warned Richard Hampton, sales and marketing director at Omsco, Britain’s largest organic dairy supplier.
The number of dairy farmers exiting the organic sector had increased as input costs had risen, putting huge pressure on supply, said Hampton, citing Omsco research.
This was being compounded by a shortage of dairy farmers converting to organic production, he said, claiming there were currently no organic conversions in the pipeline.
The organic dairy farmers who remained in the industry were cutting back on production because of the high price of feed, he added. “As feed prices have risen over recent years, it’s less and less worth it for farmers to push for higher yields,” said Hampton.
“We really need to see a bigger gap between conventional and organic returns to stabilise the supply side.”
Last week, DairyCo reported a 1.5% decline in organic milk volume sales [TNS 52w/e 22 February 2009]. But Hampton expressed confidence organic dairy would prove resilient and sales would hold up through the recession.
“Organic is very well placed,” he said. “It plays on some of the key messages, such as health, environment and ethics.”
It was important retailers and suppliers continued to work hard to maintain demand in the current marketplace, he stressed.
Families were still trading up to organic milk as it was an affordable, better-quality product, insisted Yeo Valley Organic marketing director Ben Cull.
“The organic milk market is not perhaps recession-proof, but has held out better than any market, showing that if anything, dairy will ride out the storm,” he said.
Hampton urged suppliers to view organic production as a long-term gain.
Securing organic milk supply was “the greatest challenge faced by the industry”, warned Richard Hampton, sales and marketing director at Omsco, Britain’s largest organic dairy supplier.
The number of dairy farmers exiting the organic sector had increased as input costs had risen, putting huge pressure on supply, said Hampton, citing Omsco research.
This was being compounded by a shortage of dairy farmers converting to organic production, he said, claiming there were currently no organic conversions in the pipeline.
The organic dairy farmers who remained in the industry were cutting back on production because of the high price of feed, he added. “As feed prices have risen over recent years, it’s less and less worth it for farmers to push for higher yields,” said Hampton.
“We really need to see a bigger gap between conventional and organic returns to stabilise the supply side.”
Last week, DairyCo reported a 1.5% decline in organic milk volume sales [TNS 52w/e 22 February 2009]. But Hampton expressed confidence organic dairy would prove resilient and sales would hold up through the recession.
“Organic is very well placed,” he said. “It plays on some of the key messages, such as health, environment and ethics.”
It was important retailers and suppliers continued to work hard to maintain demand in the current marketplace, he stressed.
Families were still trading up to organic milk as it was an affordable, better-quality product, insisted Yeo Valley Organic marketing director Ben Cull.
“The organic milk market is not perhaps recession-proof, but has held out better than any market, showing that if anything, dairy will ride out the storm,” he said.
Hampton urged suppliers to view organic production as a long-term gain.
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