Dairy and eggs

Organic dairy results can be found here on the DairyCo website.

Dairy Market Overview - Summer (This article was written in June 2012)

The wet weather of the early summer has proved a challenge in most areas of the country with cows having to be brought back in to protect grass from heavy poaching. However, this wet weather has led to good grass yields and decent silage crops which should help bolster stocks which have been used up for buffer feeding housed stock. These concerns over grass from the backdrop to a much bigger concern in the dairy market – the question of price.

With all the big non-organic players having announced further price reductions many organic producers are worried that pressure will start falling onto them next. However, with a vibrant export market – last year 20% of OMSCo’s milk went overseas – still holding up despite the influx of new French producers, and a number of organic dairy farmers either retiring or switching back to non-organic production, at the time of writing in June, organic milk supply is currently sitting at 95% fulfilment. In practical terms this is about as good as it gets dueto mini peaks and troughs in dailyproduction – at the same pointin the season last year we were sitting at around 85% fulfilment.The early-Summer should be thetime when milk production is just finishing its peak production.

Of course, none of us currently know what effect the merger between Milk Link and Arla willhave on the organic milk sector,but hopefully consumer demandwill grow for liquid milk – fuelledby the £1m marketing campaign due to be launched by OMSCo after the Olympics. If this is the case increased sales should help to protect farm gate prices, allowing farmers to invest and expand with the market.

Organic Egg Market Overview - Summer 2012

The egg sector is still seeing the fallout from the ban on barren battery cages – it would seem that in part this is down to a misunderstanding in consumer perception that the ban was on all, not just barren, cages. As a result sales of caged egg are on the increase, while conversely free range and organic eggsare generally showing reduced demand. Encouragingly however, niche markets where there is good communication with consumers about the benefits of organic continue to hold up well.