Dairy Crest gets direct

The news that Dairy Crest has established Dairy Crest Direct, said to be the first producers organisation in the UK, has caused much talk. Effectively, there will be two sets of farmers – one for the Davidstow creamery, and the others going with Muller Wiseman. While I applaud any measure that will give farmers a bit more of an equal role in the pricing structure, I do worry that it might be a bit more of a show window than an effective way for the prices to be equitable in the dairy sector. Time will tell.

Nevertheless, the government is enthusiastic about producer organisations, so Dairy Crest is stepping into the breach and starting the process. It’s time to look at other countries, like Germany, and see how their PDOs have fared. It does offer the dairy industry more options, which can only be a good thing in these ever-testing times.