Chris Walkland
Analysis and FeaturesMilk price wars: Battle of the bottle enters new phase
Retailers with dedicated milk pools have paid an extra £500m for their milk over the past five years. But now they are asking tough questions
Analysis and FeaturesRecord spring flush to push down cheese prices
Tuesday (1 April) sees the start of the new quota year, and by all accounts it’s going to start with a bang…
Analysis and FeaturesSOS Dairy! Plus ça change...
The SOS Dairy campaign reversed farm price cuts in 2012, but did it have a lasting impact on shopper and retailer behaviour?
Analysis and FeaturesDairy consolidation: for sale and wanted
In the wake of the Müller-Wiseman and Arla-Milk Link deals, hunger to secure big milk fields is as strong as ever
- News
Dairy Crest stands firm on Cheddar promotions
A defiant Dairy Crest has vowed to continue with its aggressive marketing strategy for Cathedral City and said it would 'not be out-promoted by anybody', despite other Cheddar brands warning the category needed to rethink its approach to...
NewsIndie stores alerted over a mystery dairy supplier
Independent shop owners in the Midlands have been put on alert by their dairy suppliers after an unknown supplier started targeting stores with offers of discount milk, bread and eggs. Over the past few weeks, hundreds of independents and...
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Cambridgeshire could get a super-dairy too
Despite opposition from pressure groups, interest in super-dairies shows no signs of abating with news this week that a new large-scale operation is planned. This week, farmer David Alvis revealed that he is looking to set up a 2,000 to...
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Meat plants face ‘covert surveillance’ by activists
Abattoirs and food businesses involved in meat supply are being warned to be alert to 'covert invasion' by anti-meat campaigners after an attempt to prosecute three slaughtermen was dropped by Defra.The three men were initially suspended...
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Dairy futures market to begin trading in autumn
Europe's first futures market for dairy products is set for a September launch, the trading company behind it has announced. Developer NYSE Euronext hopes the trading platform, designed to iron out price volatility, will go live in...
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New feed offers greener milk with lower satfats
A new cattle feed has been launched that its makers claim will slash the satfat content and carbon footprint of dairy products and "revolutionise" the dairy industry.Lintec, which is already used extensively on the Continent, was...
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QC claims judge ‘favoured JN’ in milk invoice trial
The JN Dairies vs Johal Dairies milk invoice theft case has taken another extraordinary twist with accusations of "favouring witnesses" amid allegations of "kidnapping, death threats, intimidation and bribes".After a two-day hearing at...
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Milk invoice theft plot exposed in High Court
Johal Dairies orchestrated the theft of a rival's confidential invoicing data and used it to poach customers with the offer of free milk, a court judge has ruled.In a High Court case last week that sheds light on the fiercely competitive...
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Arla loses key legal fight over milk supply contract
Arla Foods has lost a crucial legal case after it accused a farmer of reneging on his supply contract.Arla had accused dairy farmer David Barnes, of Withgill Farm in Lancashire, of breaking his contract by failing to ensure contractual...
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Milk retail price hike to offset production costs
The retail price of milk has risen this week as supermarkets reacted to higher farmgate production costs. The big four have all increased their milk prices in the past seven days from £1.44 to £1.53 for four pints – the first rise since May. The...
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Cheese price pushed up 10% by multiples
The retail price of cheese has risen by nearly 10% over the past week as supermarkets claimed they were responding to farmers’ calls for higher returns. Asda was the first to put up the price of 250g of own-label English mild white Cheddar by 9% to...
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Dairy Crest restarts Clover promotions
Dairy Crest will launch a TV ad campaign to promote Clover butter as the brand aims to recover from a contamination crisis last year. Two million Clover tubs were recalled last May when mould was found in the products. The company blamed...
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Consumers pick local produce over organic
Regionally produced dairy products are now more popular than organic among shoppers, new research by farmer co-operative First Milk has indicated. Many consumers are unsure of the true meaning of organic, while the 'local' message was one...
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ORGANIC: AT ANY COST?
There's a storm brewing in the fresh food aisles of Britain's supermarkets. Prices of British organic food must rise significantly and quickly if the sector is to head off a looming domestic supply crisis in milk and meat. New Year's Day...
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Milk co-ops welcome OFT merger approval
First Milk and Milk Link have welcomed the Office of Fair Trading's decision not to refer their merger plans to competition authorities - effectively giving it the green light. Having looked at territorial, milk supply, cheese production...