The dairy industry holds the ace cards when it comes to promoting, marketing and branding itself, according to NFU Deputy President Minette Batters.
Mrs Batters has told delegates at the SEMEX Conference in Glasgow today (Monday) that there’s an urgent need to get the British dairy brand recognised and revered across the world and that everyone has a part to play.
“The struggles over the past 12 months have been well documented - we've seen consecutive falls to the UK average milk price leaving us with the lowest average milk price for six years and commodity prices at rock bottom with no sign of recovery. I’m confident that given the right tools and support UK dairy farmers can compete with the best, but we all need to work together to do so.
“British dairy farmers are very much perceived by the public as an iconic part of rural Britain - there is no other sector in farming that the British public associates more with our treasured landscape than dairy farming.
“But at present we are leaving all the promotion and market development on dairy products to our processors. They’re doing a good job - there’s Arla's Cravendale and Anchor adverts, while Muller’s partnership with Team GB for the Rio 2016 Olympics gives ample opportunity for promotion. Numerous UK cheese processors and OMSCO have great examples of where exports have helped their business, but until recently exports have been looked at as a necessity rather than a priority for the UK dairy industry.
“What I think we are missing more than anything is a joined up approach on promotion both domestically through health and nutrition messages and for export. Current industry challenges must drive a new and focused ambition for British dairy farmers. From the NFU's perspective we will continue with our 'Back British Farming' campaign and there’s also developments within Government to celebrate all that’s great about British food.
“Nearly all UK milk is Red Tractor assured – we’ve used that domestically, continually telling shoppers to look out for the Red Tractor logo when buying dairy. But, are we getting a big enough bang from our buck from farm assurance and our industry’s attributes more widely? Let’s celebrate that through more farmer involvement in initiatives like Red Tractor week and increased consumer awareness.
The Irish marketing campaign is marching across the globe with the Northern Irish fast catching up. Ireland has one simple message - green and sustainable farming. It's a strong, simple message that everyone in the supply chain is using. We can achieve that here too if we focus on developing a strategy, pull together and back British dairy farming.”
