Wednesday's Letters: Imbalance of power that hurts dairy farmers

Why then do retailers constantly use it as a loss leader?

Because of exceptionally clever marketing, it leads consumers to think they will benefit while it actually costs the retailer nothing.

Milk is perishable – no-one buys any extra even if it is cheap so there is no real saving if the rest of the basket has increased in price.

Dairy farmers who produce the milk will bear any loss, with no control over the selling price of their product due to the present abuse of the imbalance of power in the milk supply chain that allows retailers to set the price paid to producers for milk.

Large retailers will try to tell you they pay their producers a premium.

In the case of Tesco, farmers are obliged to hand over the financial details of their business to a costings company called Promar in order to receive a so-called premium price, to allow the retailer to work out the bare minimum to cover cost of production plus a minimum amount to cover the cost of investment needed to keep a business just above water.

Would producers in any other industry expect to have to hand over their financial details to their buyer's costings company?

With a perishable product and the need to survive, those offered a so-called premium price have very little choice. Producers who choose not to provide their financial details are financially penalised by the retailer.

Then, as powerful retailers hold down prices, other buyers are unable to compete and have to pay their producers even less than the cost of production.

This explains the rapid exodus of British dairy farmers who are

custodians of Britain's beautiful countryside.

Production of milk in our own country ensures we have more control over the supply, price and standard of milk production and other dairy products, and are better able to control animal welfare.

From: Kathleen Calvert, Paythorne, Clitheroe.

In praise of normal teenagers

From: K Walkek, Scarborough.

IN response to Jayne Dowle's column on teenagers (Yorkshire Post, August 23), it reminded me of a Saturday past. While I was walking in the fine sunny weather in Scarborough, I came across a group of young teenagers playing cricket on the South Bay.

Along with other mature folk, we stood and watched these young lads play what look like a very well organised cricket match.

They were not dressed in cricket whites, just normal teenage summer fashion. Their makeshift cricket pitch was well marked out with barrier tape and tiny cones representing the boundary. It was well played and they certainly looked as though they were having fun.

There were no teenage tantrums when one player was caught out just a very normal hand over of the bat to the next lad. So, to the adults who organised that morning activity, well done and well done to the young teenagers. Sure it's not Headingley, but it looked great fun for all. Not all teens are bad; they are just normal teenagers.

Ominous sign on cost cuts

From: Paul Andrews, Ryedale councillor.

AS a former long-serving officer in the public service, I could show the coalition Government how to reduce the cost of local government in a way which would be fair, self-policing and accepted by every public service trades union.

However, as I am not a highly paid consultant or a leader of British industry, the chances of anybody in high office taking any notice is remote.

The difficulty is fairness. Services are more expensive to provide in sparsely populated areas than in the conurbations, but the conurbations are able to raise more money from council tax because of the huge

number of taxpayers densely concentrated in urban areas.

The result is that if all authorities are asked to make the same percentage cuts, the country districts soon find themselves struggling to provide core services, while the same cuts are easily absorbed by the big metropolitan areas.

This is why the Audit Commission groups every local authority into its own "family group", depending on the particular characteristics of its district, ie in terms of population numbers and density, the degree of urbanisation, the availability of employment opportunities, the geographical area etc. Like authorities are grouped with like and their costs and performance compared.

It is only a small step for the Audit Commission to be required to specify the average cost of each council service provided by each council within each "family group".

The above suggestion illustrates the usefulness of the Audit Commission.

Well what are we doing with the Audit Commission? We're scrapping it! People who work in the public service know how important the Audit Commission (and before them the District Audit) is for maintaining standards of financial probity in the public service. A privately-owned limited company will go bust if it is mismanaged, and so all it needs is an auditor. Local authorities cannot go bankrupt, and that is why the Audit Commission is needed as a public watchdog.

For the last few months, we have given the Government the benefit of the doubt in regard to cost cuts.

However, the proposed disbanding of the Audit Commission is an ominous sign. It suggests they don't know what they're doing.

Simplify the forms

From: Bob Baker, rural development officer, Churches Regional

Commission, Farming and Rural Business Project, Thirsk Rural Business Centre.

THE news (Yorkshire Post, August 21) that the coalition Government is looking at making communication with Defra for farmers paperless fills me with dread and misgiving for the farming world.

While agreeing with, and supporting, a lot of their thinking on efficiency saving and cost cutting, I can't support these ill-thought out recommendations and urge a rethink of the idea that all farmers can communicate by the internet.

In many of the areas of country, especially here in North Yorkshire, the line capacity is woefully inadequate to support broadband with a lot of the telephone lines barely able to support basic dial-up in the deeply rural parts of this county and in similar areas elsewhere in the country.

Surely the way forward would be to simplify the single farm payment form and also include on it the equivalent of the June census, so doing away with the census forms thus saving time, money and effort?

If all applicants to various environmental schemes were included on the same form, the number of times the farmer enters the same data over and over again would be reduced dramatically.

But the savings to the Government would be immense as one central database would do it all.

Tragic consequences that await university hopefuls

From: Mrs Jennifer Hunter, Farfield Avenue, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.

YOUR Editorial has, once again, earned my applause (Yorkshire Post, August 18 and August 20) by illuminating the political failings regarding the standard of A-levels and present scramble for university places.

It has become increasingly difficult to differentiate between the brightest and less bright scholars. If all stars in a stelliferous nocturnal sky burn brightly, it becomes harder to discern the major stars.

The consequences of so much success by so many of today's candidates have already manifested themselves. They are utter confusion, chaos and misery. Very many young people have obviously displayed

conscientiousness, but many have simultaneously been woefully misinformed regarding their actual academic ability and personal suitability for further and higher studies.

By raising their expectations and failing to provide sufficient study places, the system which has praised these young people has, in reality, let them down badly and this disillusionment can only lead to more tears being shed than peals of joyous laughter.

Additionally, many candidates who fail to obtain a study place will subsequently struggle to obtain any form of employment in the present economic climate. Today's lack of employment prospects heightens the misery.

Chaos and confusion can also be experienced at the very highest university levels. I was led to believe that only the brightest and best-performing scholars would be considered for Oxbridge places.

Earlier this year, I read an interesting, informative article by a reputable writer which mentioned the necessity to provide some first-year Oxbridge students with remedial instruction regarding essay-writing.

If such deficiencies emerge in high calibre institutions, I personally dread to imagine what standards are displayed by students at a far less prestigious level.

I used to laugh heartily when I watched the comedy series Dad's Army when the character of Captain Mainwaring (played by Arthur Lowe) often told his men that they were "entering the realms of fantasy" when discussing their ideas. It appears to me that in some respects a world of fantasy has already been successfully accessed in the field of education.

However, I predict that the tragic consequences of this world of

fantasy will, in the course of time, far outweigh the comical aspects.

Adding up the housing figures

From: Coun Les Carter, Adel and Wharfedale Ward, Civic Hall, Leeds.

YOUR article about under-occupied council homes (Yorkshire Post, August 16) presents a slightly misleading picture of the situation in Leeds.

The article cites findings of a mutual exchange service, Homeswapper.co.uk, with figures based on the number of tenants listed on their website, and reports that 19 per cent of council homes in Leeds are under-occupied.

That sounds like a lot, but when you consider that in July 2010 only around 135 social tenants from Leeds were registered with Homeswapper, including RSL tenants, the 19 per cent figure can be seen in a different light.

In fact, Leeds City Council subscribes to an alternative service called House Exchange, with about 2,700 registered Leeds council tenants. Of those, only about four per cent are classed as under-occupying.

That said, we haven't been complacent about under-occupation in Leeds over the last six years. The previous administration set up the under-occupation scheme to offer people who are under-occupying the chance to downsize to a smaller property in return for 1,000 per bedroom released. The scheme has been very successful since it started in July 2008, freeing up 234 family- sized properties so far.

Thatcher's snobbery

From: ME Wright, Grove Road, Harrogate.

TOM Howley (Yorkshire Post, August 18) reminds us of Margaret

Thatcher's assertion that "a man aged 25 years and still using public transport is a failure". He describes it as "her senseless statement", but was it?

It encapsulated her innate snobbery and contempt for those whom she deemed inferior. No doubt it made impeccable sense to her and her acolytes and she was certainly consistent in trying to save

such "failures" from themselves by bequeathing to Britain probably the most inadequate and expensive public transport in Europe.

Vital battle

From: Ken Dransfield, Firs Grove, Harrogate.

OUR young people in uniform need the world to know of the great things being done for the people of Afghanistan and, moreover and importantly, to understand that those young people are very much aware of why they are there and that they take pride in what they are doing.

What is forgotten is that this conflict is not simply about winning the hearts and minds of the people of Afghanistan but, for success, it is also about winning the hearts and minds of our people here in Britain.