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What is Organic Centre Wales (OCW)? OCW is the national resource for consumers, farmers and policy makers committed to more sustainable food and farming in Wales. Set up in 2000, it delivers projects to support and develop the organic sector. About the Centre.
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 The organic dairy market in Wales archiveMarket update by Huw Bowles OMSCo March 2012Another early spring has seen many organic cows out even earlier than last year which has resulted in volumes also increasing earlier than normal. With non-organic cereal prices rising, it is surprising that not all non-organic cows aren't out. The continued lack of rain, especially on the Welsh Borders, has many organic producers thinking that they may again be short of forage during the summer. The effects of last year's drought was one of the reasons given for a number of producers in Shropshire and Cheshire reverting to non-organic and a repeat this year will leave many grass based producers facing significant difficulties. From a market point of view, where organic milk and dairy products are available, sales seem to be holding up well, but a lot of the reduction in sales has been caused by lines being taken out of smaller outlets. It is now very rare to see organic milk on sale in the garages and 'metro' type shops of the major retailers, whereas these were common three years ago. Given the reduction in offerings, organic sales are showing a fair degree of resilience and hopefully when people stop writing it off as a fad, we will have a solid base to start some modest sales growth. DairyCo Milkbench+ report 2012 Published 16 January 2012, to read the full report click here This report shows the findings of the first full analysis that DairyCo have carried out on Milkbench+ data. The report raises many issues, including just how difficult it can be to make a profit from milk production. Kingshay Dairy Costings – Organic - Published 15 March 2012
Annual Rolling Averages Annual rolling results showed that there was an increase of 168 litres per cow (2.5%) in the average yield for the 12 months to January, to a total of 6,864 litres per cow. Average butterfat levels have increased by 0.03 percentage points to 4.00%, whilst protein levels were down 0.01percentage points to 3.25%. The average milk price increased by 1.08ppl (3.5%) from the previous year to 31.96ppl in January 2012.
Source: Kingshay Market update by Huw Bowles OMSCo February 2012With DairyCo reporting organic milk sales down 9% by volume in 2011, it is clear that many mainstream consumers are being led astray by the current cut-price offers on standard milk. Organic milk volumes had held up pretty well in the early stages of the recession and it appears that it is the discounting of non-organic milk rather than any dissatisfaction with organic which is causing the current reductions in sales. Nothing has changed in terms of the science and benefits for organic milk and there has been some recent positive coverage, including Countryfile and in the Daily Mail. Evidence has consistently shown that branded and direct sales have fared better than own-label products and with Yeo Valley rebranding being launched in March, hopefully this can provided some impetus to the whole organic dairy sector. DairyCo Milkbench+ report 2012 Published 16 January 2012, to read the full report click here This report shows the findings of the first full analysis that DairyCo have carried out on Milkbench+ data. The report raises many issues, including just how difficult it can be to make a profit from milk production. Kingshay Dairy Costings – Organic - Published 24 January 2012
Annual Rolling Averages Annual rolling results showed that there was an increase of 223 litres per cow (3.3%) in the average yield for the 12 months to November, to a total of 6,910 litres per cow. Average butterfat levels have increased by 0.03 percentage points to 3.98%, whilst protein levels were unchanged at 3.25%. The average milk price increased by 1.0ppl (3.3%) from the previous year to 31.72ppl in November 2011.
Source: Kingshay The organic dairy market in WalesMarket update by Huw Bowles OMSCo January 2012Retail sales of organic milk show no signs of reversing the current downward trend, with the latest Kantar figures showing an 8% decline versus the same period a year ago. In the past we have seen an increase in sales at this time of year on the back of healthy eating New Year resolutions and it is hoped that this can kick start some growth. The price premium is often given as a reason why organic sales are suffering but there are many examples of products which far outsell the organic offer and are similarly priced. Hi-Peak feeds are the latest to have highlighted this by showing that organic milk is often cheaper than Cravendale which sells nearly twice as much as all organic milk put together. This is also the case on other products where the Organic is compared to “Taste the Difference” or other non-budget lines. The key is to focus on value, in the true sense, rather than just price and with consumers paying more attention to this, perhaps they will conclude that paying more for an organic product is worthwhile, whereas branded or premium non-organic products don't offer that same value. See also Kingshay Organic Dairy Costings, updated monthly Providing information on organic food and farming in Wales
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