milk

[tooney1]

Cravendale seems to be really popular due to its long life.

 

I'm no expert, but could similar filtering techniques not be done locally to produce a longer-life variety?

[Frances144]

This is one producer that must not be allowed to shut down because of Tesco imho.

[unlinkedstudent]

When we went into Tesco today to get some milk, my wife wanted to buy the locally-produced variety. However, whilst other milks were available in 1 and 2 litre containers (with some, I think, even bigger), the Shetland Dairies skimmed milk (which she buys) was only available in 1 pint (no litre) containers. It was the same when we went there last week.

 

She purchased 2 x 1 pint containers but this works out to be a very expensive way to buy the milk. Why is it sold in such small containers?

 

They didn't have a wide choice available of many brands of milk on Tuesday evening either. There were several items out of stock that I wanted to purchase which is getting more and more the norm in Tesco's these days.

 

Mind you, there were two Dog Section Police Officers (in uniform) purchasing items and they seemed to get what they required - didn't see any dog food purchased.

[Sculder]

Yes, I don't think it's too much to ask for local people to support locally produced milk by paying a little extra when they're willing to pay a fortune for flavoured bottles of water and such like.

 

 

shetland milk is sold in local shops, so lets pay the extra and save shetland dairies, we cant just balme tesco when we are all guilty of buying cheap

[paulb]

err yes it is a bit more than a bit its a 3rd more than the cheapo tesco stuff. now we buy it and its fine. but its not a premium product. asking the customer to pay extra because a company seems unable to get there act together and sort there product out can only lead to them going bust.

 

they charge 60p a litre wholesale so even if the farmers were getting an extra 30% to cover the extra production costs they should be able to make a profit.

if they are wasting 1500 litres a day which they have to pay the producer for they are losing £900 a day or £325000 or so in lost sales. now the sensible producer would have tried to find a market for 1/2 a million litres a year not just thrown it away.

 

there are lots of thing that it can be used for.

cheese

yogurt

icecream

speadable butter

to name just a few.

 

now this is not the end of the waste each producer has a set quota from the dairy if they produce more than that they waste that to.

 

the dairy has no marketing/sales person to speak to there customers. when there manager admits that they have been making a mess of it over many years that tells you something.

 

the manager claiming they did not know about there faulty milk containers is very poor.

 

if they go running for community monetary support these and other fault need to be sorted.

 

buy the milk and support the local producers but we are not a charity it needs to be equal or better than brought in stuff. so please get your act together.

[lucas]

One of the few way to find a best solution to keep SDF in live :

 

Take few ppl. from SDF in one busy day (Friday) , and ask customers in stores what they except from Shetland milk .

 

Very siple idea but direct confrontation with customers is the best line to know what`s going on , and why is not so good.

[Hobbiniho]

Mind you, there were two Dog Section Police Officers (in uniform) purchasing items and they seemed to get what they required - didn't see any dog food purchased.

 

they werent buying steaks were they??

[paulb]

the police do have meal times. its quicker to nip into a shop than to return to base.

[shetlandpeat]

Ha, she sucked you in and now you are off topic, tis her M.O.

 

Gettin a handle on it now.

 

Though she has not reported it herself, she would have said.

 

Next will be GR!

 

[BigMouth]

This is one producer that must not be allowed to shut down because of Tesco imho.

 

Have to disagree with you Frances. I got sick of the leaking containers and cleaning up the fridge and the floor after them. I also want a milk that lasts longer. I am more than happy for the locals to support the dairy.

 

Having said that, if the dairy made SPREADABLE butter and individual pots of flavoured ice cream I might well buy them.

[mogling]

My tuppence-worth on Shetland Milk:

 

I have always only bought locally produced milk. I think it tastes absolutely fine.

 

I am willing to pay more for locally produced milk.

 

I have personally not experienced any leaky containers since the cartons were phased out.

 

I find the milk keeps for ages - if your fridge is operating at the correct temperatures there shouldn't be a problem?

 

When I worked offshore and the weather was too bad to get supply boats alongside with fresh milk pergals, a lot of folk moaned like drains because we only had UHT milk onboard and they didn't like the taste...

 

...IF the Shetland Dairy Industry goes down the tubes and we have to rely completely on imported milk, I can just imagine the moaning and whingeing when we are starved of Nort-boats for 2 or more days in a row due to weather or industrial action, and the UHT stock is all gone in the shops, and we have no option but to mix up Marvel dried milk! Mmm, lovely.

 

I lived with a Dairy Farmer at one time - it is not an easy life... heading out in the pitch dark at 4am to fetch kye in for milking whatever the weather. Milking is only one part- there's the mucking out, cleaning the dairy & tanks, working with silage, calving, feeding of calves, tarring udders in the summer after teatime, checking all the black bales for crow-damage and taping up holes, etc etc.

 

Support our local food producers I say!

[AM]

Completely agree Mogling.

 

As a child I remember staying with family in Yell where UHT was the norm and when you were down to the last carton or two Marvel/St Ivel Five Pints was mixed up and used on cereal/porridge until the UHT supply could be replenished. Okay for an emergency but not something I'd like to resort to again.

 

I haven't had a problem with leaky bottle tops for ages and find an opened carton is still fresh after 5 days.

 

It's okay for Tesco to bring up milk from South but what about the local shops who only stock Shetland milk?

 

Support Shetland milk - what's that saying about only missing the water when the well runs dry........

[tom thumb]

untill the dairy sorts the problem with leaking milk i always tighten the top and have never had any problems

i have also "herd" that they will be bring out soon 1lt skimmed

[papastour]

Two Mysteries which are No Mysteries At All

 

In recent days the British government has faced serious criticism on two apparently unrelated fronts. Cameroon is terrified to respond with any vigour – and here’s the reason why…

 

First, farmers are rightly complaining about the price paid by the dairies for their milk.

 

Secondly, small businessmen are unable to borrow from the banks despite government funds being made available.

 

In both cases, and as usual, the source of Cameroon’s embarrassment lies in Brussels, which is why he and his wimpish ministers can’t or won’t talk about them.

 

First, the farmers. Dairies complain that the open market price for dairy products – cream, butter, cheese – has collapsed. So they have to reduce the price they pay farmers for their milk.

 

What they don’t say is that the EU has been subsidising the production of dairy products in other EU countries for years, and they pay those subsidies to exporters of those diary products. In other words, EU-subsidised diary products are being dumped on the British market and destroying one of the UK’s best and oldest industries.

 

(A few years ago, Parmalat, the giant Italian diary products manufacturer, was caught diluting Italian butter before exporting it. They made millions from the EU’s ludicrous export subsidies scheme, even though the products were unfit for human consumption. No-one was ever successfully prosecuted. Nothing new there, then.)

 

So long as the EU’s export subsidies on diary products remain so will British farmers’ financial pain.

 

Now, small businesses. Certainly the Bank of England has recently pumped millions into the banking sector in what is euphemistically described as “quantitative easing†– code for inventing money out of thin air. But – and it’s a big but – the EU has instructed the banks to increase their capital ratios (the amount of cash in their balance sheets to support their lending portfolios) to nine percent – and do it now!

It used to be two percent.

 

So, yes, the banks have the money – but the EU says they can’t lend it until their balance sheets are billions stronger. Come back later – if you’re still in business!

 

Question – who’s going to tell the farmers and small businesses? Certainly not the British government, it seems.

 

Info from Ashley Mote

[BigMouth]

....snip....

It's okay for Tesco to bring up milk from South but what about the local shops who only stock Shetland milk?

 

Support Shetland milk - what's that saying about only missing the water when the well runs dry........

 

Fortunately my local shop sells Cravendale. Whilst I am in there I buy my other shopping. I rarely go to Tesco now, probably once every 3 - 4 weeks when I want something that the local shop doesn't sell and they are unable to get in. When they run out of Cravendale semi-skimmed, there never seems to be enough to last until the next delivery, I go to Tesco and buy my long-life milk there, and whilst I am there I also pick up a few other items meaning that I don't go to my local shop for a few days.

 

When the well runs dry I am sure that there will be enough beer