Do you want a British Countryside?

The plight of British Farming has been well documented over the past few weeks, nationally and locally – see yesterday's article on AudlemOnline about milk prices.

As a vibrant rural community, we live and work amongst those facing these hard times in agriculture. The agricultural industry is constantly subjected to the volatility created by the basic economic theory of supply & demand.

The issues facing UK farmers currently are that:

• Supermarkets hold the power to dictate the price they will pay to the producer, in a lot of cases this price is below the cost of production;
• Farmers are subject to the pressures of global commodity pricing – often having to "price match" their product with one produced in a country with far less stringent animal welfare and quality standards, these prices are regularly below the cost of production for UK farmers;
• The UK exchange rate with the euro means our pound is very strong, therefore supermarkets now import products such as lamb far cheaper from abroad. Meaning UK farmers are now being forced to sell at a very low price in order to get their products into the supermarkets.

At Oxtail & Trotter we pay our suppliers a fair price for their products. We believe that by paying a better price for the animals that we source, our producers are rewarded with a healthy return on the work they have put in nurturing and caring for these animals.

We also believe that by paying a sustainable price we are building a good relationship with our suppliers so that we get the best quality product for our customers.

In recent months, for many farmers the farm gate price has dropped below the cost of production however we continue to pay the same price for our product, unlike many supermarkets who are paying less to the farmer but are still charging you – the consumer – the same price.

These large retailers are building greater profits at the expense of the UK farmer.

At Oxtail & Trotter we are still paying the same prices to our farmers although the national prices have dropped considerably. Despite this commitment to paying our producers a fair price, we are still sell at prices that are competitive with supermarkets and on many products we are even cheaper!

If you want to keep your fields green and your countryside well maintained please support your local farmers. By shopping at Oxtail & Trotter and other independent retailers you are contributing to a sustainable future for these farmers.

This article is from our news archive. As a result pictures or videos originally associated with it may have been removed and some of the content may no longer be accurate or relevant.