Farm Diary by Gwyn Jones, October 27

Retail milk prices remain firm, despite falling farm gate prices. Having increased the price of milk in the shops in order to help dairy farmers (NFU/FFA initiative last spring) cover the effect of increased fuel costs, we find that farm gate prices are now below this time last year, and that is despite milk solids being higher.

Retail prices are now at least 51 pence per litre in supermarkets (+4ppl), 57ppl in the middle ground (+3.3), and a whopping 81ppl on the doorstep (+3pl), with average farm gate price at 18.45, which is the only figure that has fallen in the last 12 months. It's bad enough not getting any extra money, but using our case as pretence to raise prices and hanging on to all the gains is sickening.

As far as Avian Flu is concerned, farmers (unlike the media) have been on a high state of alert since July, when an outbreak of Newcastle disease (another viral disease of birds) was discovered and contained. While around 4,000 people die each year from conventional flu in this country, only 60 confirmed deaths from Avian flu have been recorded in South East Asia, since the outbreak 18 months ago. This is a very low number when we consider both the size of population, and the intimate contact that many have with their highly valued fighting cocks.

The Food Standard Agency and the World Health Organisation, both consider that there is no food safety risk for UK consumers, as the risk of catching the disease is from close contact with live poultry that have the disease, and not through eating poultry.

Farm Diary by Gwyn Jones appears every week in the West Sussex Gazette. You can read the full version of this column in October 27 issue.