Submissions to the Ministry of Agriculture review of milk supply regulation close on Monday, with indications that the Ministry will curtail the supply of raw milk direct from farms to consumers. Currently farmers can supply direct to consumers who travel to their properties, but the proposal from MAF is to limit the amount to six litres per visit and a total of 120 litres daily, per farmer.
The change is considered by consumer groups to be a blatant support from the Ministry for Fonterra’s milk monopoly, which is undermined by farmers supplying direct at a fraction of Fonterra’s retail price. Most farmers sell their raw milk at around $1 a litre, with those farmers specialising in the trade selling all or most of their production through gate sales.
Many consumers seek out the supplies as they are concerned to acquire unpasteurised and non-homogenised milk, as milk in this form is more natural, containing a wider range of micro-ingredients and more human friendly fats.
MAF claims that the grounds for its recommended changes are purely health driven, but can provide no sound epidemiological evidence that supply of raw milk from farm gate sales is causing any public health problems. A MAF spokesman, Paul Stocks, claims a single outbreak of campylobacter amongst children after a school farm visit, is grounds for the new regulation.
MAF’s position is supported by Federated Farmers.
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That is ridiculous! A farmer should be able to sell his product at the farm gate to people wanting to buy raw milk. Another example of our controlled system where we have no freedom any longer to think [or buy/sell] for ourselves.
And in the meantime they keep tampering with the real stuff to make it more ‘profitable’ for the facotry– but less healthy all the time for the consumers.
MAF should go and hve a look elswhere for a change and leave the dairyfarmers alone.