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Have you signed up for the Carbon Challenge yet? If you have, drop me an email and let me know how you're doing. GFWI will feature the most enthusiastic WIs on our website and will be delighted to hear your good ideas.

Interesting article re Milk Debate

Not long ago, I wrote a bit about Avening WI's visit to Kemble Farm to meet David Ball, Farm Manager, so I was especially pleased to hear from a member of Marle Hill WI today, alerting me to an article about the farm and how it operates in a recent edition of The Guardian.

You can read the Guardian article here. Read my report of our visit here.

I recommend (again) that you gather a group of your members together and arrange a visit yourself. You will have a privileged opportunity to learn first hand what's happening in our dairy farms, to speak to someone whose livelihood depends on the future sales of milk and to learn enough about the situation on which to base your opinion!

The Great Milk Debate begins

Tonight is the first of four milk debates in Gloucestershire and we are looking forward to some interesting discussion and an opportunity to find out one or two facts.

We're delighted that our campaign has spurred BBC Radio Gloucestershire on to featuring the debate during its morning show this week. Read more on their website here

Hope to see you at one of our debates:

• Sandhurst Village Hall, Tuesday 24th April
• Prestbury WI Hall, Wednesday 25th April
• Chedworth Village Hall, Tuesday 1st May
• Newent Memorial Hall, Friday 4th May

The Farmers Weekly have reported the launch of the NFWI campaign today and we're thrilled to see Sandhurst WI member, Deb Warren, there speaking up on behalf of her fellow dairy farmers. Congratulations Deb!!

Wonderful afternoon!

Had a wonderful afternoon with David Ball, farm manager of Kemble Farms, today. A group of ten Avening WI members went along to find out exactly what happens on a modern dairy farm and how a herd of 700 Holstein-Friesian cattle are managed. What an interesting time we had - David was happy to answer all our questions and explain all the details of his work to a fascinated audience. If we needed any convincing that our dairy farmers need our support, here it was, plain to see, and how useful to have the opportunity to get first hand answers to our questions.

By the time we left, the herd was larger by one as this calf made her entrance in a quiet corner of the shed. We watched, delighted, as she took her first steps.

What a privilege - thank you David (and thank you, secretary Doreen for arranging it!)

(David is happy to accommodate further WI groups of no more than a dozen. Email me for details)

Would you like it pasteurised?

Just heard that Isla, a Gloucestershire member from Tutshill WI, created a stir when she bathed in milk outside the Houses of Parliament this morning to protest about the farmgate milk price. (Picture courtesy of NFWI/Hayley Madden)

Watch your TV tonight and newspaper in the morning for news of this brave woman!!

Read more at the BBC news site

The Great Milk Debate

Pam Sparrow and I had a very useful meeting with Mel and John from the NFU yesterday, to discuss what we're going to do about The Great Milk Debate.
Did you know that farmers are receiving more than 5p less per litre now than they were 10 years ago? That they are paid 17p a litre on average when it costs them 21p to produce it?
News reports yesterday suggested that in just a few years time, the UK will have to import milk because our dairy farmers will have gone out of business. Clearly it's time we did something.

Suggestions for action you can take now include:

• ask where the milk you are buying has come from. If it's not locally produced, ask why and consider shopping elsewhere
• ask where the other dairy products - cheese, yoghurt, butter - have been produced. Make it clear that such things are important to the survival of our dairy industry
• Look for the Red Tractor symbol on products to indicate 100% British produced goods
• If you're lucky enough to have doorstep delivery, continue to support this wonderful service.
• Find out as much as you can about the situation so that you can make informed decisions

Watch for details of three "Great Milk Debates" to be held in the county next April, when you will have a chance to hear representatives from all sectors involved in the production, processing and sale of milk in Gloucestershire.