0:00:02 > 0:00:05Milk - we pour it on our cereals and stick it in our tea.
0:00:05 > 0:00:09In the UK, we consume over nine billion pints every year,
0:00:09 > 0:00:10but have we forgotten where it comes from?
0:00:10 > 0:00:14I don't think people really know how much work goes into
0:00:14 > 0:00:16getting milk onto that shelf.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19Along with the dairy farms and cows that produce it,
0:00:19 > 0:00:23milk has shaped our countryside and our way of life.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26The dairy industry is just one piece of the jigsaw
0:00:26 > 0:00:27within the whole countryside.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32But now the industry is facing a crisis like never before.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36This is the worst period I've seen in my working life.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40Over the past 15 years, the number of dairy farmers
0:00:40 > 0:00:41in Wales has halved.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45On average, three farmers leave the industry every month.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49It's an embarrassment on me, on myself, that I can't make it pay.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53The traditional family dairy farm is in serious trouble.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56There isn't a future for every dairy farmer.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00Milk is now a global commodity and dairy is big business at the mercy
0:01:00 > 0:01:02of the world markets.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06Can Welsh farmers survive in this new cut-throat world?
0:01:06 > 0:01:10There must be room for a small family farm.
0:01:10 > 0:01:12My name is Gareth Wyn Jones.
0:01:12 > 0:01:17I'm a hill farmer and campaigner for the best of Welsh food and farming.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19Do you know how much you're paying for your milk?
0:01:19 > 0:01:22I want to explore the dairy industry from the inside,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24from the cow to the consumer
0:01:24 > 0:01:27and from the farm to the supermarket shelf.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31I want to see what it takes to satisfy our thirst for milk
0:01:31 > 0:01:35and find out if there is a future for the Welsh dairy farmer.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47If I'm going to understand how this industry works,
0:01:47 > 0:01:50I need to start at the beginning - the farmer.
0:01:51 > 0:01:53It is 5am on the north Wales coast
0:01:53 > 0:01:56and this is Aber Ogwen Farm near Bangor.
0:02:00 > 0:02:04It's a typical Welsh dairy farm, handed down through the generations.
0:02:08 > 0:02:12The Owen family milks around 120 cows and today the herd
0:02:12 > 0:02:15is looked after by my old friend Carwyn.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22I've offered to give him a hand this morning,
0:02:22 > 0:02:24but this is an early start even for me.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27You don't get any better than this, this morning.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29No. Living the dream, boy!
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Well...
0:02:31 > 0:02:34- Do we want to go and get this one? - I'll shout on Bob if you will.
0:02:34 > 0:02:35Bob!
0:02:38 > 0:02:39Bob!
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Cheaper than a quad bike.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44- You don't have to pour petrol in him.- No.
0:02:44 > 0:02:45Nice to see a good working dog.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49Well, I don't think he'd do well on One Man And His Dog, but...
0:02:52 > 0:02:56North Wales may be known more for its hill farms than its dairy herds,
0:02:56 > 0:02:59but I can remember when most farms were mixed.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02Sheep were kept on the mountain and small milking herds
0:03:02 > 0:03:04grazed the lowland pastures.
0:03:04 > 0:03:08You can look down this coast, how many people milked here, Carwyn?
0:03:08 > 0:03:11If you went 50 years, every farm milked, didn't they?
0:03:11 > 0:03:14- Yeah.- And then you go back 20 years,
0:03:14 > 0:03:18there's about eight gone here and there's only me left here now.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Carwyn's cows are milked twice a day, every day,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26365 days a year.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30But it's been a few years since I did a shift.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36So you wipe each one of these now?
0:03:36 > 0:03:40Yeah, just to make sure they're perfectly clean.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42- So we do each one of them now?- Yeah.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Have you got any kickers?
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Or are you not going to tell me?
0:03:53 > 0:03:55We move on to this, Gareth.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57The machine's on?
0:03:57 > 0:03:59Swing it round and it will come on.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Oh, wow. OK. And then it's...
0:04:01 > 0:04:05- Do you give it a little bit of a touch to say that we're here?- Yeah.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Still very early, the sun's just come up.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20It's going to take us about two hours to milk these cows.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22Oh, hey.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33It's a job to be doing this every single day, seven days a week,
0:04:33 > 0:04:36twice a day as well.
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Carwyn's flying through these.
0:04:40 > 0:04:42I'm struggling to keep up with him.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47What's nice is you can hear him talking about every single cow
0:04:47 > 0:04:48individually, he knows each one...
0:04:50 > 0:04:52..and he has a real connection with them.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57People like Carwyn are putting everything they believe
0:04:57 > 0:05:01into these cows and into these parlours, just to make a living.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04It's not for everyone. I don't think it would be for me.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06It's not the easiest way to make a living.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13It's not just the cows that Carwyn is investing his time in.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18He's training his 15-year-old son Gwion to milk the family herd.
0:05:18 > 0:05:19THEY SPEAK WELSH
0:05:23 > 0:05:25LAUGHTER
0:05:25 > 0:05:28- All natural, there.- All natural.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32It's really nice, you know, watching Gwion here with his dad.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34This is what family farms are about,
0:05:34 > 0:05:39passing on that knowledge year in, year out.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41It's a way of life that people...
0:05:43 > 0:05:44..need to see.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50With all the cows milked, they return to the fields.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53And with the parlour washed down, my shift is over.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Carwyn and Gwion though will soon be back to do it all again.
0:05:58 > 0:06:03I don't think people understand how much time and how much commitment
0:06:03 > 0:06:07goes to having milk on their cornflakes and in their tea.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Cows need to be milked twice a day.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12You can't hide, you know. If Carwyn doesn't feel well,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15he has still got to get up and he has still got to do these.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19You've got to think that seven days a week, there's no hiding,
0:06:19 > 0:06:20there's nowhere to go.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Welsh daily farms like this are in serious decline.
0:06:33 > 0:06:34Over the past decade,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37there's been a steady trickle of farmers leaving the industry.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42The roots of the current crisis are complex.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45But, put very simply, there's too much milk in the world.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48When prices were high a few years ago,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52milk producers across the globe increased their herds,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55flooding the market with cheap milk.
0:06:55 > 0:06:56The price crashed.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01Small Welsh farms can't cope with this roller-coaster global market
0:07:01 > 0:07:05and are now struggling to ride out the bad times.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09At the same time, supermarkets engaged in a ruthless price war.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13They use staple household items as loss leaders and slashed
0:07:13 > 0:07:15the price of milk.
0:07:15 > 0:07:19Many dairy producers feel that this has devalued milk in the eyes
0:07:19 > 0:07:21of the consumer.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25For Welsh dairy farmers, it's a perfect storm.
0:07:29 > 0:07:31This is the Royal Welsh Show,
0:07:31 > 0:07:33the biggest agricultural event in Europe.
0:07:38 > 0:07:41Farmers and their families come from all of the country to showcase
0:07:41 > 0:07:45the best produce and livestock that Wales has to offer.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53If I want to gauge the state of the dairy industry today,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55then this is the place to be.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59And behind the parades and prizes, many farmers are angry.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03I'll tell you on camera, we lost £60,000 in money last year.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07You lost £60,000?
0:08:07 > 0:08:08- Yeah.- How was that?
0:08:08 > 0:08:10The price of milk.
0:08:10 > 0:08:1416.8 pence a litre I had on my last milk check.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- Is that not enough? - No, not from 16.8.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19The cost of production is 25.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work that out.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26So you're producing something and losing money every day?
0:08:26 > 0:08:27- Yeah.- That's not a good businessman.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31I know. If you were a businessman, you'd sell up.
0:08:31 > 0:08:32Water is worth more than milk -
0:08:32 > 0:08:35that doesn't make sense because that cow has got to drink water to
0:08:35 > 0:08:39produce milk. All we want is a fair price, you know, and as it is now,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41we're not having it. Far from it.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45It's the summer of 2016.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49The average price paid for milk is down to 18p a litre.
0:08:51 > 0:08:55But with the average cost of production at 24p a litre,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00many farmers are losing 6p on every litre they produce.
0:09:02 > 0:09:04It's frightening, really,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08what has happened to agriculture in the past 12 months.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11When you've got milk price at 16 or 18p,
0:09:11 > 0:09:14it doesn't give you a very bright future.
0:09:15 > 0:09:20A few years ago, the milk price was up at 30p a litre.
0:09:20 > 0:09:21When times were good,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25many farmers borrowed heavily and grew their herds and farms.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28We have spent 1.8 million...
0:09:28 > 0:09:29Wow!
0:09:29 > 0:09:31..on our new set-up.
0:09:31 > 0:09:35As it is now, the products we sell are so devalued
0:09:35 > 0:09:37we would never pay it back...
0:09:37 > 0:09:39as the price of milk as it is now.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43If you have another two years or another year of this,
0:09:43 > 0:09:44where will you be?
0:09:44 > 0:09:46Oh, we can't carry on.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49We need the industry to survive and at the moment it's not.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59I don't think I've ever heard so many farmers being so open
0:09:59 > 0:10:03about their finances and how they feel about the industry.
0:10:05 > 0:10:10These people are losing money every single day of the week.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15They're hurting and frustrated.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Passionate about what they do but not getting any reward.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21And to me, a lot of these guys,
0:10:21 > 0:10:25they're not going to be able to survive another 12 months.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29This industry is in dire straits and something needs to happen.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40Not that long ago, the way we got our milk was simple and local.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45Dairy farmers supplied milk to lots of small local creameries and the
0:10:45 > 0:10:49milkman brought milk to our doors.
0:10:49 > 0:10:53In the last 20 years, our food chains have become far more complex.
0:10:53 > 0:10:58Now the dairy industry is dominated by a couple of big processors
0:10:58 > 0:11:01and a handful of big retailers.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04The balance of power in the milk supply chain lies not with the farmers,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07but with the big corporations.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10And the gap between the farmer and your fridge is greater
0:11:10 > 0:11:13than ever before.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18I think people have lost contact of how milk is produced.
0:11:18 > 0:11:20Dairy farmers are in the front line, you know.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25They're the ones that are bringing it for us to pour on our cornflakes,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28pour in our tea, and we don't see that side of it.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31You know, probably the closest we get is when we walk
0:11:31 > 0:11:35into a supermarket and when we grab that pinta.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39I think we need to ask the question to ourselves,
0:11:39 > 0:11:44as somebody that drinks a lot of milk, are we paying enough?
0:11:44 > 0:11:48I want to find out more about the milk on supermarket shelves,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51so I'm off to do a bit of shopping.
0:11:51 > 0:11:56Yes. So we're just arriving at the first supermarket in Bangor.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59We're going to do a bit of shopping in Tesco.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Slightly against the grain.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04Well, one down, many more to go.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Supermarket number two, Morrisons.
0:12:16 > 0:12:17The cheapest one yet.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23These supermarkets are just like factories,
0:12:23 > 0:12:26people are just in and out and in and out.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Just don't seem to think how much grip they've got.
0:12:31 > 0:12:32Next one - Lidl.
0:12:40 > 0:12:45I just can't believe how many choices of the same thing there is
0:12:45 > 0:12:50because it's all milk but sold in different kinds of packaging,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52for different kinds of prices.
0:12:52 > 0:12:53What's it all about?
0:12:55 > 0:12:58To make sense of all this white stuff, I'm going to need some help.
0:12:58 > 0:13:03So who better than the National Farmers Union's chief dairy adviser,
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Sian Davies?
0:13:05 > 0:13:08I'm hoping she can tell me more about how the supermarkets
0:13:08 > 0:13:10source their milk.
0:13:10 > 0:13:14So tell me a little bit about these five then, Sian.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18So these five retailers all pay the farmers a cost production price.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21So the retailer works with their farming group to work out the average cost production
0:13:21 > 0:13:24for the group and then they pay those farmers above that
0:13:24 > 0:13:27cost of production. For example, Tesco here
0:13:27 > 0:13:30has around 800 farmers supplying them and they work with that group
0:13:30 > 0:13:33of farmers to work out their average cost of production and then they
0:13:33 > 0:13:37would review that cost every six months and pay above that price.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40Only around 15% of British dairy farmers
0:13:40 > 0:13:42are on this sort of contract.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45A few of the other retailers have taken a different approach.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51So I got this one from Asda and this says an extra 25p.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Now, this is part of a minimum price scheme.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56The retail price has gone up by 25p a bottle.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00The consumer chooses to pay more for this milk and they are guaranteed
0:14:00 > 0:14:02that extra money goes back to the farm.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05This scheme has been introduced by Arla, one of the biggest processors,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08a Europe-wide farmer-owned cooperative
0:14:08 > 0:14:10with over 13,000 members.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14That 25p goes back to the farmer?
0:14:14 > 0:14:1625p - it won't be going to a farmer.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19It won't be going to the farm down the road,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21it will be shared in the pot across Europe.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27I think some of the supermarkets
0:14:27 > 0:14:30are paying a good price to some of the farmers.
0:14:30 > 0:14:33There is a few really good schemes,
0:14:33 > 0:14:36where the farmer is going to benefit,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39but it's not really a fair playing field.
0:14:39 > 0:14:44The majority are not having a fair slice of the cake.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47Only a fraction of Welsh dairy farmers
0:14:47 > 0:14:49will benefit from the supermarket schemes.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Many are at the mercy of a volatile, wider industry.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01I've travelled to Powys to meet a second-generation dairy farmer
0:15:01 > 0:15:04who's been struggling to make ends meet.
0:15:04 > 0:15:05Good morning.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08- Are you well?- Yeah, thanks for the invitation.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Ian Gethin's family has built up their herd over the past 50 years
0:15:12 > 0:15:15but now he's decided to sell his cows.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18These are the last ones going today.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Ah, right.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24It's a massive decision cos that's all I've always done and loved.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27But it's a lifetime of work, really,
0:15:27 > 0:15:29you've been breeding what suits your farm.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33And it's a pity they've got to go,
0:15:33 > 0:15:35but that seems to be the way it is going.
0:15:35 > 0:15:36At the end of the day,
0:15:36 > 0:15:39if the milk price isn't there, you just cannot do it.
0:15:39 > 0:15:44For Ian, like most good farmers, this is much more than a business.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46These cows mean the world to him
0:15:46 > 0:15:49but, in the end, everything comes down to the finances.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53What's your cost of production here, is it pretty low?
0:15:53 > 0:15:56- 24p.- And your milk price is?
0:15:56 > 0:15:5914 we were offered on the 1st of April.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02So that's 10p under what you can produce it for.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05So, as a businessman, that's a no-brainer, isn't it?
0:16:05 > 0:16:09Yes. It doesn't take much working out, does it? You don't need a calculator for that.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11No, you're right there.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15Having done this twice a day almost every day since he was 12 years old,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18this will be the last time Ian will milk his cows.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Come on, girl.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30It will be a different day for you tomorrow.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32- Yeah.- No milking.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36No. This time last January we were milking 120 through here...
0:16:38 > 0:16:41..as we have been doing the last few years.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45But you were losing money every single month.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Yes. Yeah, we were losing up to...
0:16:49 > 0:16:52The last couple of months of milking, £3,000 a month.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56I was working for nothing and I was working to lose money, which is...
0:16:56 > 0:16:57That had to be soul destroying?
0:16:57 > 0:17:00Yes, it is.
0:17:00 > 0:17:01Yeah.
0:17:01 > 0:17:05The last 18 months, really, what's happened with the milk price and...
0:17:07 > 0:17:11You always get quite attached and proud of your own cows.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Had you hoped one day that you would be passing this on
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- to little Harry here?- Yes.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19Very much so. Same as my father's handed over to me, really.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23And you can keep gambling for a few years and hope it will come right,
0:17:23 > 0:17:25but at the moment I don't see the future there.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31So...
0:17:31 > 0:17:32Yeah, it is very disheartening,
0:17:32 > 0:17:35but...it's got to be done.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40I hear this at farm after farm.
0:17:40 > 0:17:45The responsibility to pass it on, not to let people down,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47not to be the one who fails.
0:17:47 > 0:17:52It's difficult, really, to understand how much pressure
0:17:52 > 0:17:54is on this family.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57There's a lot of emotion
0:17:57 > 0:18:00and I don't think he's taken this decision lightly.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04Ian has been selling his herd gradually over the past six months.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08This will be the last batch sent for auction.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12He and his family are now the latest casualty of an increasingly
0:18:12 > 0:18:15challenging and unforgiving industry.
0:18:15 > 0:18:16They won't be the last.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20With farming you've got decisions every day,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23but you've just got to sort of work it out really whether...
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Is it the right thing to do?
0:18:26 > 0:18:30My heart says stick at it, but my head says get out
0:18:30 > 0:18:32because at the moment I don't see the future there.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35You never could believe that this day would come when...?
0:18:35 > 0:18:39No, no. You always think you will get a contract around the corner.
0:18:39 > 0:18:44Where do you think the blame lies with the whole industry, Ian?
0:18:44 > 0:18:46It's very difficult. You can blame lots of people,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50but at the end of the day it's got to be the supermarket buying power...
0:18:52 > 0:18:54..because they are selling milk as a loss leader.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57They say they're not passing it back to the farmers,
0:18:57 > 0:19:00but they obviously are devaluing the product.
0:19:03 > 0:19:07Ian's cows are going to Cheshire and will be sold at one of the biggest
0:19:07 > 0:19:12dairy cattle sales in Britain, the Beeston Castle Auction.
0:19:12 > 0:19:14Around 500 cows will be sold at the market today,
0:19:14 > 0:19:19with buyers and sellers coming from as far afield as Kent and Scotland.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Ian plans to build up a herd of beef cattle, so the money he receives
0:19:23 > 0:19:27for his cows will be vital for the future of the family farm.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29Big day for you today.
0:19:29 > 0:19:31Yes, it is.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Yeah, no, a bit nervous before selling them.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38- You don't know what trade you'll have on the day.- No, no.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42If he doesn't get a good price, or if the cows don't sell at all,
0:19:42 > 0:19:45it could jeopardise his hopes of rebuilding his business.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52Ian is going round now talking to people, saying what the best points
0:19:52 > 0:19:57of his cattle are. It gets me a little bit that, you know,
0:19:57 > 0:20:03that's it. That's it finished after all the time and all he put into it.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05It comes to an end here, today, right now.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12As the auction gets underway, bids come flying in.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19This is Ian's first cow in the ring, number 24.
0:20:20 > 0:20:22Ian is up in the box.
0:20:22 > 0:20:2750, 80, 1,220, 50, 80. 1,280 I'm bid.
0:20:27 > 0:20:291,280 I'm bid now. 1,280...
0:20:31 > 0:20:35Ian has got a £10 note in his hand and that's luck money.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39Every cow he sells, he gives that £10 to the buyer
0:20:39 > 0:20:41and it is an old tradition.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44In the end, all of Ian's cows have sold.
0:20:44 > 0:20:47His days in the dairy industry may be over,
0:20:47 > 0:20:50but at least he's still got a future in farming.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53It's been so nice to see Ian having a fair price
0:20:53 > 0:20:55for his cattle here today.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57He can take that money home now and reinvest it
0:20:57 > 0:20:59in the family farm.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Ian's story is far from unique.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07He's one of the many farmers to have left dairy in recent years.
0:21:07 > 0:21:12Auctioneer Clive Norbury has seen the challenges facing the industry.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Well, I'm in my 42nd year of work
0:21:15 > 0:21:17and, yes, I've seen massive changes.
0:21:17 > 0:21:21There were 35,000 milk producers when I started my work.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24Now we're down to around between 9,000 and 9,500,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27which is a colossal change.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31This is the worst period I have seen in my working life.
0:21:31 > 0:21:32Not only for the milk producers,
0:21:32 > 0:21:35but the hundreds of people that hang on a cow's tail -
0:21:35 > 0:21:39and there's hundreds of us. You know, it's affected everybody.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50The dairy industry is just one piece of the jigsaw within
0:21:50 > 0:21:54the whole community of farming, countryside.
0:21:55 > 0:21:59The knock-on effect on the dairy boys going out must be hitting
0:21:59 > 0:22:04the smaller businesses that sell to these guys.
0:22:04 > 0:22:09I think we need to look at how we can help the smaller family farms
0:22:09 > 0:22:13because, you take them out of the equation, we will lose something
0:22:13 > 0:22:16in what is cefn gwlad,
0:22:16 > 0:22:17what is the countryside,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20and that is the traditional small family farm.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24So we won't see these patchwork fields
0:22:24 > 0:22:28and these black-and-white cows dotted around - they will be gone.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34I think it's about time we did something about this crisis
0:22:34 > 0:22:36and took the message to the masses.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48The only people I haven't chatted with yet are the consumers.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52Do they really know how much work goes into getting milk
0:22:52 > 0:22:54onto that supermarket shelf?
0:22:54 > 0:22:56I don't think they do.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00I want to find out what the great Welsh public really know about
0:23:00 > 0:23:03their milk, so I'm off to see a man about a cow.
0:23:05 > 0:23:10I've come to Anglesey to meet award-winning breeder Euan Hughes.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13You and your family built this herd over many generations.
0:23:13 > 0:23:15Yes, yes, I'm the third generation.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18My grandfather started it all off.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20That must be something that you feel really proud about.
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Oh, I'm very proud, I'm very passionate.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26That's my biggest fault as a businessman -
0:23:26 > 0:23:28I'm a sentimental farmer. I love my cows.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33Yeah. Is it a sad feeling that, when you're milking twice a day
0:23:33 > 0:23:36and getting such a low price for what you do?
0:23:36 > 0:23:38Well, for over two years now,
0:23:38 > 0:23:41I've been selling milk cheaper than what I can produce it for.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45Yeah. Lots in the business will say, "Get out,"
0:23:45 > 0:23:47but you can't do it.
0:23:47 > 0:23:53How can I turn around to my grandmother who's 94 to say,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56"After all you and my grandfather have done,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00"after all my parents have done, I can't make it pay"?
0:24:00 > 0:24:01You know, it is embarrassment.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04It feels like it is an embarrassment on me, on myself,
0:24:04 > 0:24:08- that I can't make it pay.- It's the passion and dedication that farmers
0:24:08 > 0:24:13like Euan have for their work that I think we need to show to the public.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16I have come up with a crazy idea
0:24:16 > 0:24:19of taking a milking cow into Llandudno.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22It is a crazy but good idea.
0:24:22 > 0:24:26Euan has selected his finest cow, Maya,
0:24:26 > 0:24:27but there's a catch.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31- You want to take my cow to Llandudno...- Yeah.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33- ..you're going to have to wash her. - Oh!
0:24:35 > 0:24:40- That's all right with me. - There you go.
0:24:40 > 0:24:41THEY SPEAK WELSH
0:25:01 > 0:25:02THEY SPEAK WELSH
0:25:09 > 0:25:11I think I seen a car wash down the road there.
0:25:11 > 0:25:13You sure it was a car wash, it wasn't a cow wash?
0:25:13 > 0:25:15It will be now!
0:25:19 > 0:25:20Do a lot of cow washing?
0:25:21 > 0:25:24- Always a first, isn't it?- Is it all right if I use the pressure washer?
0:25:26 > 0:25:28Is it a special one or something?
0:25:31 > 0:25:36With Maya washed, it's time to hit the streets of Llandudno.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38And with a quick costume change...
0:25:38 > 0:25:39A change of hats.
0:25:39 > 0:25:43..I am ready to meet the people and I'm armed with ice-cold milk
0:25:43 > 0:25:46and a megaphone. Come and try...
0:25:46 > 0:25:48Got to switch it on first, haven't I?
0:25:48 > 0:25:52Do you know where your milk comes from? Meet Maya the cow.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56Come over and try some glorious ice-cold milk.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58In return for a free glass,
0:25:58 > 0:26:02I want to know how much people really know about the milk they buy.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Do you guys know how much a pint of milk costs?
0:26:07 > 0:26:08Do you know how much?
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Do you know how much you pay for your pint?
0:26:11 > 0:26:14- Ask her, not me.- Do you know how much you're paying for your milk?
0:26:14 > 0:26:16Come over, have a chat.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19So, do you know how much you pay for your milk?
0:26:19 > 0:26:21No. Neither of you have got a clue?
0:26:22 > 0:26:24It's about, um...
0:26:24 > 0:26:25Um...
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Um...
0:26:27 > 0:26:29People are seriously confused about how much they pay.
0:26:29 > 0:26:34They really don't know. I've had all kinds of different price ranges
0:26:34 > 0:26:39and it's quite funny. What's really great to see is the number of people
0:26:39 > 0:26:41taking an interest in Maya the cow
0:26:41 > 0:26:43and taking the time to speak to Euan.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00It's difficult for these guys, you know, because it's costing them more.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02- I know.- More to produce it than...
0:27:02 > 0:27:04- I've seen it on the news. - Have you?- Yeah.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07And a lot of people seem sympathetic to the challenges
0:27:07 > 0:27:12facing dairy farmers and many think that milk is too cheap.
0:27:12 > 0:27:15- Would you be willing to pay a little bit extra?- I would. I would.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Definitely, without a shadow of a doubt.
0:27:17 > 0:27:22Why not? Yeah. We are paying for everything extra, why not for milk?
0:27:22 > 0:27:24I would pay £1.50 at least for four pints
0:27:24 > 0:27:26if that meant people didn't get short-changed.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29I'm going to give you a little bit more because
0:27:29 > 0:27:30you've been so supportive.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36Does a day like this give you a kind of hope and a feel-good factor?
0:27:36 > 0:27:39Everybody you talk to about the problem of the price of milk,
0:27:39 > 0:27:41they're interested in what we're saying.
0:27:41 > 0:27:42- Yeah.- And they're all willing...
0:27:42 > 0:27:44"Yeah, we would pay more for the milk."
0:27:44 > 0:27:46It does make you feel better.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53Today we brought the cow to the consumer and what we found out
0:27:53 > 0:27:56was the consumer is more than willing to pay
0:27:56 > 0:27:58that little bit extra for milk.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02The dairy farmers are not in a good place,
0:28:02 > 0:28:04they are not very happy with the price,
0:28:04 > 0:28:05so this is a problem.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09There's a problem in the middle and that's what I'm going to do next -
0:28:09 > 0:28:11is find out what's going on.
0:28:15 > 0:28:19Next time I find out how the UK's biggest supermarket
0:28:19 > 0:28:21sources its milk.
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Actually, every time you do buy our milk,
0:28:23 > 0:28:25that money is going back to the farmer.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28I see milk production on a massive scale.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31The quantity is seriously mind-blowing.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34And I visit some of the biggest dairy farms around.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37This is milking in the 21st century.