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Localise West Midlands
The Warehouse
54-57 Allison Street
Digbeth
Birmingham
B5 5TH
Tel: 0121 685 1155
Fax: 0121 643 3122
Email: info@localisewestmidlands.org.uk

Registered in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee (not for profit) no: 6239211

Waitrose Bags Fair Deal Award from West Mids Dairy Farmer

Embargoed for: 12 noon on 13th December 2007

Photo/Press Opportunity:

The presentation of the Fair Deal Award by Dairy Farmer Andrew Hemming to Waitrose will be at Hall Green Waitrose branch, 1332 Stratford Road, Hall Green, B28 9EF at 12 noon on Thursday 13th December 2007.

If you are unable to attend the photo opportunity we can provide a photo of farmer Andrew Hemming and one of his dairy cows.

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Waitrose Bags Fair Deal Award from West Mids Dairy Farmer

Local Dairy Farmer Andrew Hemming[i] nominated Waitrose for a fair deal award as they were the first supermarket to respond to the crisis that has been facing dairy farmers for the past ten years.

He has been supplying milk through Dairy Crest to Waitrose for four years and while other supermarkets were offering 17p a litre, Waitrose was offering him 22p per litre. They were willing to pay extra for quality, animal welfare and environmental standards offering him the opportunity to properly care for his stock and landscape.

Andrew said: “Everyone who keeps animals on British farms wants good quality stock that they look after well, but money dictates if we are able to do this”.

Although other supermarkets are catching up Andrew is sticking by his nomination as he feels that Waitrose has shown a longer-term commitment to supporting producers and paying a fair price.[ii]

Andrew added: “Waitrose have led the way for promoting fair trade for British Farmers and we have been able to use their better and fairer terms as leverage to encourage other supermarkets to adopt fairer practices towards their producers.”

Andrew was also keen to make the point that a truly fair deal has yet to be offered to dairy farmers. If for example you take the average price for milk in 1996 of 25 pence per litre, and increase it in line with inflation the average milk price today should be 32.8p per litre. This is a good 5 pence higher than any supermarket is currently offering today.

The Fair Deal Award given by Andrew to Waitrose is part of a West Midlands scheme introduced by the Attwood Group with support from Localise West Midlands (LWM)[iii] to bring publicity to the campaign for fair trade for local farmers and give producers the opportunity to tell the public which retailers give them a fair price.[iv] LWM are supporting the Fair Deal Awards and the wider campaign because the organisation believes there is a major power imbalance between big buyers and the producers that needs urgently to be addressed. Amy Longrigg of LWM said:

“By publicising positive examples like Waitrose using its buying power responsibly, rather than to drive producers into the ground as often happens, the Fair Deal Awards can raise awareness and encourage more buyers and consumers to support a fair deal for British Farmers.”

If you would like to find out about other nominations, or if you are a farmer and would like to make a nomination please visit: www.localisewestmidlands.org.uk/fairdealawards

There is a wider national movement calling for Fair Trade for British Farmers. Dairy Farmer Michael Hart from the South West, in his campaign for a fair price for local farmers, coined the phrase “Lets have Fair Trade Milk for our Fair Trade Coffee” making the point that the principles of fair trade or trade justice for producers can and should be applied at home as well as abroad. The Farmers Guardian, Country Living, Women’s Institute and Waitrose have launched a campaign called “Fair Trade for British Farmers”. To find out more about their campaign visit: (www.fairtradeforbritishfarmers.co.uk).

ENDS

Notes for editors

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[i] Andrew’s farm is called Obelisk Farm and is located in Hockley Heath, Solihull, Warwickshire

[ii] The recent increase in farm gate prices offered by supermarkets is in the context of the international price of milk rising and the supply of milk now being less than the demand.

[iii] Localise West Midlands is a small regionally based not-for-profit consultancy and think-tank promoting the greater use of localisation to obtain social, environmental and economic benefits. By localisation LWM means local trade, decision-making and money flow.

[iv] The Fair Deal Award being given to Andrew Hemming on 13th December 2007 is the first of four awards being presented as part of West Midlands Fair Deal Awards. There will be three subsequent awards presented in the New Year and we will be submitting press releases for each one of them.

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Localise West Midlands
The Warehouse
54-57 Allison Street
Digbeth B5 5TH
0121 685 1155