'Since 2002 more than half of Britain's dairy farms have gone out of business.' Photograph: David Levene

Britains long tradition of dairy farming has moulded the landscape. Small fields of bright green grass enclosed by hedges, the farmstead and a cottage or two that are typical of counties as distant as Cheshire and Pembroke, Cornwall and Fife, owe their existence to the family dairy farm. But the chances are that nowadays there wont be any cows in the fields. Since 2002, more than half of Britains dairy farmers have gone out of business, defeated by rock-bottom prices and rising costs. And for the past few months, even those that have survived have been caught up in another perfect storm. Britain consumes more than four-fifths of the milk it produces, but its price is dictated globally, by the cost of producing milk in, say, New Zealand or the US. The past year has seen exceptionally good milk-producing weather in every milk-producing country. Worse, it has followed a few boom years that have led to higher levels of production and then, in Europe, hit up against the cheese mountain created by Russias ban on imports. Some fear the price could fall as low as 17p a litre, triggering EU intervention.

Once again, the supermarkets are in the frame for squeezing farmers dry. There is now a groceries regulator, Christine Tacon, in charge of monitoring relations between suppliers and the supermarkets. But her remit doesnt cover the whole dairy chain. Its consumer pressure, which led to some supermarkets introducing a fixed pool of suppliers who were paid over the odds, thats driven change. Prices for this elect group are down, but they are still in profit. What is less transparent is what these supermarkets are paying for the products of processed milk the yoghurt, cheese and butter and what the knock-on effect of lower shelf prices is on farmers who are not in the pool. First Milk, the farmers co-operative that has announced it is having to delay payments for a fortnight, is one of those suppliers that does not have a contract with a big supermarket chain. No milk cheque, for farmers whove borrowed heavily, could mean the end of the road. In December, dairy farmers were going out of business at the rate of two or three a week.

A decade ago, it seemed the only future for dairy would be huge herds, thousands strong, kept shut up in barns. But its become clear that there is no one successful model for dairy farming. Small farms have learned survival strategies and the average herd size is still only about 125. They are helped because it is in the interest of the whole local farming economy to cut farmers in trouble a bit of slack. But at the end of this year, Europes dairy farmers will face their biggest challenge in a generation. Milk quotas, introduced back in the 1980s to regulate supply, will finally be removed, creating a completely free market in milk. Britain has never faced levies for overproduction, unlike our main competitors Germany, Ireland and Denmark. When quotas are off, they will increase production. Prices will fall again. Even before quotas go, some EU countries want them back. The analysts may be right: prices will bounce back. But the farmers want to know what the supermarkets are up to, and the groceries regulator should be finding out.

Read the original:
The Guardian view on milk prices: dairy farmers are being driven out of business. The groceries regulator should find ...

OTTAWA - A slightly fuzzy, zoomed-in screen grab from question period took a brewing controversy for Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq, and crystallized it into a tale of callous indifference.

"Leona Aglukkaq reads newspaper, ignores questions about people looking for food in dump," read the headline last month by Press Progress, a social-media focused news organization funded by the Broadbent Institute.

From there the story was touched on by mainstream news organizations, who appeared to miss the fleeting visual during the House of Commons broadcast. Aglukkaq had been fending off criticism that the government's Nutrition North program hasn't helped reduce grocery costs in the territories.

Press Progress is snarky, easy-to-read, unabashedly left-wing and opinionated, and part of a new group of digital media organizations covering politics on Parliament Hill.

Vice, The Tyee, the Vancouver Observer, Blacklock's Reporter, and rabble.ca now have correspondents or small teams in Ottawa. The digital outlets iPolitics and Huffington Post were the first of the new wave.

In the United States, such news sites as Politico, Talking Points Memo, Roll Call and Buzzfeed Politics have been making their mark for years.

The new Canadian players with different funding models are filling in some of the empty chairs in the press gallery left by shrinking traditional media outlets. And they're challenging some of the notions about what political reporting looks like.

In the case of Press Progress, the content could be dismissed by some as NDP partisan advertising. It is run within the Broadbent Institute, an independent, non-partisan think-tank founded by former NDP Leader Ed Broadbent and initially run by a former aide to the late Jack Layton.

Founding editor Sarah Schmidt, a former national reporter with Postmedia News, says there is nothing in the content that is partisan, and accuracy is still a central tenet. The outlet is run independently of the institute.

Follow this link:
New Media (Including Yours Truly) Changing Ottawa's Political Landscape

Kruti Kadakia Interior Designer At BPW Hyderabad-Hybiz.tv
Kruti Kadakia Interior Designer At BPW Hyderabad-Hybiz.tv Watch More Business Videos at Indias Leading online business channel Hybiz TV Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/hybiz ...

By: hybiztv

Read more here:
Kruti Kadakia Interior Designer At BPW Hyderabad-Hybiz.tv - Video

Our Worlds Share the Love Vicki Semke.Cards! Show Designer Birthday Wishes Show Rose Garden Peace!
http://ourworldssharethelovevickisemke.cards Free happy birthday ecard online fun reception affair 30th birthday Basel Switzerland delightful 20th birthday Tokyo blast e card free show you...

By: BuyFurnitureYouLove

See the original post here:
Our Worlds Share the Love Vicki Semke.Cards! Show Designer Birthday Wishes & Show Rose Garden Peace! - Video

ITV Report 13 January 2015 at 10:22am Photo: BPM Media

The company behind a Christmas attraction backed by celebrity interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen has folded.

Magical Journeys hit the headlines when its "winter spectacle" closed down after just a day following complaints it was unfinished, had "rubbish presents" and "chav elves".

Ticket prices of 22.50 for a 90-minute visit at the Belfry Hotel in Sutton Coldfield were also criticised with many branding it a "rip-off".

The attraction reopened to the public a few days later but the firm were forced to issue hundreds of refunds to unsatisfied customers.

It also closed a week earlier than scheduled to the frustration of many families who had already bought tickets.

Parents say Llewelyn-Bowen grotto 'ruined Christmas'

Creditors are owed in the region of 875,000 following the early closure in December.

Craig Povey, who has been appointed joint liquidator, said the directors of Magical Journeys Limited had "faced a number of significant challenges" over the attraction including poor weather and "higher-than-anticipated costs."

He added: "When anticipated investment failed to materialise, they had no option but to close the attraction early.

Go here to see the original:
Firm behind Magical Journey Christmas attraction folds

Foreclosed homes are often trashed by vandals or past owners who steal copper wiring, smash windows and leave piles of garbage. You might expect a big price break, but not in Las Vegas in recent years.

Bargain-hunting investors bought houses in bulk when the market crashed and pushed up prices valleywide, even for homes that were a mess and owned by lenders.

But now, as the market cools and investors back out, busted houses arent such hot properties anymore.

Distressed-home prices rose fast and kept pace with the broader market for a while but now are volatile and falling behind the market at large.

When the market hit bottom in early 2012, single-family homes sold for a median $118,000 and, within that, bank-owned homes for $100,000. A year and a half later, the overall median had soared to $180,000 and bank-owned homes to almost $173,000, according to data from the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors listing service, which largely comprises previously owned homes.

Last month, the overall median was $204,000, but bank-owned homes went for $155,500, down 24 percent from the market at large, GLVAR data show.

Real estate pros disagree on the exact reasons for the widening gap, and some arent sure its happening at all. Platinum Real Estate Professionals agent Steve Hawks, for one, said the statistics are incomplete because at least half of bank-owned homes arent listed through the GLVAR.

But as Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices broker Heidi Kasama sees it, the growing price gap is a sign of normalcy in Las Vegas' volatile market, as buyers should get a price break on distressed homes.

Prices could also be tailing off because house hunters, amid slackened competition and slumping sales, are taking their time and not always settling for run-down or debt-laden properties, as they were often forced to do a few years ago.

Overall, with investors now cutting back on deals amid higher prices they helped create, listings of previously owned homes increasingly are being ignored, sales volume is dropping and prices arent climbing nearly as fast as a year ago, prompting some insiders to describe Las Vegas as a buyers market.

See more here:
Las Vegas bank-owned home prices lagging behind other resales

Body Solid G2b Biangular Weight Stack Home Gym Machine
Body Solid G2b Biangular Weight Stack Home Gym Machine Take a look at this web link for a good deal at Amazon-USA http://is.gd/TLjA7i Body Solid #39;s Exclusive Lifetime, In-home Warranty Provides...

By: Deangelo Cohn

See the original post:
Body Solid G2b Biangular Weight Stack Home Gym Machine - Video

Xmark Fitness 11gauge Mini Ab Bench
Xmark Fitness 11gauge Mini Ab Bench Find out the complete information and many more at amazon-usa http://is.gd/Vq3uQh Backed by a Lifetime in-home warranty Heavy duty 11-gauge commercial...

By: Deangelo Cohn

Read more:
Xmark Fitness 11gauge Mini Ab Bench - Video

Homes for sale - 8610 Tannen Dr, Louisville, KY 40242
Property Site: http://tour.remax-kentucky.com/home/R35MMB Spacious, vaulted great room. All new carpet and vinyl. Equipped kitchen, fenced yard, private patio, replacement windows, storage...

By: remaxky100kto150k

Here is the original post:
Homes for sale - 8610 Tannen Dr, Louisville, KY 40242 - Video

Home Security Systems Windsor
Home Security Systems Windsor - http://letsgetadt.com/ Best Home Security Systems Windsor package deal for your peace of mind. This incredible Home Security Systems Windsor package deal ...

By: Security Camera and Video Surveillance Systems

Read more from the original source:
Home Security Systems Windsor - Video