Sack the Sock - put a sock in it or pull your socks up - frankly we're a bit sick of it. The Archers is shit, discuss it here.

[PseudoBadger]

I have it on good authority that this is the thread that people enjoy more than the programme it's about

Oh yes I could just hear Kate say that!

I can't help thinking that SOC must have taken some note of comments on here when unnecessarily recasting Pip.

People have been complaining for aeons that Pip's voice was whiny. I never found it so, but there you go.

So now we have a Pip who is anything but squeaky - although taking in a range of regional accents and genders in one episode is hardly compensation.

Just listened to a long report on Today programme interviewing a dairy farmer, making the point that 9 small dairy farmers a week are going out of business - only getting 22p a litre when they need at least 30p - second time I've heard this story in the last week. Why haven't we heard it on TA? Sock has stirred up a ridiculous and poorly executed cock-and-bull story about a by-pass when he has a real-life agricultural storyline to draw on for drama. What has the agricultural story editor been doing? I can't believe we haven't heard a single peep this week about this when the Dopeys have been visiting various state of the art dairy farms. You'd think he might have managed at least one of those 2 minute inserts (clearly slotted in after the programme has been recorded!) to discuss the point. Or is it all rather too inconvenient? Dairyfarmerswife would,they seriously be considering such a massive investment - putting all their inheritance into this bells and whistles milk parlour and all other investment they are planning without at least discussing the state of the industry and whether milk is even the way forward?

The milk price should certainly have factored into a discussion centred on Pip's perception that they will have more money than they know what to do with. Surely there was a basic calculation to be made about the mahoosively increased power costs versus the severely decreased profits on offer?

Not only the milk price, but whether they will even be able to either transfer their contract, or get a new one. Dh has been selling heifers recently and the number of farmers in our (dairy) area who have not had their existing contracts renewed is scary, three generation farmers having to sell their herds because they can't find another contract. Some are now paying as little as 16p/litre. This surely would be uppermost on their minds, so perhaps tonight it will be mentioned.

Could it be that Sock has had this in his mind all along and this is why they will not move!

Yes, ridiculous that they're not discussing milk prices on TA. Someone upthread said there should be FairTrade milk, I was thinking that too the other day. When you can get milk cheaper than some bottled water there's clearly something horribly wrong, and presumably dairy farmers' hands are tied by having living creatures to look after - they can't just go on strike.

If supermarkets want to price milk as a 'loss leader' then they should take 100% of the loss and pay farmers a realistic price compatible with producing milk with good welfare standards.

But for a BOOP, I liked Clarrie and Susan's offer of making Emma a dress. TA oldtimers who you can tell apart behaving totally in character.

I didn't think Phoebe sounded too sure when she said she hadn't really been in contact with Nolly... is Nolly actually feeding her Kate-gossip behind the scene?

Phoebe (and Pip) are very impatient/bossy/patronising with their various parents, aren't they? rings very true to me, who has two grown-up DDs who occasionally give me that look.

Jennifer seemed to have been fed a Kate-story about the confiscation of the car-keys - 'Kate had had a glass of wine' (more like a vat) - she managed to make it sound almost like Phoebe had over-reacted, which can only have come from Kate?

I was none too impressed with Jennifer and Jill basically saying that "the young can be so sanctimonious" in relation to potential drink driving!

Surely the only appropriate reaction by any responsible person (and Jill is responsible, even if Jenny can be a flake) to any risk of drink driving is "Well done Phoebe, better safe than sorry".

Yes - the cow sized elephant in the room is making TA look beyond ridiculous atm. The BBC is usually quite good at joined up discussion. Was SOC so busy writing his puff piece that he failed to notice the plan for, or RL fact of, serious discussion of milk prices? (I know that sounds ungracious but how can they fail to reflect such RL drama?)

As regards Phoebe's communications with Nolly - it did sound as if something is brewing. I was half expecting Nolly to jump out of an airport taxi at Home Farm's front door before the end of the episode.

I should hope that either she is on her way to Ambridge right now or she has done something so outrageous at home that Kate has no choice but to return.

My BOOP point was also Emma's wedding dress. I came over all sniffly when Clarrie and Susan made her the offer. How lovely.

WAL point - the Dopeys need to DO SOME SUMS! idiots! They seem to have no grasp of costs at all relating to the move. And Pip is so rude to them - what an insufferable know-it-all! I am at least twice her age and would still be on the receiving end of a sharp "ODFOD" if I spoke to my parents like that.

Actually the Pip thing not really a WAL point as it's nothing to criticise the SW about. Just that she really gets on my wick!

It always used to be that I would hear some agricultural item of news and know all about it (to DH's astonishment!) because TA was ahead of the game in terms of farming news. Now Molecule has made another excellent point about whether they will be able to transfer their contract or get a new one - not a single whiff that this might be a problem. Do they actually have an agricultural story editor anymore or has he gone the way of Matt, Ian, Usha et al?

dairy farmers' hands are tied by having living creatures to look after - they can't just go on strike

Well yes, we rely on the milk payment arriving in the bank on time to pay the feed, electricity, fuel bills etc, which is why the milk company which has delayed payments by 14 days will be causing such problems for its suppliers. Imagine your wages going in the bank two weeks late, and the implications.

The other reason they can't just strike is that the cows can't strike! They keep producing milk, day in day out, and need to be milked. If you stop milking them, you can't milk them again until they have a calf. And remember, milk has a short shelf life, so we can't just store it on farm until the price goes up! Our milk company (like most I imagine) won't take milk which has been in the tank longer than 48 hours.

Lillian I agree, all the discussions between D, R & P seem totally unrealistic. Pip sounds like a kid in a sweet shop and clearly has very little idea of running a business. R seems very unbusinesslike at times to. In fairness to the SW an in depth discussion of the viability of staying in dairy would be hard to achieve, but they haven't touched on it at all. And I couldn't believe it when David rolled over like that last night. I think the agricultural advisor must be a sales rep for robotic parlours.

All along I haven't believed they would move, but why go to all the effort of three milking parlour visits, and a decision, if the SW aren't going to go through with it. Seems so pointless...

Yes - the cow sized elephant in the room is making TA look beyond ridiculous atm. The BBC is usually quite good at joined up discussion. Was SOC so busy writing his puff piece that he failed to notice the plan for, or RL fact of, serious discussion of milk prices? (I know that sounds ungracious but how can they fail to reflect such RL drama?)

It's worse than that. We've had discussions of milk prices in the Ed storyline but - like so many other SL - SOC seems to have forgotten all about it and left it hanging in mid-air. Is the dairy / processing plant / milkround financially viable or not? Is the business sale going through or not? Is the house sale going through or not?

The lack of rigorous financial considerations is making the HH move look ridiculous. Is David really going to stay in milk / buy a farm / buy expensive kit just because he is browbeaten by his womenfolk? If anything he should be looking at Adam who bought expensive kit and then lost his contracts and be backing off.

The lack of rigorous financial considerations is making the HH move look ridiculous.

It's almost making me nostalgic for the glory days of The Sausage King and his spreadsheets & projections for the Bank of Gran.

Ahem!

It would be disappointing if D&R don't have a serious conversation wisth Pip about this. They can't possibly be ready to spend zillions upgrading their milking technology when we've heard nothing definite about a secure market for the milk. I'm listening to an article on this on PM right now.

Written on 12th Jan.

They've had plenty of time to think up an insert. But it should have been planned.

This milk issue will not be resolved unless we the consumers vote with our pockets and support the dairy farmers, we have discussed it on this thread over the years and some of the harsh facts expert farming posters have explained to us are terrifying - do we want to support our farmers or not? Everyone wants the farmersto have a decent return, and for the cows to have a good standard of welfare and care, I cannot imagine a country with big mega dairies only, no small farms on the landscape and thousands of livelihoods going down the pan,it is outrageous that there has been no real comment on this especially from Mike/Ed...The article linked earlier about supermarkets to avoid listed Aldi, Asda and Morrisons as placed NOT to buy milk. I have just been to the local students shop at the university here (somewhere that should be ethical FFS!) and paid (to my shame :-() - it was ALL they were selling... )£1.89 for 2 litres of Muller milk.... I am furious with myself!!!!

P.s,
I know I keep banging on about CIWF, but there are some excellent articles on their website about dairy farming/welfare etc. I am sure Kirsty was a member, she's the only Eco Warrior there has really been on TA!

that's the thing though guineapiglet - i totally agree with you that consumers should be doing everything they can to support farmers, but not everyone has the "luxury" (i know it's not quite like that, but you know what i mean) of choice in terms of where they shop and what they can afford to pay, and the big suppliers and supermarkets know it and will exploit it. i would definitely welcome a "fairtrade" logo though

Nolly. I reckon Phoebe has seen something on Nolly's FB she is not mentioning possibly Lucas(?) has a new dp?

i haven't listened to last night's episode, but it is infuriating to listen to pip and D&R not understanding that having a lot of cash isn't a good reason to go for the most expensive option. do they not understand the concept of return on investment?

my own BOOP-point is also clarrie and susan and the wedding dress. not only because it's lovely, but also because it gives more opportunity to hear them gossiping about other events!

I've just had a look at CIWF. I'd take issue with some of the accuracy tbh. It makes a lot of generalisations. For example it implies that only small units follow the pasture based route, when in fact any sized farm can if the setup allows. There is a unit near us with 1000 cows on a grazing system.

It also talks about the need for the cows to produce one calf per year and makes a direct link to them only lasting three years. That is a bit backwards, certainly in our system. If they don't have a calf per year they unfortunately don't yield enough so have to be culled. Rather than being 'worn out' by having a calf per year, if that makes sense. It is in our interests to have high standards of welfare and healthy cows, because they are more profitable. If milk is to be affordable, the businesses which produce it need to be profitable.

Yes, my BOOP point is also the mums making the wedding dress. Though I've never heard if Susan as a sewer. I suppose Clarrie can keep her right. Kate is wonderfully infuriating, and it's great to see with the new actress she hasn't had a real personality change. I like New Tom as well - despite the personality change he's had, it's actually nice to hear a sort of upbeat and not self-absorbed Tom. Maybe his RL dad's had a word.

So 3 BOOP-points really, and despite the frustrations of the weird disjointedness of some SLs, I am enjoying TA and wonder what will happen. esp. at Brookfield, and with Kate, Phoebe and Nolly, and with Adam and his men.

lol at sewer - did a double-take there

HaHa, maybe I should have said seamstress!