Star comment: Crudgington closure another body blow to rural industry
At a time when Shropshire’s dairy farmers could do with some good news, there comes a blow which strikes at the very heart of the dairy industry in the county.
Crudgington Creamery has been part of the infrastructure of the rural economy here for many years.
The imposing plant on those crossroads north of Telford has been a visible symbol of the direct connection between the toil of our farmers and the produce which we all eat and drink.
Dairy Crest has announced that it is pulling the plug and will consolidate production of butter and spreads in Liverpool, which is not a place which conjures up mental images of cows and green pastures.
This will be a loss to Shropshire to compare with that of the Allscott sugar beet plant, another of those places on our doorstep which complemented the toil of our farmers for generations.
The Crudgington site employs 161 people. Dairy Crest says it hopes that at least 50 of them will transfer to Merseyside. Good luck to those who choose to do so. It would represent a move which would change everything about their lives. On the face of it, it does not look like a practical proposition for the vast majority.
The closure would be shocking if it were not for the fact that the writing was already on the wall after the production of Clover was moved from Crudgington last year, with 90 local job losses.
It is sad that cold-blooded economics counts for more than the loyalty of the staff who have invested their working lives in the Dairy Crest site.
Shropshire’s rural industries are precious and valued and for a concern of the size and importance of Dairy Crest to jump ship makes this announcement a dark day for this county’s agricultural scene.
Comments for: "Star comment: Crudgington closure another body blow to rural industry"
H. St. John Peasbody
With militant farmers blockading local dairies, is it any wonder that Dairy Crest are closing a rural operation and transferring production to an urban facility?
Bill
H St J P - they still need the milk to make their products so any action by farmers is irrelevant to where the milk is processed.
Silly boy!
steve
peasbody this closure was happening long before the blockades,closure is down to tax returns nothing else i dontthink we will hear much from polititions too late to get any good publicity
How absolutely criminal that this plant has not been nurtured or maintained in a county where supply of the best productive milk in the England is at its' doorstep. The distribution and logistical coordination is at a minimal from Crudgington as Nuneaton is the company's distribution depot ! Total an utter madness! The cost of logistics for effluent from Liverpool, is tremendous in comparison to that at the Crudgington site. Did no one stand and fight for keeping Dairy Crest in Crudgington? Where are the trade unions, MP's and officials. The cost of transfer of equipment is phenomenal, the cost of knowledge you are losing is phenomenal. The cost of replacing technology at Crudgington would have been marginal.
Bill
No, Telford Council is not interested in the rural industries within its boundaries - its focus currently is on the voter base of the Labour majority i.e. south of the M54
And the MP for The Wrekin is more interested in his profile at Westminster than his profile in the constituency - and where he seems to unerringly put his feet in his mouth.
Doubter
How Funny "militant farmers" seems very much a leftie thing to do in Blockading local dairies, imagine if it were some 20+ years ago when Miners where doing it, the police broke lines of pickets where the unions were reduced to a handful of pickets when on strike, Seems Farmers can send 100's along with hordes of 4x4 and tractors with out any objection from the police or indeed the Goverment, mind the landed gentry/farmers are known to support the Tories. :)
And not a word from from the Local MP Mark Prichard, seems more concerned about his own views on gay marriage and right to die (or in his view not) assuming this is his ward :)
James
Perhaps Owen the Fracker - whose appointment as Environment Sec plus other things relating to food and agriculture was hailed as such a fine and dandy thing for Shropshire on these very pages - will ride to the rescue and sort it all out.
Roger
Yet again we see a British Company shrinking and causing unemployment to reflect the economic policy of the current government.
Just up the road we see a German company doing just the reverse. Muller have bought up Wiseman Dairies and the Minsterly Creamery in a plan based on expansion through diversity of their product base. Muller’s are investing in the future whilst Dairy Crest are shrinking to reflect the past.
Perhaps Muller can see an opportunity here as an enabler to their expansion plans. If not the site, then surely the staff have the expertise and experience for Muller’s projected plans.
The Farmers spat is just a required adjustment for the distribution of the money the public will pay for the products. Market forces will sort that out at the end of the day. If there is a demand for Dairy Products the market will supply it at the best price they can, commensurate with making a profit. If it's too expensive to buy the demand will fall. If it costs more to produce than the market will pay they will all lose. Farmers are not exempt from market forces, nor are Dairies or Supermarkets, it will find its level.
snoopy
wait until the liverpool reds start striking ,that will bring home to dairy crest the worth of crudgington staff as is. the farmers blockades are irrelivent to this article, closure was talked about months before .wait untill there are no farms left to supply milk or beef grain could go on for ever.then see prices rise when the french start to supply this island
Jet
Interesting - how much will they be saving in diesel trucking the milk up to Liverpool?
With our Euro-masters telling us we must cut down on Co2 emmissions, where is the economic sense in this?
How many cows to they currently have in Liverpool?
Its all called "progress?"