We caught up with our fantastic director, Robert Gosling, here at Hartington Creamery to find out exactly how and why we have been affected and what this means to cheese production.

During the Covid-19 pandemic cheese sales increased all around the world. The idea of an indulgent cheese and wine night became the new Friday temptation as we put our social lives on pause. Robert explained: “As a result of this, the quantity of cheese readily available is much smaller. This has caused milk prices to increase by about 40% which is totally unprecedented.”

Not only has this change in demand caused an increase in the cost of milk production but this has also affected the bigger picture. Robert went on to explain: “As life started to resume back to normality the demand for energy grew. This has pushed electricity costs higher, subsequently having a knock-on effect to our cattle feed and fertiliser. It’s little things like these that we use every day which all add up.”

Robert, who took charge of the creamery in 2019, also went on to discuss further external factors that have influenced these catastrophic changes within the industry. “The war in Ukraine has caused further disruption to the supply of fuel, feed and fertilizer. Red diesel is 150% more expensive than last year. Wheat for cattle feed is 50% up, rape meal is 60% up and fertilizer is between double and treble last year’s values.”

So how does Robert think these changes will affect cheese making in the next year?

Robert continues: “As most cheese makers are finding themselves in a similar situation it is inevitable that we will experience a knock-on effect. There will be less mild and mature cheddar available towards the latter end of this year because a lot of mild cheese has been sold rather than matured. Not only is a shortage of cheese becoming an issue, but because of Brexit rules we are now seeing a labour shortage across the farming industry due to a reduction in area payments and further regulation relating to slurry storage legislation.”

As a result of these changes, Robert explained the extra attention required to monitor the amount of cheese produced to reflect current demand. This will hopefully eliminate the reduction of potential waste and loss in profit.

In a time of such change and turmoil where everyone is working hard to adapt, let’s take this opportunity to make more of a conscious effort to support your local community and businesses. Because kindness goes a long way even if your fuel tank doesn’t!

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