As farmers, working mainly in isolation with animals, we often forget what we actually achieve on a daily basis.

You might say, it’s not rocket science - we’re not surgeons who save people’s lives every day, our hands won’t care for older people in care homes today and our brain cells won’t cure debilitating diseases in laboratories. 

But when you sit down and actually think about it, our work affects the entire population here in Wales and beyond. Because each and every morning, people wake up and sit down during their day for a cup of tea, coffee, buy a milkshake, drink a glass of milk in school or eat a bowl of cereal. The milk our cows produce will, in some way, shape or form, reach the majority of the UK population today.

The British Heart Foundation agrees that standard cow’s milk is cheaper to buy than any of the alternatives on the market and that dairy milk is a good source of calcium, a necessary substance for the body. While milk is low in fat (whole milk is just 4 per cent fat) the good news if you’re worried about saturated fats is that it’s easy to switch to semi-skimmed milk. Whilst discussing non-dairy milk, like almond, oats, soya, nuts and coconut milk, the British Heart Foundation says that people need to understand that these non-dairy milks have an environmental impact on our planet and do not include calcium. They also state, for a healthy heart:

• Eight per cent of our food should be made up of dairy products, including milk, yoghurt and cheese.

• Dairy products are the main source of calcium, and we need 700mg a day for a number of functions in the body and building healthy bones and teeth.

• Calcium is NOT present naturally in dairy milk alternatives, so it needs to be added.

It is, therefore, worrying when we hear in the media that wildlife campaigner, Chris Packham has been telling youngsters to ditch milk to improve their health for plant-based alternatives. Packham criticised the Agricultural and Horticultural levy board AHDB’s ‘MIlk every Moment’ campaign in conjunction with British Universities and Colleges, to promote the benefits of drinking milk to young sporting students.

Interestingly, World and British rowing record holder, Vwairé Obukohwo, was advised by doctors and nutritionists that she needed to reintroduce meat and dairy to her diet because she had multiple deficiencies and lacked enough protein to keep up with the training demands of a high-performance athlete.

Vwairé Obukohwo said: “It was best to reintroduce meat and dairy into my diet, which gave me the nutrition I needed to flourish and excel as a high-performance athlete.”

The question is, do you listen to a wildlife campaigner for dietary advice or doctors and nutritionists who advise the best athletes in the world?

Milk contains 18 of 22 essential nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and antioxidants. When you enjoy a glass of milk, pot of yoghurt, slice of cheese or any other dairy product, you’re fuelling your body with potassium, protein, calcium, vitamins A, D and B12 and more. The benefits of these essential nutrients found in dairy products have many health benefits throughout your body.

So all in all, we love milk! And in a few weeks’ time on Tuesday, October 22, the Welsh Dairy Show event will take place at the United Counties Showground in Nantyci, Carmarthen to celebrate all things dairy. Nominations are still open for FUW’s competition as we continue to search for a person who’s contributed to the Welsh dairy industry and deserves an award. Do you know of an individual who’s gone above and beyond her/his duty within the dairy sector? 

If so, you have until Friday, October 4, to nominate an individual by sending a letter or citation, giving full details of the work and achievements of the nominee and email the nomination to the FUW Carmarthen office at: [email protected] or by post to FUW Carmarthen, Suite 10, Ty Myrddin, Old Station Road, Carmarthen, SA31 1LS.