Cheesemaker highlights industry challenges to farming minister

Food and farming minister, Sir Mark Spencer, dropped in on Cropwell Bishop Creamery, which produces Stilton, Beauvale and Blue Shropshire and which has been making cheese in the village since 1847.

Rushcliffe MP, Ruth Edwards, also attended the gathering where Robin Skailes, director of the third-generation, family-run artisan cheese business, was able to give them an insight into current trading issues.

The meeting was organised by Rod Addy, director general of dairy and meat trade association the Provision Trade Federation, who was also present.

Mr Skailes told his visitors: “Finding the right people who want to learn about traditional products like Stilton is tough.”

Mr Addy said recent changes to apprenticeships, announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, should help recruitment – £60million is to be invested to create up to 20,000 additional apprenticeships to support small businesses.

However, Mr Skailes welcomed the investment but he feels this should be backed up by better communication with employers about how to access potential apprentices and how to engage with training providers.

He said the creamery had battled soaring production costs in the past 18 months with energy bills last year 10 times higher than they had been in 2021. The company has also had to pay wage increases this year to help staff cope with the cost-of-living crisis.

Despite this, its annual results filed on Companies House in December show the company successfully grew sales by more than 12 per cent to almost £12million, delivering operating profit of over £364,000.