LOCALLY-sourced produce is fashionable at present. All manner of farm shops, restaurants and cafes have sprung up, charging higher prices for such delights as ‘hand reared Bowland beef’.

But these are seen as treats.

For day-to-day living, the majority of us go to supermarkets.

And the big firms’ pressure to keep prices low is being partly blamed for the closure of 300 dairy farms in Lancashire since the turn of the millennium.

Many of these farmers have turned their attentions to other ventures, such as rearing cows and sheep for meat.

They say there is not much money in producing milk, with the sell-on being far less than the production costs.

Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans, whose constituency has seen 72 dairy farms close since 2000, is calling for a debate in parliament on the future of the industry.

He says the UK is in the midst of a 40-year low in the production of milk.

Mr Evans believes continued problems will have a disastrous affect on rural life and the remaining 678 dairy farms in the county.

He wants the Government to take swift action to help dairy farmers.

But perhaps we should all take a look at our thirst for lower prices at the supermarket and question whether it is in the long-term good of communities.