Farm Diary

I have spent two days judging the 'Farmers Weekly' magazine's 'Dairy Farmer of the year' competition, and quality forage is the one key ingredient that was common between all three finalists. The winner will not be announced until October, but I can tell you that the standard was extremely high, and as a judge I learnt a great deal.

We will re-seed several silage fields this autumn, in order to ensure better quality silage next year and also less purchased chemical fertilizer by growing more clover in the swards.

Until last year, all our grass fields had been down since I first re-seeded the whole farm in the early 1980's, nearly thirty years ago, but with the need for more clover and in order to take advantage of the new high sugar grass varieties, we need to do it again.

Weed grasses have slowly invaded the swards over the years, and our slurry application in winter have not helped. We will only be applying dirty water and separated slurry water from now on; all within the growing season in order to maximise the fertilizer value.

We have a pair of swallows nesting in our store! They have built their nest on top of the strip-light in the shipping container, and the warmth from this light (it's on most of the time) will ensure the chicks are snug and warm.

There are three newly hatched chicks resting their heads on the side of the nest, opening their beaks wide whenever one goes in! The parents fly in and out all day, feeding and looking after their hungry offspring, and their flying skills, manoeuvring within such a small place is remarkable.

Global trade seems to be under threat as the price of oil handicaps the shipping of low value products. As the ever increasing price of oil threatens the concept of the 'outsourced business model', distance from the customer is now a concern.

On the back of these high transportation costs, trade across the world is changing, with the revival of the American steel industry at the expense of Asian steel exporters for example.

The cost of transporting coking coal and iron ore from Brazil to China is now equal to the value of the mineral itself. Australian miners are demanding higher prices from China, arguing that some of the savings in transport (Australia being a lot nearer to China) belongs to the producer.

Local and regional production suddenly looks more attractive, and the market is likely to succeed where idealism did not (mind you the market is also succeeding in cutting motoring speeds where 6000 speed cameras did not).

The freight costs of importing into the USA equated to a tariff of 3% in 2000 when oil was $20 a barrel, but now with oil over $100 a barrel, it is heading for nearer 11%. Airfreight is even more expensive, and the rules of long distance supply chains are being re-written.

Only high value goods will justify these high transportation costs, and the vast array of cheap goods from across the world will diminish to the consumer's dismay.

Will we see cut flowers (flown in from East Africa and Latin America) in January and every conceivable fruit, available all year round? Time will tell, and it depends on the consumer's willingness to pay.

There will be winners and losers across the globe as usual, but the British consumer is very likely to face less choice and higher prices as the number of suppliers dwindle.

High oil prices will address the concerns of those worried about 'climate change', but I guess they will become smaller in number as the average citizen will be more concerned with making ends meet.

It's too early to suggest that the economic miracle of 'globalisation' had its foundations built on sand, but it most certainly depended on cheap oil, and that is no longer available.

Agriculture will continue to rise in importance, as foolish politicians (of all parties) who have maintained until now, that food can always be imported into the UK, struggle to manage an economy which has thrived on cheap oil.

GM crops are offering solutions, and the EU is under massive pressure to correct its hypocritical stance on GM; that is welcoming the importation of meat fed on GM grain, whilst standing in the way of allowing new varieties of GM grain entry for animal feed, and any thought of growing GM crops in Europe.

Scottish MEP Struan Stevenson warned last week that sacrificing the pig industry and severely weakening other sectors was 'the politics of the madhouse'. Will consumer attitude towards GM crops change as prices of non-GM increase disproportionally? Time will tell.

This feature first appeared in the West Sussex Gazette on June 18