Farm Diary February 18 2009

To cap it all the Food Standards Agency pronounced that all children over two years old and every adult should not drink full fat milk, and then the police (Chief inspector) came to see me, out of concern about my articles in the West Sussex Gazette, regarding the robbery at the farm three weeks ago. I have decided that dairy farming is actually very easy and low stress.

The builders are back and we are now a further five days behind schedule. Lorayne insists that the 'red bingo' (Jeremy Clarkson) style of driving (where the red light comes on but you drive past the petrol station daring the car to get to the next one) has to stop; now!

And the Chief Inspector and I parted as friends after a couple of hours of straight talking. Well actually I had to listen a lot of the time despite my best efforts. Chief Inspector Kevin Jenkins has assured me that extra resources have been put into our area, and that every effort is being made to tackle the increase in criminal activity.

He acknowledged that there are frustrations over the difficulties of catching criminals operating in such rural areas, but that we must also play our part in tightening up on security; which I fully accept.

He cautioned against some of my suggested methods, and kept telling me that my response to future incidences should be 'proportionate'.

However, we are both pleased that a method of better security has been agreed, coupled with a different approach by myself and my staff, when any person or vehicle is found on the premises without a credible reason. I am grateful to the Chief Inspector for coming to see me and for the extra effort being made in the area, where more patrols are taking place at night (just be careful that you have not had that extra drink before you leave the pub).

Lorayne has had most of her belongings returned, and good progress has been made by the detective (Kim Clinch) in charge of the case, who works longer hours than even a dairy farmer!

The Australian fires turned out to be far worse than imagined, with 180 people dead. Many farms have been affected, and others are donating hay and silage in order to help out. Morethan 40 dairy farms affected with some minor injuries, but no deaths although some farmhouses have been lost. Milk tankers have managed to access most farms for milk collection, and have also been carrying water to fire crews in strategic areas (free of charge of course) in order to assist the fire fighting effort.

Many dairy farmers and their staff have been on fire crews, which has added to the pressure of looking after animals in the high temperatures. Some of the dairy factory workers have also been released for fire fighting duties. Goods, including UHT milk has been donated by the farmer Co-op's, to assist with the immediate needs of the worst affected areas. M

any supply companies have donated fencing materials, water infrastructure materials and so on; with supreme efforts by police, ambulance, relief agencies such as Red Cross and Salvation Army, in what has been the worst natural disaster in Australian history.

Having suffered a burst tyre on the M6 two weeks ago as I descended the 'Shap' at very high speed, last Tuesday as I left Derbyshire early in the morning to return home, my 'sat-Nav' took me up some narrow lanes (shortest route) and I ended up almost stuck in the snow at over 1000 feet in the middle of nowhere with the red light ablaze on the fuel gauge.

The Food Standards Agency, whose job it is to ensure that the food we eat is safe, is now the official mouthpiece of Government; announcing that in the best interests of the nation, all children over two should not drink full fat milk.

No mention of the rubbish consumed by children, no mention of the lack of activity and exercise, no mention of the high quality fat in milk, full of vitamins and minerals, and no mention that full fat milk is only 3.5 '“ 4 per cent fat content. The number of comments and phone-in programmes on this subject demonstrated very clearly that most people (apart from a few nutritionists) believed the world to have gone mad. Its good to see how much common sense the general public have, which makes up for the lack of this precious commodity at the highest level in government and its agencies.

As people struggle in a recession, largely brought about (ironically) by lack of regulation in the banking and finance world by government, one of the greatest value food available, milk, is being targeted in order for government targets on saturated fat intakes nationally, to be met.

As most people drink milk, changing the majority to low fat would actually bring government to within a whisker of achieving its target. What happens to the fat removed from this milk? Children and adults consume it in chocolates, puddings, you name it.

Half the cream consumed in this country is imported! Ireland sent more cheese into this country than ever before (100, 000 tonnes in the first nine months of last year), with government itself buying it for hospitals, schools and prisons!

Thank goodness our new Agricultural Minister Jane Kennedy stood up and announced that she was disappointed with the FSA, and as a 'salad dodger', recommends the sensible approach of eating less, maintaining a balanced diet and recognising that full fat is the food that tastes so good! A welcome lone voice in this mad world?