Farm Diary February 25 2009

HERE we are within a few days of March and spring is suddenly very much in the air. The last few days have been much warmer, with some sunshine, and I saw a little frog in the car headlights, jumping across the road outside Plaistow village early one morning; a sure sign that spring is on its way.

The birds are singing loudly each morning, with our resident magpies very busy building their nest. We have applied some fertilizer to some of our grass fields, and as the ground dries up we will start to apply some of the slurry water from our lagoons.

Unfortunately the large blue peacock will not see the spring of 2009, because the fox has taken him, leaving us with only the white peacock, who looks very second rate with half his tail gone since he was attacked. With my guns stolen, I was unable to offer any protection, which is a great shame after all this time.

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We held our NFU Annual Conference last week, which was very well attended with plenty of discussion about the economic 'downturn', and agriculture's place in the global recession.

Agriculture is not affected in the same way as other sectors when recession hits, because as one of the speakers Professor Patrick Hall (Professor of public health Dublin) said; if you don't eat, you're dead!

That does not mean that agriculture is immune to the problems of economic recession; far from it, but food still sells every day and demand is there.

Agriculture in this country, unlike the economy, saw growth in 2008, and therefore a greater contribution to GDP. We are producing more food these days with less impact on the environment, but the task of doubling food production globally in the next 40 years is an enormous challenge.

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The political session of the conference was the poorest I'm afraid, with Secretary of State Hilary Benn on the back foot as usual, attempting to defend his poor decisions and lack of real support for the industry.

He came under attack over Bovine TB, as one would expect since the disease is out of control, with 40,000 cattle slaughtered last year and a projected 65,000 this year, as the disease moves progressively across the country. He was also criticised for his 'voluntary set-aside' plans, and he faced evidence that farmers were more likely to be driven out of environmental schemes, as he put up more barriers.

Guy Smith (E.Anglia) asked him why the list of farmland birds did not include certain species that were doing well and were an indicator of good bio-diversity, such as the Barn Owl; why was the Barn Owl not on Defra's list of farmland birds? After all there is a clue in the name!

Hilary countered with his support for farmers against the European pesticide bill, which he described as a 'Hit and Hope' measure, rather than sound science. He talked of a badger vaccine being available in the near future, and the need for clear labelling of food.

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He called for partnership, moving to GMO's and that trials must be respected. Nick Herbert (Shadow Secretary of State) who represents Arundel in parliament, was only three weeks into the job, and made many promises which I have written down. It's very easy being in opposition and the test will come for him very soon I think.

There was much talk about agriculture's aging workforce, the need for 60,000 skilled people to come into the industry in the next ten years, whilst career perceptions are negative in the main, due to poor returns and low morale. This is one of the biggest problems we have; how to attract the best people into the industry.

Returning to Professor Patrick Hall, he thought that after BSE, Foot and mouth disease, and the economics of farming, it was remarkable that we are still on 'the pitch'!

He was dealing with the issues of food safety, and commented on the recent Irish pork, and Chinese milk problems, describing the global media as an animal that needs feeding more often than any farm animal, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Is science a source of good or bad?

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After all it is responsible for CTC Scanners and the atomic bomb. Public debate on GMO's; how informed is that debate? Is pasta sold in the shops as 'made from irradiated mutant wheat' currently? Why not? If only the public had real knowledge of modern plant breeding techniques, GMO's would not be feared. He stated that if Pfizer and Monsanto got together and produced 'Viagra green beans', GMO's would be widely embraced in that context!

Professor Bell described supermarkets as the powerbrokers in the food chain, and praised them for driving standards and food safety, but seriously questioned fair trade. Our health is our greatest asset; how we have degraded wholesome food (he said), moving to processed foods to ready made meals and now 'hyper-foods'.

Edward Garner, a statistician, showed us very clearly some startling facts. How consumers don't do health at Christmas, but in the New Year, own label purchases in supermarkets shoot back up. Frozen foods are increasing in the recession with organic produce suffering badly at the other end of the spectrum. 'Bogoff' in decline as consumers get wise to 'buy one and watch one rot'!

Manufactured health (pro-biotic's, health drinks etc) have lost their gloss, but free-range eggs are now mainstream, with egg sales up after the cholesterol charge was discredited. Consumers are trading down, generally, with fierce competition for their money in the high street. It was left to Jane Kennedy MP (Minister for Farming and the Environment) to bring common sense to the fore. What has happened to taste? Why can't we just enjoy and celebrate food, eating sensible amounts of a balanced diet. Hear Hear.

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