Farm diary: Business as usual is not the way to face the future

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The government in Wales has managed to deliver for farmers against all odds. The Basic Payment Scheme (the old EU scheme) will stay, funded to £238 million for 2025/26.

The government also announced an additional £5.5m in resources and £14m capital funding for wider rural investment. This is of course a choice the government has made, and I was pleased to see both farming unions accept it with good grace, as however generous this package is, especially in these difficult times, it is nothing like the European funding Wales benefitted from in the past.

Farmers now look forward to details of how this money will be spent, there is a need for stability and this funding will go some way to providing that. The idiot comment in Welsh parliament came from Plaid Cymru, with their rural affairs spokesman Llyr Gruffydd stating that he felt that the budget was underwhelming, well short of what was needed to allow farmers to deliver on the demands being placed upon them by the government in Wales.

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Upland farming in England is facing a hard time as delays to government support schemes means that upland areas are receiving less that what was promised. New findings show that hill farmers receive 8% of the government’s Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), despite farming 15% of England’s farming area.

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The analysis shows that farm incomes in upland areas are the lowest of all sectors at an average of £23,500 in 2023/24.

No surprise here really, it has ever been thus, although now with the squeeze on agriculture, all incomes are down, even though farm gate prices are generally high. This is due to increased costs and less support. It’s a tough life being an upland farmer and the returns for that hard existence have always been low when compared with lowland farms.

It would be far better if environmental schemes were concentrated more in these areas where less food is produced, although of very good quality, leaving our productive areas to have more freedom to farm and feed people.

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The UK Food Security Report was published last week, showing very clearly just how vulnerable and fragile food production is becoming in this country. The document covers the past three years, covering details of the recent political, economic, and climatic challenges and their impact of food production.

During the launch we had just seen the damage the fourth storm in as many weeks had done on farms and to land, with widespread flooding to boot. Trade routes are mentioned in the report and the threat of disease coming into the country.

As an island nation, one would think that government could safeguard us against exotic diseases from elsewhere, other than avian influenza which arrives on the wing. Experts are now talking about African Swine Fever (AFS) arriving here as just a matter of time, given that there is not much confidence in our post-Brexit border controls.

Illegal meat from other countries is on the rise and the National Pig Association state that if AFS arrives, the domestic pig population could be decimated. These are all important issues as the likelihood is that farmers must prepare for the need to develop greater resilience in the face of multiple challenges.

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A recent Chatham House report by Tim Benton highlights the need for buildings which are resilient to storms, the need for improved field drainage, systems to cope with high rainfall, and sun-shelters for animals outside in the summer.

Business as usual is not the way to face the future he warns, as geo-political tension between the bigger players, USA, Russia, China, Europe increases.

A more fragmented and volatile world is likely; a contested world rather than a co-operative one. We might well see radical change in markets and trade, as supply and demand changes take hold.

Disruptive weather could affect supply chains and then there is our diet, which is once again a topic of discussion in Westminster. Dietary ill-health is preventable and, of course, a significant determinant of health and social care costs as we see only to well in this country.

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Changes are desperately necessary as our NHS and social budgets are very likely to be constrained in the future, and this is already persuading our government to take action in order to incentivise dietary change, a mammoth task against all odds. With the highly processed food industry so powerful, and a growing number of our population seemingly hooked on their addictive foods; it’s a battle government must try and win, one way or the other.

Last week, the EU/Mercosur trade agreement was in the news, with European farmers in Brussels protesting against the deal. Irish farmers were there, very worried about the ability to protect their interests. The South American Mercosur deal will eliminate tariffs on over 90% of bilateral trade, saving European exporters EUR 4b annually, whilst granting South American products, particularly agricultural goods, preferential access to European markets.

There will be strict limits to how much agricultural products from South America has this unfettered access, it should be noted.

The EU-Mercosur deal will remove the 55% tariffs on agri-food products being sold in South America. The deal will also see Irish cream (liquor) and Irish whiskey be protected from limitations in South America.

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These are the only two Irish products protected, along with some 350 EU food and drink products. The Irish say that Mercosur is the migraine that has hit Ireland’s new government’s honeymoon, before the wedding even started.

Mercosur is the first issue on the incoming Irish government's plate in terms of agriculture, and the big question is not whether the election campaign pledges from all sides to oppose a Mercosur deal will hold, but rather how effective any opposition from Irish government can be.

They will have a real battle on their hands.

As we approach Christmas, it must be time for a train drivers strike? As not to disappoint, scores of services are being cancelled as the feather-bedded individuals on huge salaries can’t be bothered to work any overtime.

Having been handed a bumper pay rise this summer with no strings attached by the Labour government, you would think some common decency might play a part here? But of course, we are dealing with Aslef trade union; just about as low as one can get when it comes to any feelings for public service; or any service at all.

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Why must we rely on these fat cats working overtime? Well, there are not enough train drivers apparently!

Hill farmers all over the country, those of you young enough; why not drive a train, a cushy life in the warm, not many hours with endless perks and a fat salary which you can only dream of as farmers?

If we could find enough of you, we could get rid of the shiftless individuals currently employed.

How long does it take to train a driver? It can’t be that difficult as many trains could be driverless apparently.

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Roll on that day when AI does not inconvenience people and families at important times of the year, just because it can. We have just about the highest ticket prices in Europe for a shambolic service; a total disgrace.

If farmers carried on like this, we would have starved decades ago!

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