Farm Diary: Many farmers are feeling undervalued

After a series of meetings and discussions with industry leaders and farmers, the points I highlighted are now certainly having an effect on production. Prices in most sectors are good and this normally provokes a response, with greater production bringing that price back down again. Not this time, and its not that farmers have suddenly discovered the law of supply and demand, something that they, as individual business people and entrepreneurs looking after their own affairs have largely ignored collectively over time.

It is true of course that weather, Brexit, and a chaotic government over a number of years have all had an effect, but there is more to it than that and it is very worrying. Many farmers now feel undervalued, their confidence has been undermined and many are sick of how they are always cast as villains by various groups and the media. We are blamed constantly for poor environmental practices, with the likes of George Monbiot, Chris Packham, and other ‘celebrity environmentalists’ criticising and blaming agriculture for all our woes, often 10 years out of date in what they choose to broadcast.

With morale at rock bottom, production has dropped, there are fewer animals kept and decent market prices prevail as farmers fail to respond. Processors tell me they are concerned, and they are now in turn suffering and will need to rationalise if things do not improve. Retailers in turn are also concerned as their ability to easily access food abroad is not as easy as it used to be. Some pressure groups are now turning their focus, finally, on the quality and standards of imported food, citing that retail is taking advantage of lower standards since the post Brexit trade deals, which adds further to the hypocrisy within the food chain.

Either way, this will increase further the cost of food to the general public, and uncertainty to supply chains at certain times of the year. Environmentalists are succeeding in all areas, as they add cost to our daily lives in the pursuit of ‘saving the planet’. Having watched Chris Packham’s very interesting 4-5 billion year story of our planet on the BBC, several things struck me. Firstly, it is unlikely that man or woman through their ingenuity can halt the earth’s cycles which take their time but introduce changes which completely change things, and we will very likely go the way of the dinosaurs one day.

‘We’ are not trying to save the planet, the earth does not need saving; no, we are attempting to save humanity and if one listens to environmentalists long enough, one asks oneself, do we deserve to be saved? Given our destructive history, the planet would be better off without us? I’m afraid we vastly over inflate our importance in the scheme of things given that in earth’s time we have been around for around 5 minutes!

What really struck me was Chris Packham’s final programme when he said that If he was to be devil’s advocate, he might think that what we have achieved in order to feed 8 billion people is truly remarkable. I was taken aback that he could only say this as a devil’s advocate, and he quickly returned to type; the destruction food production has and is causing. He and others do not seem to realise that it’s the 8 billion people who need feeding are the problem and I very much doubt they have plans or strategies to reduce that number.

Indeed, it will go higher still before it then starts to fall. However, if we continue in this vein, the number will fall sooner, as falling food production makes it unaffordable to many more people who will also be affected by extreme weather events to boot. Poverty in this country and others will also increase should food increase in price. It is rather important therefore that farmers in this country and others are not demoralised to the extent that they give up or produce less. Why would their children want to follow and take on the farm if they see their parents miserable and suffering?

But the environmental schemes will benefit as more farmers go for the safer option of a regular income, without the criticism and pressure on their mental health which comes with looking after livestock and growing crops. Unfortunately, there is nothing to eat here, and I fear that such is the confusion over farming, food production and the environment that we are starting down a road which is a terrible mistake and one we will regret. Reversing this trend will take a long time, just as it has taken a couple of decades of abuse and misinformation to create the problem we now have.

Those who lent the Labour party their votes at the election must be extremely disappointed at the latest rather grubby details now making headlines. Given the length of time in opposition, it has been clear since the election that this government was not as prepared as it might have been for the task in hand. Yes, it has been handed a very poor legacy by the chaotic Conservative Party, but they knew that, and we all knew that, and it is time to move on from the blame game; it is getting rather boring.

However, I expect others too were expecting Sir Keir Starmer the Prime Minister, who has been described as boring, to have good judgement and modesty in both his dealings and lifestyle. However, he and his most senior Ministers now appear as self-serving, having received gifts and hospitality worth tens of thousands of pounds. I am sure many people expected better of this new government and whilst there is now a big U-turn, it only underlines the fact that they knew it was wrong and have now put an end to it.

Where are their advisers? Did no one think that the general public would think it odd that very well-paid individuals would accept expensive clothes and glasses paid for by others? I find it a bit weird to be honest, and no wealthy donor of any party puts his or her hand in their pocket without the expectation of a return on that ‘investment’. Influence, access, and other benefits are expected whilst we all read about ‘frockgate’. Add to that the daily reporting on the squabbling at No 10 over the spoils of victory; the Prime Minister needs to get a grip on all this, and fast.

It's conference season and the Liberal Democrat Party have announced that they are the party for farmers. Yes, in Brighton it was announced by rural affairs spokesman Tim Farron that the Lib Dems should be the true political home for rural voters. Never mind the blue wall, the red wall, he said; what about the dry-stone wall? He made a good case for not tolerating the 21st century Lake District clearances, as he called it. He is an MP in Cumbria and knows the area and its farmers well and is well respected as a local MP who works hard for his constituents. Others in his party have very different ideas however and I reserve judgment.