Farm Diary: threat to food production and security is acute

I do wonder where on earth the so-called leaders of these protests think it’s all going to end. All they managed to do last week was intensely annoy the Prime Minister, who then asked the general public what would you like, there are choices to be made here.

Bring down NHS waiting lists or giving a tax break to farmers? That was a statement of intent; the government will not shift on this.

We are now in the middle of February, and it will soon be a very busy period on all farms, government know this, and the protests will dwindle. It is time to offer an alternative, no other party has told us what choices they would have made, how they would square the financial circle. Will the Conservatives scrap this tax should they win the next election, or the one after that? I very much doubt it. They are doing what all parties do in opposition, side with the injured or aggrieved party, throwing them under the bus if and when they are then in power.

The threat to food production and food security is far more acute in fact when one looks at the environmental measures which the Conservatives put in place post Brexit, which the Labour Party are very happy to continue. Not only are farmers tempted away from food production by environmental payments, the only ones on offer, but not all farmers can qualify for these. Furthermore, as many are now finding out, the cost of meeting the demands in order to qualify for such grants, takes away much of the money.

The threat to family farms is far greater now the single farm payment has been practically phased out since Brexit, accelerated by this government last November. Many family farms are unviable without the payment and are struggling to diversify or do what they can to stay in business.

It is galling therefore to listen to Conservative Ministers and MP’s pretending they care, when in fact they were so desperate to get the money out the door before the election, that they put together a botched environmental scheme which has needed to be changed several times, before and since the election, and still not fit for purpose.

It is also disappointing that land owning farmers are set on maintaining this closed shop, which keeps out badly needed new entrants and tenant farmers, when in fact if they put their succession in order (which they should have done), apart from the largest and wealthiest farmers, this tax would not apply. It is therefore important to have concessions which allows those who have not put their affairs in order, time to do so. The difficulties of the last two years are however, beginning to tell as production drops.The drop in beef production is a case in point, with a shortened market responding with higher prices. Far higher prices in fact with a finished animal now worth around £2,500.

Lamb prices are good, milk prices are not bad, egg prices are high, chicken prices are good, and arable crops are now doing fairly well, whilst pig prices are also good and potato prices high. It is therefore in my mind a rather silly stunt to go and plead poverty with tractor protests? Of course there are farmers struggling for the reasons I state above, but Inheritance Tax is not the reason.

How does one sell this industry as a vibrant and exciting one in order to entice bright young people whilst the industry tells everyone how bad it all is? This nonsense of farmers all going to hell in a handcart has to stop and a return of some common sense and moderation. The industry is rudderless and with little in the way of strategy this is not going to end well, and reminds me of the miners in the 1980’s. There is an opportunity to put a different strategy in front of government and it is being missed. It is time to act, forget sending children’s toys and sobbing letters to the Chancellor, farm leaders need to get a grip and sort this out; now.

At last, we are getting reports and a proper discussion about our environmental credentials, when everything is put into the calculation. We all know that hundreds of millions of pounds are being given to the Drax power station to burn wood chips. This is classified as ‘green’, although the woodchips are imported from America and Canada, cut and chipped from forests which are not in any way sustainable. This would not be possible without this massive subsidy, backed by Ed Milliband!

In the same way, whilst our wildlife is flourishing, although if you listened to the pressure groups, you would think our countryside is dead, this is being done again at other countries’ expense. This ‘leakage’ in conservation schemes is now being looked at by a group of leading academics.

They say that when an action is taken here to benefit our environment and biodiversity, which has the effect of lowering food production (which it often does), that food production is moved elsewhere, which will have a negative impact on biodiversity there. This could negate the supposed gains from environmental interventions, as indeed it has in the European Union, where forest cover has increased dramatically over the last 30 years, but to the detriment of a similar area of forest destroyed in other countries such as Brazil and Indonesia.

This is rarely considered by bodies such as the United Nations, as they close their eyes to the shift in production as the west once again protects itself, only to wreak havoc elsewhere. The drive for re-wilding and other environmental schemes continues here without a thought for others, or the fact that in the round it cancels itself out. This complex issue needs to be addressed properly and not left in the hands of zealots and radical environmentalists of which we seem to have more than our fair share.

Oh dear, the French are getting a taste for frozen chips, long a staple in the British diet. They are so popular that it is reported that there is a spectacular boom in northern France, where much to their annoyance, Dutch and Belgian farmers are muscling in, buying land and ripping out hedges and meadows (allegedly) in order to grow potatoes for this market.

It’s really sad to the see the French following in our (American) footsteps, with first McDonalds all over the country and now this. Whatever happened to delicious sauteed potatoes with garlic?

How sad to read in the papers on St Valentine’s Day last Friday, a review of ready-made meals for two, which could be bought from various supermarkets.

The price and taste comparison was thorough, but negated the overriding fact that it would be so much better to cook a proper meal.

Highly processed ready-meals, full of unnatural ingredients are a million miles away from a simple and quick dish which can be rustled up in the kitchen. In half an hour, two delicious fillets of cod can be served on a bed of saffron mash and gremolata. This takes some trouble and effort of course but should be no more expensive and proper taste and nutrition.