A future for farming

THE debate over future support for agriculture goes on (‘Why the NFU will have to whistle’, November 16). The general public and farmers, on the face of it, want the same things: farmers would love to be in control of their incomes and the public would like to see the end to a drain on the public purse. The big question that everyone ignores is this: where, in the future, are we going to get food from? Sustainable farming is a fine idea, but it’s not working and farmers are quitting the industry.

The solution is for the farmers themselves to be in control of production, the environment and the price at which goods are sold to the consumer, none of which would be popular with the EU or the Government, but what choice do we have? Farmers are the ones who know about the countryside. Bob Hatch, by email