Bureaucracy and paper pushers threatening livelihood of organic farmer
One of the country’s most successful farmhouse cheese makers, Fermoy’s Frank Shinnick, is blaming intransigence and EU inspired bureaucracy for threatening the viability of his business.
Already behind with the sowing of specialised organic seed (which is fed to his livestock), an order placed with UK based Western Seeds in January has still failed to materialise.
An expert in food testing and a life long environmentalist, the delay due to Brexit, has left the Strawhall based farmer fuming.
“This organic seed is known as ‘Combi Crop’ and is composed of barley, oats and peas, it’s been ordered since January and should already be in the ground. The company in question, Western Seeds have assured me all their paperwork is correct, but they can’t forward my order without first receiving a certificate from the EU.
“From my perspective, this is to ally unacceptable and is further proof, if proof was needed, of the EU’s incompetence. It’s not overstating it to say, these petty bureaucrats are playing Russian roulette with my livelihood,” Frank told The Avondhu this week.
TOTALLY COMMITTED TO ORGANIC FARMING
While he may not have the scale of large commercial farms, Frank and his staff are totally committed to organic farming, which he views as the future.
“Organic farming can’t be done overnight and I’ve been at it for the last 5 or 6 years, it’s been a slow, gradual process, but I’m getting there. As a result of our efforts, we’ve healthier animals, better food and uncontaminated soil, naturally enough ‘big business’ doesn’t want us to succeed. It’s unbelievably frustrating,” a clearly irate Frank told this publication.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
The delay with his seed delivery has forced Frank to go public and initiate a campaign of lobbying public representatives.
“I’m using whatever bit of influence I have to impress on our Minister for Agriculture the seriousness of the situation, unfortunately, time is against me,” he says.
SOMEONE WHO WILL NEVER BE WON OVER BY BIG BUSINESS AND BIG PHARMA
Opposing Frank Shinnick and his organic philosophy are what he describes as ‘big business and big pharma’.
“People need to educate themselves about the roles being played by multinational companies, who have such a stranglehold on the world’s food production. Organic farming is my way of resisting this influence,” he states.