Eunice certainly made her presence felt in West Sussex
Stormy weather was the order of last week with Storm Dudley closely followed by Storm Eunice. Dudley did little in West Sussex but Eunice certainly made her presence felt! Probably one of the worst storms we have had for some time and it was certainly windy with plenty of damage in the country; especially trees which closed roads and cut power lines as well as causing a fair amount of damage and fatalities.
The big event this week will be the NFU Conference at Stoneleigh where around 1,400 farmers will congregate to listen to politicians, academics and other industry leaders. It is election year and that causes more excitement and a sense of change at the top of the NFU as council decide who the top team of three officeholders are.
Minette Batters is unopposed as she goes for her third term as president and she faces a tough term ahead. In her own words she says that ‘for four years I’ve been told by this government that food is not a public good. All I can say that for the rest of us it’s up there with oxygen’. She is quite right that food production has been taken for granted for too long and everyone fears that this government is more focused on writing press releases than developing coherent and meaningful policies.
Congratulations to dairy farmers John and Rachel Downing who farm at Edenbridge and have won a fiercely competitive Semex Healthy Herd competition. The competition was open to every dairy farmer in the UK regardless of size of herd, method or system of milk production or breed of cow and so strong were the entries that four finalists were shortlisted rather than the usual three.
The Downing’s farm 540 high-yielding Holstein cows and the care and trouble they take to assure high health and welfare, looked after by a team which have been nurtured and developed on the farm, were worthy winners. The attention to detail, outstanding fertility and all-round performance produce some very impressive results on the Downing’s farm.
Unfortunately last week on the Panorama programme we all saw something very different. It was very difficult to watch as I’m sure other dairy farmers will acknowledge; poor practices with some inexcusable and disturbing things taking place. The programme tried to make a link between low prices and poor welfare, but farmers actually look after their animals in times of high or low prices.
We all know that milk prices are still too low and that it is sold far too cheaply by retailers and that has consequences for human welfare, but is no excuse for poor animal welfare. It is disgraceful that pig farmers are currently in dire straits right now through no fault of their own, but their animals are still being properly looked after on farms up and down the country.
Animal neglect, cruelty and abuse only happens on the fringes of our industry, but one farm is too many as it destroys the reputation of everyone and plays into the hands of the pressure groups and vegans who denigrate our industry every day. As it is easier these days to film covertly on farms, every farm should behave as if under surveillance 24/7 and if that helps to rectify the poor practices of the few then it’s a good thing.
The farm in question, which happens to be in Wales, is now suspended by Red Tractor pending investigations and Freshways which buy the milk is not selling the milk to its customers and therefore the future looks bleak. Is there a way back from this? If there is it will be a long and difficult road and will have cost the farmer a fortune and they will no doubt be targeted by groups in the future.
When interviewed by the Farmers’ Weekly, Abi Reader, dairy farmer and NFU Cymru deputy president who took part, said that she felt the programme did present a fair and balanced picture. Veterinary surgeon Roger Blowey, farmer James Griffiths and dairy analyst Ian Potter also took part and were all straightforward and very honest in the contributions and comments they made. A sad episode and let’s hope there are no others.
Following a summit in London, Defra farm minister Victoria Prentis has ordered a review of fairness in the supply chain as the pig crisis gets worse. There is now a backlog of 200,000 pigs on British farms due to post-Brexit labour shortages and processors are discounting overweight pigs by as much as 50 per cent on price. With costs soaring, Mrs Prentis acknowledges that the effects on pig farmers is devastating and that it is clear that contracts in many cases are simply unfair.
‘We want to hear from industry about improvements to fairness and transparency which could ensure a profitable and productive future in the sector’, Mrs Prentis said. She highlighted that government has been working hard on this and have offered 800 temporary visas for overseas workers, a slaughter incentive payment scheme to pay for extended working hours and a private storage aid scheme.
Pig farmers I know well who have long established, profitable businesses are in despair. Every Friday they wait to hear how many pigs will go the following week and it is always bad news with some weeks worse than others as processors will only take numbers they know they can cope with and from what I have seen preferential treatment to the pig farms they own themselves. This is not good enough and more than 35,000 pigs have now been wasted as we continue to import 60 per cent of our pork.
West Sussex wine producers Nyetimber have had a record year after a record harvest and a 55 per cent increase in 2021 sales. Such was the demand that Nyetimber rose was sold out by August and by the end of the year Nyetimber Classic Cuvee sales had to be rationed. Expansion continues and it hopes to be selling two million bottles by 2030. Its sparkling wine has been served at the US Embassy in London, at 10 Downing Street and Blenheim Palace. Last year Nyetimber was picked by the Savoy as its exclusive sparkling wine and exports are good with 15 per cent of its wines exported last year.
Boring experts are now dismissing a glass of wine as being good for you and that it is a myth that moderate drinking might boost our heath, although last year other experts concluded that we should not feel that the only safe alcohol intake is zero. Yet more experts are now saying that two coffees a day is good for your heart as it helps to reduce levels of bad cholesterol. Confused? You should be!
Bottled water drinkers (who often pay more per litre than they do for milk) worry about recycling the bottle (well I have an answer for that – drink from the tap). Finally the good news is that we will all live longer but that those extra years will probably be unhealthy. Recent research shows that living longer will not necessarily mean working longer which will not please the Treasury. Experts are great but like Boris, we should determine how much notice we take and live as if we will live forever.