Immigration laws are another blow to agriculture
Things are looking a little better for 2024 as Arla Co-op increases its milk price this month and a new offer from British Sugar as they and NFU Sugar look to be getting close to a deal. Blue-tongue has been found in Kent, Sussex and Norfolk and whilst the risk of spread through the biting midge is very low in winter, it will be very different in the spring and farmers are told to be vigilant and not buy in stock without proper testing; especially from abroad.
The grocery petition is to be debated in parliament in January and on a very different note everyone hopes the drought affecting the Panama Canal will not disrupt things too much this Christmas. With global trade it is incredible how we all depend on shipping and how the slightest hitch causes chaos and empty shelves. With weather patterns changing it is likely to get worse and all sensible government should be planning for that now; starting with food security!
Welsh government runs out of money and further cuts to the rural budget cannot be ruled out, as First Minister Mark Drakeford admits that he is unable to provide certainty.
What is it they say; the problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money?
Plaid Cymru who is even further to the left these days and in some sort of one-sided partnership with the Welsh Government, are of course critical, stating that farming is not a lost leader but an industry which generates a dividend of £9 for every pound of government investment.
At the Royal Welsh Winter Fair, NFU Cymru stated that a Yougov poll found 82% of the public in Wales backed financial support for farmers to produce food and 72% said supporting farmers was a good use of public money.
NFU Cymru President Aled Jones suggested to Drayford and Co that they should listen to the resounding voice of the Welsh public and that farmers manage 80% of the land in Wales; underpinning the £8 billion food and farming industry there for just 2% of the government’s overall spend.
The other left wing government, this time in Scotland is also in financial trouble with cuts to rural budgets being described as the latest act of betrayal by Scotland’s farmers; misled after promises of no cliff-edge in farm support.
Some £33 million of deferred payments were taken out of the ring-fenced agricultural budget last year to be returned after categorical assurance from government that this would be the case.
They find instead that a further £28 million is to go the same way as part of the government’s economic re-jigging and juggling act. So in total £61m has been taken so far by the SNP to cover for its economic mismanagement according to NFU Scotland and industry commentators.
That does not mean things are much better in England as Rishi Sunak fails to stand up to the rabid right wing factions in his party and keeps throwing them some red meat in the forlorn hope that it will in some way pacify their hunger and loathing.
The new laws on immigration are another blow to agriculture, as the minimum salary needed for skilled overseas workers goes up from £26,200 per annum to £38,700. Seasonal work should be fine as they are temporary workers, but for dairy farms, processing plants, vets and butchers for abattoirs, small abattoirs in particular; this is another hurdle.
You would think that our industry does not matter to politicians but the food and drink industry in the UK contributes £30 billion to the economy annually and employs 450,000 people. This is a cutting edge industry, innovative and progressive and whilst some criticise much of what is produced for various reasons, the majority of people buy it every day.
Yes much of our food is processed, yes sometimes due to that the nutritional content is not as good as it might be, but it is safe and it is affordable. Without processing many foods would have a very short shelf life and would be less safe (milk for example).
There is such choice at every level, whatever the consumers want there are usually many variants to choose from and there is a range to suit everyone’s purse or wallet.
Christmas is the big opportunity for cheese makers, turkey farmers and a whole host of other farmers who contribute to the Christmas dinner, canape gatherings, restaurants and other food outlets. It’s a huge demand with planning starting in earnest as early as September and there should be plenty to go around.
Sensible Tory politicians are still around but take a bit of seeking out as they are dominated in the media by the radicals who are more entertaining, but none do the pantomime villain as effectively and as courteously as the Honourable Jacob
Rees Mogg.
He is a Somerset MP and has enraged farmers in his county once again by soothingly adding to his request for delicious imported Australian beef, by now suggesting that the UK does not need fruit pickers; far better to import cheaper from abroad.
Just like his fellow fanatics, now that we have left the European Union they would rather close down the country than admit people from other nations to come here to work, but very happy to take their food.
Talking of which I read the depressing news that middle-class Brits are opting for the Italian panettone in favour of the traditional Christmas pudding! Are you mad?
How can a bland, fluffy cake with a few raisins compete with a calorie laden pudding, rich and impregnated with alcohol added over several weeks and served with a simple sweet white sauce?
Panettone comes in all guises these days to try and add to its severe limitations, there are many versions such as orange panettone, salted caramel panettone, crossing it with a cinnamon bun to produce a cinnamon bunettone or adding zabaione cream or pistachio mascarpone cream to try and tart it up a bit.
Channel 4 has also tried to enrage all of us with the recent documentary on beef, where viewers were urged to ‘make beef the new smoking’ (in itself ridiculous).
We were faced with Ade Adepitan looking for a ‘cause’ which would help with the ‘climate crisis’. So desperate were they that substituting beef with chicken was the best they could come up with, which in the UK is ridiculous; using global statistics to try and make a case for it and ignoring our grass fed beef, many dubious claims were presented as ‘facts’.
It was so poor that I didn’t even raise an eyebrow.
The Christmas Panto season has not got off to a good start as vegans have protested that a comedy song in ‘Mother Goose’ has offended them.
Given that most people go around looking to be offended these days, that is no surprise, but they claim that the song might cause them to be bullied.
The comedy song in question states that the A in vegan stands for annoying or anaemic and that the G stands for gassy! Bosses have pulled the song at the Everyman Theatre despite many people saying ‘For goodness sake, get a life; it’s comedy’.