The knock-on effects of the recent, very wet weather

Better weather at last, but much of the damage has been done to crops and concerns are now growing as to the potential effect on the rural economy and those in the connected industry relying on a buoyant farming sector.

Farmers are of course on the front line carrying the largest share of risk, but agricultural contractors, machinery dealers, hauliers and all those who sell to farmers will be hit. Some large machinery dealers are already failing with several in administration as they hold high stocks of machinery at a time of high interest rates as demand falls; a perfect storm.

Many arable farmers are now considering leaving their land fallow over the summer and drill early into well prepared seedbeds this autumn, correcting the position they find themselves in and making sure crops are properly established for next year.

That will of course have an effect on the business, and specialists in agricultural accounting comment that cash-flows for most could be at their worst in the middle of next year. Feed and straw prices will also affect stock farmers in a big way next winter as shortages drive up prices; that following a terrible spring for lambing and the difficulty of managing early grazing for spring calving dairy herds.

Milk production was down to the year 31st of March according to AHDB levy body, and it was due to lower yields per cow, driven by low farmgate milk prices and high input costs last year.

Looking ahead, AHDB see subdued production this spring due to the wet weather, with potential knock-on effects on silage quantity and quality and therefore they predict a marginal decline again to the end of March 2025.

Farmers with land under several inches of water have found that in many cases they are ineligible for help under Defra’s Farm Recovery Fund. The scheme was launched last week with the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) contacting eligible farmers suffering uninsurable damage. Those who are eligible will be paid £52 an acre based on satellite images of their farms, with payments ranging from a minimum of £500 up to a maximum of £25,000.

However, the fund is only available in certain parts of the country which include Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, West Northamptonshire, Wiltshire, and Worcestershire. Furthermore, only land within 150 metres of the ‘midpoint’ of one of the rivers listed by the RPA where there has been notably high river level gauge will be considered.

Lincolnshire farmer Henry Ward who has more than two thousand acres submerged is one of the worst affected but is not eligible for the maximum amount of funding as the Barlings Eau (a small tributary of the river Witham) is not included in the RPA list.

Having protested to the RPA, Henry has now been told that he can claim, but that he can only claim on 5 fields: a total of 60 acres! He responded that this was an insult and if he were eligible for the maximum of £25k it would at least take the sting out of his estimated total losses of over £100k.

At last, we are getting some action on the ludicrous approach to farming by certain bodies who have been taken over by environmentalists of late (covered in this column many times). Defra has confirmed that a land use management group will be set up to support the long-term governance of Dartmoor and ‘assist’ Natural England in getting things right.

It is part of a government response to the Protected Site Management on Dartmoor which will bring together those who wish to discuss the practical steps needed to restore and enhance the area. Farmers on Dartmoor are to be supported to produce food sustainably, running viable businesses whilst protecting important habitat and species across the area.

MPS are also lobbying for Natural England to lose their powers over Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), amending the designation of SSSIS under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, by transferring that power to Defra Secretary of State.

They quite rightly state that there is no reason for the notification of SSSIS to be outsourced to an unelected and unaccountable body such as Natural England, and that it would allow Defra to consider other matters outside Natural England’s competence.

Tom Bradshaw the new NFU President has come out all guns blazing at the Tories, over a rushed Brexit! He says farmers feel let down by the mismanagement and ministers not taking advantage of NFU warnings; not consulting and not listening. He went on to say that trade deals are undermining UK farmers as supermarkets can sell imported food produced to different standards.

Tom Bradshaw also criticised the short-term focus of the current government, with a general election expected later this year hampering long-term thinking. Historically he says farmers have been strong Conservative supporters, but many feel let down, particularly by the international trade deals and are not going to forget that quickly.

The Brexit deal was delayed but our ministers at Defra he added, not willing to delay the transition, putting themselves under tremendous pressure to deliver a new scheme. Their department was the most impacted by our withdrawal from the EU and it became a totem pole. They did not consult; they did not listen, and they delivered a scheme under a restricted timescale with areas he thought are not right.

Some post-brexit trade deals such as with Australia and New Zealand he said, should be expected to produce to the same standards as we do here, and as a country if we don’t care about those standards, then our members should have the competitive advantage to also produce to those lower standards; you cannot have it both ways. Tom speaks for the majority of farmers on this issue, and it is about time someone spelled it out.

Losing the support of British farmers would be a huge blow to the Conservative Party as they have enjoyed the support of rural voters for generations.

A poll taken by the Country Landowners Association suggests that the Conservatives will lose fiftythree of their 96 rural seats if things do not radically change, with high profile Conservatives such as Jeremy Hunt at risk. Tom Bradshaw did say that the new Secretary of State Steve Bradley is doing a good job so far but worries that Ministers cannot be clear about their future plans when the focus is on the next 6 months.

I see that there is now a carpark space crisis as (rather bigger) drivers and passengers struggle to get out of their wider cars. All vehicles have been getting bigger and heavier due to technology and safety such as side-protection. Multi storey carparks are already in trouble due to these heavier vehicles and as the ludicrously heavy battery vehicles increase in number, they might need re-building.

Those of us who remember the fun and real danger of racing around in light and rusty old cars on cross-ply tyres, with poor braking systems and no safety features; seatbelts hanging unused, can see the progress made, but still look back with nostalgia.

However, the number of young people injured and killed in those days when you were lucky to emerge at all from a sizeable accident, were many.