Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Are farmers destined to carry on struggling?
Farming is always a tough job and this year’s appalling weather has made it tougher than ever – but is the Government going to help? Bridgwater and West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger puts the question to Defra Secretary Steve Barclay
DEAR Steve, A lot of misconceptions have grown up over the years about the general demeanour of farmers. That they are always grumbling. That they are only happy, in fact, when there is something to grumble about. That they have a generally negative outlook on life.
None of which I accept. Equally, none of which I could blame them for, given the challenges and tribulations of the occupation they follow.
If it isn’t the lack of rain, it’s too much rain. If it isn’t walkers leaving gates open and allowing their dogs to chase sheep, it’s the impossibly complex and time-consuming regulations churned out by your department. And I make no bones about singling Defra out because in all my dealings with farmers its name comes up time and again – usually accompanied by what might be construed as vigorously expressed disapproval.
And all they are doing, meanwhile, is trying to put proper, home-produced food on the nation’s tables.
On which topic I was pleased to read recently of a steady surge in demand for British produce, whether meat, fruit or vegetables or any of the innumerable specialist delicacies now emerging from farm kitchens, dairies and small production centres across the country.
I am proud to say that it was a group of far-sighted altruists in the South West who managed to revive interest in traditional British food and save traditional production methods from disappearing under the crushing weight of competition from the industrial food giants.
Our national diet has improved immeasurably as a result of their foresight and vision and I am delighted to hear of people turning back to supporting, for instance, independent butchers because they want to eat meat that has been humanely and safely produced rather than something which has travelled as much as 12,000 miles to get here and gives every appearance of having walked all the way.
What I am getting round to is that the farming community deserves recognition for what it has done and continues to do in supplying us all with healthy, tasty and traceable foods. While signalling that, this year’s weather has cast a very long shadow over the industry.
Livestock farming has become a nightmare and arable production has all but ground to a halt in some areas because the fields are still too wet to plough and plant.
Barely a farmer I speak to isn’t up against it financially as a result of the weeks of heavy rain and overcast skies. Operations are days, even weeks late and all this is going to have a massive knock-on effect later in the year when the yields come to be assessed.
It would be nice to think, Steve, that the Government was standing ready to help out as is the case in other states where emergency aid packages have been prepared and distributed. Sadly, while we have neither a standalone Agriculture Minister to plead the farmers’ case nor an effective farming union which can exert some real political clout, British farmers seem destined to carry on the bitter struggle while casting an envious glance to countries which value and support their food production centres – and wondering why we are shovelling money into the pockets of Australian, New Zealand and American farmers rather than supporting our own.
Yours ever,
Ian