The story of a young mans efforts to become a farmer without the aid of inheritance!
So when our second child was born we were already sure that *** was Best. Everything seemed to be ok. But until some milestones had been passed I wasn't going to get too relaxed. I was determined to enjoy this child. And he is a joy.
We had planned that my wife would stay at home and raise the children. Sexist. No. It's what she wanted to do. We had planned it that way from the start.
However, I continued working. We needed some money. But I did change my job. Became more of a specialist in my field. Working for the same company but, crucially, for more money. It did involve more traveling though and at short notice. That was no problem. When I wasn't working away my shifts were longer so I didn't have to go to work as many times. Day's at home during the week. Great.
Before long the calls came in. Phone calls that started with the question, "How long will it take you to get to the airport?" It was great, flying around the world. I was still young, keen and being challenged.
The job involves, planning ahead, setting everything up when you arrive on site and then changing everything at short notice, when the circumstances changed, as they invariably do. Sound familiar to anyone. No it's not farming, but I do regularly find myself having to think on the hoof, and digging people out of the manure, metaphorically speaking. But I like it because it appeals to that sense of achievement I mentioned in my last blog, "I made that 
"
Days at home with the wife and H were great. Watching him grow up and hitting those milestones. Crawling, standing, toddling, getting his first tooth. It is great to see those light bulb moments when they succeed at something. A grin of pride on their face. That to me is what life is really about. Watching them play with a cardboard box. No I've told you before, I'm not a Yorkshireman. But it doesn't matter how expensive the toys are, if you leave a cardboard box in the room with a small child they will always play with the box for hours.
After 18 months of my new job I must have been at home long enough to conceive our next child. Shortly afterwards we went to visit my uncle's farm. We seemed to make a habit of going when the better half was pregnant. It was great. H was toddling by now. He was already into tractors and animals and thought it was great to feed my aunt's chickens. Although he was trying to persuade them that they where machines and should produce several eggs each per day, through the day. Also whilst feeding the cattle would shout, "Moo in there!" which was quite cute.
My cousin had also found the girl of his dreams. She was from farming stock, laughed at his jokes and most importantly, could drive a tractor. He asked me to be his Best Man. I was delighted. I had been Best Man once before for my best friend, which was Scary. I performed all my duty's with success. Organised the stag night. (Nothing too racy.) Managed not to loose the ring. Kept the groom calm when the bridal car broke down and she was 20 minutes late. However there was of course one other duty to perform. The speech!!!
This I was most nervous about. There was lots I could say. But what could I get away with !!
We had sat down for the meal and I still had not written the speech. By now you didn't want to be up my end of the head table. What with the father of the bride and me sitting together. He was more nervous than me. I'm sure you could smell the fear.
Half way through the meal I had to stand up and read fifty congratulations cards. Then it came my turn. The MC announced that attention was required for the Best Man. I was so nervous that I hadn't drunk a thing during the meal. The sips of the Toast were my only fluid. I gave my speech to roars of laughter and applause. It was great. I sat down and drank the glass of wine, champagne and a pint all in one go. It was over and I wasn't going to do that again.
So here I am. My cousin asks me to be his Best Man. I'd promised myself I was not going to go through that again. Did I do it?......
The Tories conference has just closed. David Cameron has made his speech. Was it enough to steal a march on Gordon Brown? Is it setting out a different policy for the country? Is there anything between the two parties, (Labour & Tories?)
It should not be about the the Government giving the industry money. It should be about a true partnership between Farmers and Government. On the one hand they want us to stand on our own feet and not come crying for money each time there is a disease break out. But then they tie our feet together with red tape and beaurocracy.
If land owners just sat back and said "I can make much more money not producing food and selling my land." Then this country really has things to worry about. Fortunately for the government the credit crunch has made that much less likley. I do wonder what they would do if we just all stopped producing food for a year!
But unfortunately the credit crisis in America has drawn the attention away from important domestic issues for Agriculture and the importance of Food Provenance.
Where will it go next?
So the Americans House of Representatives has rejected $700billion bailout.
Has it stopped raining? Have cattle stopped getting Badger TB? Will we all still need to eat tomorrow?
Of course it will have huge knock ons for the whole of the western Capitalist world, but surely everyone will come to their senses shortly.
The age of instant information, instant news, instant coffee. Non of which are much good for us in heavy doses.
Looks like it will put pay to my dream of owning my own farm in the near future.
As I told you last week I'm working away at the moment. Things aren't quite as heavy this week. I have still labouring hard here in Manchester.
But at least I have a little access to the web and can catch up with the FW News. I get my FW by subscription so haven't seen the print version for two weeks. But now I'm catching up with what has been going on.online.
It has been great to read what has been happening at the Labour Party Conference.
It's a good indication of what the party thinks of Agriculture and how it presents this to the party. What the conference conveys to it's delagates is how the party faithful express themselves to general public whilst canvessing at the next election.
I look forward to reading how the Conservatives are conducting themselves at their Party Conference next week. Whether there is an alternative to the present government. With only 18 months to the next election now is the time to start thinking about the future.
I'm sure nobody has missed me....
The kids tell me they miss me, the Wife claims to miss me. Truth be told I miss them too.
I've missed FWispace too. I've not had much internet access for the last week or so and for the month before that I just haven't had time to draw breath.
Now it's calmed down a little I'm trying to catch up on what has been going on.
I'm working away at the moment in Bournemouth this week. Have been really busy getting ready for this three weeks of manic work. I've worked 100 hours this week so far.. No I'm not milking cows, But I am up at 0500 each morning and last night I did not finish work till 2230. In fact I'm sure milking would be much easier. I feel like I've been milked though...
I can't tell you exactly what I'm doing, for if the boss reads this I might as well be writing my P45, but I go to Manchester next on Thursday.
Anyway, more farming things...The Weather has been awful. As I left Essex on the 5th September, combining there was just about finished. I had been into Dorset on the 3rd September by the train and there was a lot still to be done. However when I returned on the 10th most of it had been cleared. But colleagues who arrived through Oxfordshire reported that Combining was still struggling on.
Did anyone else in Dorset and surrounding area suffer the Horrendious Halestorm we had here on Friday afternoon? The temperature plummeted approximately 8 degrees C in minutes with a thunder storm of which I have not experienced for a long time. It was just like the monsoon rains I have been in. Sadly, I didn't get any photographs as I was desperatley trying to save all the equipment from the flood water that was inundating us. We have dried out now, but with the hours I've been doing it seems such a long time ago.
I do like Bournemouth though. The beach is so isolated from the town and all you can hear when on the beach is the sea..............................
I still want to be a farmer. Am I mad?
I'm sure it was on FWispace that I read that Farming was "A Calling." I certainly think it's in the blood. My son announce the other day, without prompting, that he wanted to be a Farmer. That's My Boy...
Hopefully I'll get time to get back on before too long.
Meanwhile I'll leave you with a postcard.
Wish I was there with you....
Watching Sunday's "Countryfile" on BBC2, I viewed the piece about composting human waste with interest. To me it was nothing new. A couple of years ago I was privileged to go to "New Earth Solutions" Research and Development site in Poole, Dorset. We saw the whole process. I was fascinated by the fact that they take in a bin lorry which is filled with "Black Bag" refuse at one end and output compost at the other. With just a little sorting, all mechanised, they could remove the non compostables, including the plastic bags, and turn it into rich compost in just six weeks. This was in the final testing stages. The other part of the site that we saw was human waste composting. Which they were just starting trials for. The whole day was fascinating and not a bit smelly. So you see my interest was how the technology had progressed to perfect this.
This picture is of refuse composting
So, it was only talking to my father later that made me think about it a little more. He was amazed at the vox pops, as they are known in the trade. Members of the public were asked, "would they buy foods that had been fertilised with Bio-Solids compost." The overwhelming answer was "Uuugghh." But yet they are presumably happy to have their potatoes grown with lashings of horse manure!
According to the report on Countryfile, Tesco does not currently support Bio-Solids use on crops. Some of the other supermarkets do. I would have thought that the main problem would be the level of "drugs" both legal and illegal still remaining in the compost.
It appears that the problem is not the technology here, it's back to the education of the population. With the rising price of fertiliser and an ever increasing source of human waste there is an opportunity to perfect the techonolgy and we could all benefit.
I started writing on this blog space after getting that farming itch again. I had started reading the FW to try and learn some more about modern farming. As you will have read from my previous blogs "Getting Into Farming" and Diary of Becoming a Farmer , I've found it difficult to retrain without dropping my family into poverty.
Then FW started "The Big Debate" and I was inspired to write my thoughts on where Farming has been in the last 50 years and where it is going in the next 50 years. That won me a sponsored place at the 2008 Oxford Farming Conference. I found that fascinating. There was some inspirational people there too. They gave great talks about how they got to where they are today and more importantly why British Farming has a great future. I also met some new friends.
I then read a couple of books which increased not decreased my urges to become a farmer. "Funny Farm" by Jackie Moffat a very funny look at chucking in a good life to up sticks and live "The Good Life." And "The Farm" by Richard Benson. A true and sad look at the demise of a small family farm with 200 years of family history. This book proved to me that "you can take the man out of the farm, but you'll never take the farm out of the man." Which is exactly how I feel.
As an aside Jackie has another book out called "Sheepwrecked" which if you liked "Funny Farm" you'll love this too. I finished that on my Hols at a farm in Somerset earlier this year. I must tell you about that too soon.
I never thought anyone would be interested in my life and what I have to say.
Owd Fred's Blog made me glow just a little. If anyone else feels inspired to write or blog as a result of reading this space, do let me know. It's made me feel quite proud. Keep reading his blog too, he has some great tales so far.
But beware, this blogging malarchy is quite addictive...
The Story of a young mans efforts to become a farmer without the aid of inheritance!
After the events of the last six months, supporting each other we returned to work. Both my wife and I immersed ourselves into our work to hide from the pain of the past. It was unsurprising that it took a further two years before our next child was conceived. We were assured as much as they could, that everything would be ok this time. Even so worries continued that nature would be kinder this time.
We had begun to pay more attention to the food we were eating and more importantly where it was coming from.
I have always enjoyed cooking ever since I moved out from home and to London. My mother would never let me into the kitchen when I lived at home. She still struggles to keep me out, but now she doesn't always succeed.
Consequently when I left home I had never cooked a meal. However being an engineer I could follow instructions. So armed with a chinese cookery book, given to me by my sister, I headed to London. Thus started a love affair with food.
I find it very satisfying to make something. Anything, I'm just a show off. It gives me great pride to say "I made that!"
And so it was with food. When I met the present good lady wife, I invited her back to my place for dinner. So the chinese cook book came in very handy. You know what they say about the way to a mans heart. Guys, it works just as well with the ladies. We both enjoy food and in particular trying different cuisine. I find cooking both easy and a joy.
Love them or loath them, I have to say that TV Chefs gave me the inspiration to try different styles of cooking and the confidence to use different techniques.
Chefs do, on the whole, promote British Food and Agriculture. Rick Stein in particular with his food heroes series. It did give me great ideas to look for specific produce. Chefs want the best, freshest produce. That's when it tastes the best. Which invariably means local produce.
I've never been one for ready meals. I can generally knock something up faster than a microwave meal takes to cook. I'm certainly faster than the local take-away by the time they deliver it.
I'm afraid though, Delia has lost her way recently. I've got her original book, a thick tome, with every type of recipe imaginable. Between that and Pru Leith's cookery bible I've learn't to make most things. Delia's last series though was the equivalent of the "let's be avin ya" incident at Carrow Road, when she started ranting at all those poor Norwich City fans. As if they hadn't enough to be sorry for.........
What was the point of teaching people to cook [series] if you are going to say; "remember how we cooked those great tasting dishes, well forget all that. Just crack open a tin of this highly processed food with heaps of preservatives, so it can sit in your cupboard for weeks. It's also got your Recommeded Daily Allowance of salt to put back the flavour lost during processing." It goes back to my previous blog in this series, about education being the key.
Now look what you've done, you've got me ranting again. Sorry I digress.
During this pregnancy my wife had extra scans and tests at the hospital. Everyone assured us that everything looked ok. Still, that didn't stop nine months of worry.
I picked up my copy of Farmers Weekly this morning to read that MP Jim Paice had told the Games Fair 2008 that:
“I want everyone at the Game Fair with TB-infected badgers on their land to take photos of them,” he told delegates at a conference discussing agricultural policy.
“There is nothing more repulsive than seeing a badger with TB. They suffer immensely.
“If we can bring this to the public’s attention, we can change their minds about a badger cull.”
He should read this blog more often. I wrote exactly that in a blog on the 22nd June this year in a piece entitled " TB, Total Badgers or Total Bullocks."
http://www.fwi.co.uk/community/blogs/viewfromtheotherside/archive/2008/06/15/tb-total-badgers-or-total-bullocks.aspx
It just goes to show that once again FWi Space is ahead of the game. So for the latest opinion before it becomes policy, keep reading these pages. It's our industry lets make our voice heard.
The story of a young mans efforts to become a farmer without the aid of inheritance!
Whilst Foot & Mouth ravaged the British Countryside, I kept in close telephone contact with my uncle. We daren't visit nor did they want us too for fear of bringing F&M onto their farm. It came close to the farm, but thank god did not infect their herd. They were the lucky ones.
It was only afterwards that I really understood the true losses that those with cloven hooved animals suffered. The loss of a lifetimes work. Building those herds and flocks. What have those farmers left. For those who were over forty and taken 20 years to breed that herd or flock to perfection, they would have to start again. They would only just get to were they where when Foot & Mouth struck when they should have been taking life a little easier and enjoying the fruits of their labours.
However, as Foot and Mouth changed so many lives we had our own life changing moment. After a six month battle for life our son died in our arms at Great Ormond Street Hospital. God Bless Him.
It's something I wouldn't wish on anyone, but if you ever need Great Ormond Street Hospital It's a fantastic place. Not only the staff but the patients too. So many youngsters seriously ill but so few tainted by adult meloncoly. An inspiration to us all.
Whilst we had all this time in hospital to think, we had had some great support from the nursing staff that "*** is what nature intended" and our son needed the best. Something our local hospital had tried to prevent.
All this made me seriously wonder about what we eat and how we live our lives.
We did make a lot of our own food from scratch but we were eating a lot of take-aways and using cheaper basic ingredients. Possibly produced by intense farming practices, quite likely from outside the UK.
Added to that was the fact that I took part in a drugs trial as a child. No. Not the usual teenage drugs. You cynics. As a teenager I had severe acne which at the time was very unpleasant to say the least. It also wasn't a great turn on for the girls either.
At 14 I ws asked if I wantd to keep this painful almost disfiguring condition or take this new wonder drug that would 'Dry Up' my skin. Not a particularly difficult decisionfor a young testosterone filled man trying desperatly to attract the opposite sex.
However the drugs had a touch of the Ronseal's about it. "It did exactly what it said on the tin." It dried up my sin. Permanently. They reduced the dose by 50% after the trial. Too late for me. I now have a knock on condition which I will have to live with for the rest of my life. So as you can see this has made me very wary of drugs companies.
I 'm not totally against GM. I do think that we are right to explore science but we should not rush in to the magical cure. Be wary. Science could solve the problems of ensuing food shortages. But one wrong move could make the problem 100 times worse.
We need to be sure that once we have unleashed science on to the world that we know what the consequences will be.
What I learn't in that hospital whilst trying to do the best for my son was that when you use science to combat one thing you usually need two more things to counter the consequences of the decision you have just made.
We need science. Science should not rule the world though. Education should do that. Be honest and teach the world the possible consequences of new science.
After our son died we went away, back to North Yorkshire to grieve in peace and to gather our thoughts and get ready to face the world again. The pires still burned and the countryside was earily quiet. This was the first chance we had had to witness the impact of Foot & Mouth first hand.
It was awful. Farming at that time was enticing nobody..
The story of a young mans efforts to become a farmer without the aid of inheritance!
We ended the last blog with me proposing to the lady that I loved.
Would the beautiful countryside persuade her? The sound of sheep bleating nearby baa sweet nothings in her ear? Would the roaring fire of the Kings Head in February melt her heart? Or just my charm and enviable wit?
I'm not sure which it was? I didn't ask either, I didn't want to shatter the illusion, I was happy.
The lady from Del Monte, she said Yes.
So ever the practical person the next question was "Did she want to get married straight away or find somewhere to live and buy a house?"
So we bought a house. We should have bought a small farm but we didn't think of it then. We probably would have been able to afford it then as well.
We then started to save for our Wedding. I was determined it was going to be a fabulous day, but that we weren't going to pay for it until our silver wedding anniversary.
Before you ask, no I'm not Scots or a Yorkshireman. But you can see the farming traits can't you!
We had a wonderful day. Glorious sunshine, fabulous family and delightful friends helped us celebrate. It was a truly great day but it went ever so fast.
We had a London Red Bus to ferry guests from their hotel to the church and then onto the reception. Very eco-friendly for the late nineties. That's not why we did it though! No. We didn't want the guests holding up the wedding getting lost on the wrong side of the dual carriageway! However the wife's cousin managed to go to the wrong golf club (15 miles away) for the reception despite having lived in the area for years. She enjoyed the desert though. The wedding didn't cost us the earth; it did cost my father-in-law a bit though.
Anyway, we were both working in media and were into the daily grind of commuting and paying off the mortgage.
For those of you from the countryside, uninitiated in the joys of London Tube and Train commuting, be grateful of your one bus an hour. Because of its lack of frequency nobody wants to use that one Bus. Which means if it coincides with you're Need to take a journey by public transport at least you get a seat...
If train drivers had to comply with the "Transport of Animals" legislature the country would grind to a halt. That's another blog though, I digress.
No, no, no don't start having a go at me. I can feel you're seethings through the web page. Have you not worked out I like irony yet. See, another farming trait.
We both learn't Spanish and were very much into Spain. Taking our holidays off the beaten tourists track and improving our language. On our Honeymoon we arrived in a mountain village of southern Spain at 10pm, just after a terrific thunderstorm. We found the café where we were to collect the keys was closed. Nobody spoke English.
I had to use my best Spanish to get us a bed for the night. Mobile phones didn't work in the village. But because I had at least made an attempt with my language the locals couldn't have been more helpful. One lady allowed me to use her telephone to call the caretaker to bring us another set of keys. By the following morning everyone in the village knew who we were. Minor celebrities.
We even thought of buying somewhere out there.
Twelve months after we had got married came the inevitable pitter-patter of tiny feet. A wonderful time, joyous.
Shortly followed by the disaster of Foot & Mouth. We didn't have time to worry about Foot & Mouth though. Our child was seriously ill!
The story of a young mans efforts to become a farmer without the aid of inheritance!
I've always been interested in farming. No sorry, I'll start again.
I've always been obsessed with farming.
Only as a child I was more fascinated with it all. The great outdoors, the animals, the seasons and the machinery all had me captivated. Accurate scale models by 'Britains' helped. I used to run a 250 acre scale farm in my bedroom.
Regular visits to my uncle's farm also stoked the fire.
Back when I was a child his farm was 360 acres of Limousin Beef Suckler and Sheep.
My Uncle was one of the first to run Limousin cattle when they were first imported into this country. I didn't quite understand then. I just remember seeing these magnificent red cattle.
At the age of 16 I'd had enough of education. I wasn't very good at it and it wasn't very good to me. I had my heart set on farming when I left school but my uncle's farm wasn't big enough to employ me. If he had it would only have been short term as I had a cousin ten years my junior. Anyway discussions didn't get that far. My father suggested farming wasn't a very secure or profitable business to go into. That was that.
I was disappointed at the time. He persuaded me to get a real job, a skill, an apprenticeship.
So I did. I became an electrician specializing in High Voltage and industrial and commercial sites. So having managed to leave school at 16 I started work and went straight back to college for two years with the odd bit of on the job training. The careers advisers never quite explained that bit well enough I thought.
However, I found education a bit more exciting this time. I'm a practical guy, english literature never really engaged me. Math's was completely different. I could do that. Which was just as well because after my two years basic college education I then carried on to engineer level (Hnc.)
It was good fun and six year's before I caught the Bright Light's and Money of London.
I'd almost forgotten about farming. I was enjoying the money in my pocket. And after twelve months in London I found another distraction. A woman.
I have to admit I had discovered women some years before. Strangely though this one seemed interested in me. I couldn't seem to shake her.
After a short while we became fed up of commuting across London to spend time together. So we rented a terraced house in the east of London. That didn't work either; she still wanted to be with me. So I took her away to the Yorkshire Dales and proposed.
What was the answer? Watch this space all will be revealed.
I'm writing this from the Nelson Mandela at 90 Concert here in Hyde Park. Having just seen Nelson Mandela on stage handing the baton on to others to fight oppression and REAL human rights abuses.
He is one of the greatest men of our generation. His Supporters created a sea change of opinion throughout the world. Nelson Mandela had the courage of his convictions to stand up for what he believed was right. I know for sure I couldn't have indured half of what Nelson Mandela did in jail. Let alone go on to run the country once having been released from jail.
Morgan Tsvangirai could do the same if he wasn't so afraid of being killed rather than just to be thrown in Jail as Nelson Mandela was.
Things like this do put our own trouble with Defra and the RPA in perspective. Although it sometimes seems like it might take just as long to get our point understood.
The Concert has just finished with a Queen medley and of course "Free Nelson Mandela." Fantastic!!
The Government has announced it's policy for Renewable Energy. The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, has outlinned the Governments targets for Renewable Energy of 15% by 2020.
However, as was pointed out on the BBC News Channel, Gordon Brown arrived in his Priministerial Jaguar, that doesn't exactly have the highest of Green Credentials.
With Oil at $130 a barrel the UK economy is in great danger. Agriculture has a large part of it's inputs are fossil fuel based. There has to be a reduction in the dependency on OIl. Low Carbon Energy has to come to the fore. According to Gordon Brown, Britain could have a million people employed in environmental jobs in the next few years.
He also announced that all new homes must zero carbon by 2016 and commercial premises by 2019. Will this have an impact on Agricultural buildings?
There will be 3000 offshore wind turbines by 2020
Waste and Biomass energy is to be promoted, with barriers to access to the National Grid, so that surplus energy can be sold, to be reduced.
There will be incentives to install Low Carbon Energy Schemes. These will be announced at a later date. Will Defra utilise more of the National Modulation as the incentives for Low Carbon Energy?
The planning system is also to change so that renewable energy schemes are easier implement. Less of the NIMBYism slowing progress.
However, The devil is always in the detail and how it works at a local level. The government wants to spend the next 2 years talking about these green plans. Surely we need to start immediately investing in renewable energy. Will the new technology be cost effective to install. I'm sure that it will very shortly, especially if the oil price keeps rising at current levels.
Reported recently in Farmers Weekly a whole Herd of 83 Healthy Pedigree Guernsey cattle were slaughtered. They were all killed because of ONE reactor following skin tests, against 88 positives, (All Clear) for the gamma-interferon blood test.
This was just a waste of effort. Not to say soul destroying for the farmer whose lifes work it was. It seems to me a total waste.
Maybe someone can help me out here? Do Badgers carry TB but are not infected themselves? Has there been any clinical studies into the effects of TB on the Badgers themselves?
Most people can console themselves to farming practices so long as the animals have been treated well and had a good life. I'm in no way suggesting that these cattle did not have a good life, I am questioning whether they were killed unnecessarily? Most of Joe Public would not be happy with that.
The Badger Trust has worked it to their advantage. Engaged in a publicity campaign to get Joe Public on their side. British Agriculture has yet again shyed away from publicity instead of using it to encourage the outcome it needs.
DEFRA has put off the cull of badgers time and again. Whilst it hasn't admitted as much it has all but said that "public outrage would cost them votes." The government cannot afford the loss of votes from any quarter at the moment. It's time to make an advantage.
The public will be no less appalled at the needless slaughter of cattle that fail an unproven test. We cannot campaign against the slaughter of cattle that do carry the disease, but we must campaign for an even handed approach to erradicate this disease which costs the industry and the taxpayer alike. It is time to eradicate this disease and protect farming and wildlife.
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