Farmer Focus: What happens if I stop feeding 6,000 people?

The irony of being asked to write a Farmer Focus article is that if there’s one thing I’m struggling to do right now, it’s focus.

Since my last column there has been consolidation in nearly every aspect of my life.

The purchase of two dairy farms has signalled an agricultural midlife crisis of epic proportions, with security and incremental gain being preferred to operational growth on borrowed land.

See also: Wagyu beef adds value to dairy calf enterprise

Cow numbers float between 850 and 1,000 head, depending on the squeeze of a vet’s caliper. TB remains a 60-day game of bovine Russian roulette that challenges even the most experienced farmers in West Wales.

The continual rule changes mean a proactive, long-term approach to disease eradication on farm is hindered by conflicting and often baffling interpretation and application of regulations.

Growing our Wagyu beef supply to meet demand has been a challenge.

Consumer preference is for well-marbled, slow-grown, grass-fed meat, but movement restrictions push us towards intensive finishing in an Approved Finishing Unit.

Moving production further east looks sensible. Glasgow is a favourite city of mine (mostly because my First Milk payments originated from there), and recently was the epicentre of the climate change fight.

I suspect livestock production will feel the hangover of this little get-together more severely than other sectors.

Feeding a population should be an honourable profession. A quick calculation shows that on average our business produces enough calories to sustain 6,001 adults.

If we are asked to reduce production, someone, somewhere, will not eat – and it’s unlikely that someone will be in the UK. A humanitarian issue will overshadow any ecological progress if politicians get this wrong.

Is there any wonder I can’t focus? Carbon, methane, nitrates and phosphates – all mentioned in the pub like tractors were before lockdown.

Trouble is, few where I enjoy a tipple understand what it all means, practically or commercially.

One thing I can focus on is family. Since last writing, I married Alex and we have two young daughters, Florence and Jemima. It’s easy to focus on them.

At six and four, they speak way more sense than the government.