Archive Article: 2001/12/14
Dream team for rural Britain
While reading your magazine, I noticed that Express Dairies, under the chairmanship of Lord Haskins, has suffered a loss of profits and share value (Business, Nov 23). Welcome to the real world Lord Haskins.
He believes better times are ahead. Many in farming would welcome better times instead of the daily grind with no return. But with the four stooges of Mrs Beckett, Lord Haskins, Mr Whitty and Mr Morley in charge, I feel the gravy train might be derailed.
Recently Devon has thrown up a new defender of the farming faith in the form of the Princess Royal.
What a team the rural community would have if Prince Charles and the Princess Royal headed a new rural taskforce with Anthony Gibson, Guy Thomas-Everard and the Duke of Westminster with a representative of Farmers for Action. At least they would have their feet on the ground instead of their heads in Mr Blairs clouds.
Anthony Tucker
Old School House, Ashreigney, Chumleigh, Devon.
Shotgun powers from this Bill
The Animal Health Bill is draconian and dangerous. It gives DEFRA, (the Department for Ending Farming and Rural Activities) a statutory right of entry into your home, the right to vaccinate, or kill, or both, any animals or birds they might want to attack without the owners permission or knowledge. In short, it gives the government shotgun powers.
The authorities are so terrified of another foot-and-mouth outbreak, or even swine fever, that they have forgotten to do anything about preventing it. The Conservative Party, the natural Party of conservation, is not in power, so it is down to all of us to protect animal health.
With prices at below break-even level farm incomes are at their lowest level since the 1920s and those still in agriculture are dependent on subsidy for basic income and are in no position to make waves. It is the same the world over, except in Australia where farmers get no subsidies but pay no tax.
As a result of state intervention, food prices are in a severe deflationary environment. If not corrected that will lead to a world food shortage in five years time. What is DEFRA doing about it? The department should prevent the import of foodstuffs from possibly infected countries but would rather wander around with shotguns.
Sue Doughty
suedoughty@ntlworld.com
Bill ignores human rights
The Animal Health Bill being rushed through parliament is a contravention of the European Convention on Human Rights. I refer to article 6. The right to a fair and public trial. The Bill would enable any department inspector, who does not have to be a vet, to decide that your animals should be slaughtered. Then, without notice, he or she will have the right to enter your land and slaughter your animals. If an inspector wants to enter your premises (including your home, but this must be at 24 hours notice) he can do so without informing or consulting you. If you refuse, the inspector can go to a single magistrate in secret for a warrant to enter your premises together with the police, army and anyone else he thinks fit.
The inspector can also ask a single magistrate in secret for a warrant to slaughter your animals if he thinks it necessary. In these circumstances you will not be consulted.
The law of obstruction will be changed to make it an offence to obstruct an inspector entering your premises or slaughtering your animals. If you refuse to get your dog to round up animals for slaughter and you have no other means of gathering them you will become a criminal. And if you allow your dog to round them up, it too will be slaughtered on the orders of DEFRA because it could be seen as a means of spreading the disease.
The new obstruction proposals are that you have to prove that you did not obstruct the inspector. The inspector does not have to prove anything. It is on his word alone. If you defy DEFRA over the slaughter of your animals, whether it is necessary or later proved unnecessary, the minister can reduce compensation by 25%. If you appeal, the minister can appoint somebody independent to hear the appeal but the Bill does not say she has to, thus the minister could be judge at your appeal. What about the ancient law of innocent till proved guilty?
J McKay
Yonder Hill, Colaton Raleigh.YonderHill@care4free.net
Scrapie carrot not a stick
I am writing to you regarding the national scrapie plan. Although I, and many breeders, think it is a big step in the right direction, many other breeders disagree for various reasons. Probably 95% disagree for financial reasons. That is why only 3500 breeders out of 18,500 who were sent the details of the scheme have applied to join.
If the government wishes to breed a national scrapie-resistant flock as soon as possible, there must be incentives to force the breeders of breeding stock to strive to achieve that goal quickly. Likewise there must also be a carrot, rather than a stick, to encourage buyers of breeding sheep, be they tups or females, to source scrapie resistant stock.
Offering a buyers incentive scheme would greatly increase membership and encourage purchasers to source high resistance stock. It would accelerate the scheme and save the government a lot of money.
The incentive scheme should be a voucher supplied by the government to the breeder. He would in turn pass that on to the purchaser of type 1 or type 2 genotype rams and females, so that they could fill in the details and return the voucher to the government for a cheque. That could be £50 for type 1, £30 for type 2 per tup per head, and possible the same amount for every five females purchased at sales or privately.
That way there could be a register kept of sheep buyers so that abattoirs and lamb buyers could source meat from these flocks, as scrapie resistant meat.
A drawback some mention is losing breeding lines. There might be some flocks with terrific sheep that do not genotype well, these flocks can and must strive to improve their genotypes. There are good tups and bloodlines available with low genotypes.
Greg Parkhouse
Satchells Farm, Lilliesleaf, Melrose, Roxburghshire.
Lamb blunder food for thought
Bearing in mind strict regulations that accompany carcass competitions, why should breeders have to put up with careless blunders from the abattoirs?
At the Welsh Winter Fair this year, two breeders entered the carcass competition.
The sheep were sent away to the abattoir with ear tags, having had veterinary inspections and approved movement licences with the vehicles carrying them being disinfected. The tags were then removed from the sheeps ears and placed on their legs. So, how did it happen that two lambs were obviously mixed up, with one Clun and one Beltex cross being exhibited as a pair?
If such an obvious mistake can be made, how do farmers know if they are receiving the correct weights for their lambs?
S&S Gibbons
Llwynbrain Farm, Llanigon, Hay-on-Wye, Hereford.
NZ cruelty to calves appalling
Had the excellent BBC Landward programme available to us in Scotland been broadcast across the UK, I wonder how many people would have been appalled by the video footage of new-born dairy calves in New Zealand being thrown into a lorry collecting them for slaughter? There can be no excuse for such wanton cruelty, even if the calves are soon to be slaughtered – humanely, one hopes.
Will anybody join me in calling for action from the New Zealand authorities to clean up their act so that the reality behind the scenes matches the marketing hype for the likes of Anchor Butter? Docking the tails of their dairy cows so that they dont swish in the faces of the dairymen is one thing; callous cruelty to traumatised new-born calves is another.
UK consumers should know the truth about what they are buying and if they are unhappy with the explanation, they should look elsewhere.
Michael Clarke
Nether Stewarton, Eddleston, Peebles.
Compulsory but a chilling read
Peter Hogg (Arable, Nov 30) suggested writing a book about enemy agents infiltrating government to destroy our agriculture. It has already been written, and a very chilling read it is. The Death of British Agriculture by Richard A E North should be compulsory reading for everyone who is involved with the political management of agriculture, policy makers, taxpayers and consumers of food. The incompetence and arrogance outlined is almost beyond belief.
Martin Voase
K J Voase & Son, Baswick Steer, Brandesburton, Driffield, East Yorks.
Alliance has let us down
I was disappointed, indeed angered, when I looked at the Countryside Alliances web-site to read its submission to Sir Don Currys policy commission on the future of farming and food. The submission reads as though its line of thinking stems from a desire to be politically correct rather than analysing and understanding the current farming situation.
It suggests the government should move towards full modulation of aid payments. The idea should inflame feelings of dismay and betrayal among farmers. It states: "The Countryside Alliance advocates increased modulation of the first pillar of the CAP towards the second pillar. Current modulation is approximately 3-5%, when the maximum amount allowed is 25%."
Surely, that figure should read 20%?
I was a member of the Alliance. I dont hunt, but like many farmers I have allowed hunting in the form of beagling on our land. Most farmers who do not hunt have supported the right to hunt and, like me, have marched with them and written to MPs in its defence.
The NFU, to its credit, has done all it could, in light of the fact that it has an even handed policy on hunting, to support the right to hunt and the Alliances marches. Farming could not have been dealt more cruel blows that we have had over the past year. Apart from the devastation to our livestock farms caused by foot-and-mouth, all sectors of farming face an uphill struggle to compete with imports because of the strong £. Also most arable farmers have had a disastrous harvest.
Can the Alliance not see that it is kicking us when we are down? Would it have been too much to ask that the Alliance support the NFU line on modulation in return for the support it has been given?
I have cancelled my membership of the Alliance, and the beagles will no longer meet on our farm. I urge all farmers who feel that they will be adversely affected by an increase in modulation to cancel their membership of the Alliance and let their local hunt know how they feel. It is only through putting pressure on the local hunts that we can get our message across.
C R Patchett
Thorpe Grange Farm, Broomfleet, Brough, East Yorks.
Irresponsible to knock HGCA
I see that Oliver Walston has moved on from seeking to deprive farmers of IACS payments to undermining the Home-Grown Cereals Authority (Talking Point, Oct 26). The HGCA provides the near market research that the government refuses to fund, the UK Recommended Lists, information on the effectiveness of arable crop chemicals and overseas marketing support. What other body does Mr Walston think is going to take over these functions from the HGCA?
All arable farmers benefit from the work of the HGCA and it is, therefore, only fair that all arable farmers pay for its work. I would suggest that Mr Walston attends one of the HGCAs excellent free road shows. Then he might feel that he is getting something for his money.
Alastair Gilks
Whatborough Farm, Nr Tilton, Leics.
Many thanks, NFU Mutual
My wife was recently taken seriously ill while on a cruise with her two sisters. Fortunately, she was insured with NFU Mutual and the organisation was excellent. It took care of everything and arranged for my wifes care in hospital and her journey home from Vigo in Spain, accompanied by a doctor.
All the bills were settled quickly without involving my wife and I, which in the circumstances was a great relief.
J T Waterhouse
Pepples Farm, Pepples Lane. Saffron Walden, Essex.
Horse riders are farming friends
I read with interest Jeremy Hunts views (News, Nov 23) about horse riding. He is right in saying that many farmers distrust horse riders but during the foot-and-mouth crisis many horse riders proved themselves good allies. Many horse organisations ran barbecues, balls and other events to raise money for farmers suffering because of this disease.
Also, I would like to relate the tale from the dairy farm where I kept my horse earlier this year. The livery owners voluntarily stayed away from the farm so as not to risk transmitting the virus. That was at great financial and personal cost as we had to pay extra for someone else to look after our horses. For a whole month, until contingency plans were put in place, we did not see our horses at all. Even when we did regain access we did not ride off the farm for many weeks. All this was done willingly to protect anothers livelihood.
I know that was not an isolated instance but the experience of other horse owners up and down the country. So, come on farmers; acknowledge who your countryside friends are and be more tolerant of horse riders.
Alison Monk
Senior lecturer in agricultural economics, Harper Adams University College, Edgmond, Newport, Shropshire.
Water power idea mooted
Your letters (Nov 16) about windmills have prompted me to write to you with an idea. I do not know if it has been tried before, but I would like to suggest a belt driven by water. The power would travel from the tracks, speed could be obtained by gearing and the greater the resistance, the greater the power. Not much waterfall would be needed, a fast running stream would provide a lot of power.
It would mean dividing the water course into two courses. One would take the surplus water, operated by a floating door and the other channel to operate the power.
Once installed, operating cost would be very low. Although I am not an electrician, I think this could be an interesting idea.
K J Bosley,
West Park Bungalow, Station Road, Grove, Wantage, Oxon.
Confused policy on farm dogs
I read your article reporting the Border Collie Rescues work with redundant dogs (Farmlife, Nov 30) with some surprise. Mike Cook appears to be saying they have "working" dogs available to return to working farms.
Some months ago following an article in the national Press and FARMERS WEEKLY, I approached Border Collie Rescue, offering a good working home for a pair of dogs on my farm in France. In a polite, but indignant reply I was informed that under no circumstances would I be considered for dogs and export to wherever was totally unacceptable. The organisation intended to detrain dogs to be placed in homes as domestic pets. I was informed they had more homes available than dogs. So why the change of heart?
I was particularly concerned at the waste in detraining hard-working dogs. That, I am sure, was not the life intended for them when they were painfully given up. Perhaps Border Collie Rescue could offer readers some explanation of its confused policy.
Phil Parkes
Nightingales, The Avenue, Kingston, Lewes, East Sussex.
Give calcium, not phosphorus
For many years supplying extra phosphorus in dairy rations was seen as a cure for infertility. Recent long-term studies, well publicised in the farming Press, have shown that there is no evidence to support that view. Where maize silage forms a significant proportion of the winter diet, it is now accepted that calcium supplementation (not phosphorus) is important particularly when cereals and cereal byproducts are fed. So it was surprising to read in the article on the change to higher maize feeding at Sparsholt College, Winchester (Livestock, Nov 9) that its consultant is recommending a high phosphorus mineral. That may continue to perpetuate the myth about phosphorus and fertility in the eyes of students. So it would be beneficial for the environment, the cows and the ration cost to move to one of the high calcium maize balancer minerals which are widely available.
David Peers
Registered nutritionist, Llanbedrgoch, Anglesey.