Election 2010: Time for a change of tone

By the time you read this, the general election will be over and the political scene of this country will probably look very different, writes Farmers Weekly editor Jane King. 

Farmers Weekly passes for press on a Wednesday night and therefore we had to prepare this week’s issue not knowing the outcome of one of the most important and closely fought elections in a generation.

Many farmers will rightly be as cynical as the British public about politicians and all the campaigning in recent weeks is unlikely to have changed your view.  Whichever party or parties end up in power, they should now be in no doubt about what the agricultural industry and the rural community requires from a new Government.

One fundamental issue which must be addressed is the tone in which the new Government and its agencies engage with farmers going forward.  A genuine partnership is essential which requires a lot more listening and learning.  For years, successive governments have not taken farming seriously enough and have failed to be in tune with the challenges and the opportunities that a global market place presents for a UK industry with enormous potential.

All too often policies are devised which are completely impractical or counter-productive in terms of what they are trying to achieve.  The theory on paper appears sound but in reality there are usually a host of good reasons why it will struggle to work on the ground.   The former American President Dwight Eisenhower was spot on when he famously said “farming looks mighty easy when your plough is a pencil and you are a thousand miles away from the cornfield”. 

One aspect of the Labour government’s approach, which has been positive, is its support for voluntary measures on issues like blue tongue vaccination, environmental spraying and environmental stewardship.   The carrot usually works better than the stick and a lighter touch with regulation has led to improved farming practice and benefits all round. As one letter writer explains in this week’s issue of the magazine, heavy handed draconian actions against farmers are unlikely to get results.

Devolved government, through the regional assemblies in Scotland and Wales, has also led to good co-operation between politicians and the industry on sticky issues like the future of hill farming and badger culling for Bovine TB.  Applying the lessons from this collaborative decision making will be vital in the months ahead as  swingeing spending cuts begin to bite.

Farmers cannot expect to be completely immune from the financial crisis that faces the whole country but they do need a constructive relationship with the new government that recognises their importance to food supplies and to the economy.  

The industry deserves a Government that supports growth in production and profitability, that encourages investment and nurtures innovation. Against the worst recession in 60 years, agriculture stood out as the one sector that has performed well.  Farmers should therefore be at the centre of Britain’s recovery. It’s an uncertain world out there and the UK’s first class farmers are an essential resource on which any new Government should rely.”

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