Farming Kibbutz style in Britain

22 August 2000



Farming Kibbutz style in Britain

Having spent just two months in Israel, it is clear to me the direction
that farming should follow in Britatin. We have a lot to learn and rather
than moaning and groaning, as only us brits do, we have to bite the bullet
swallow our pride and CO-OPERATE.

The Israeli kibbutzim survive on 10-12
cms of rain and temperatures above 40 degrees to produce high quality
competitive crops, and how? They establish co-operatives that are as one,
yet also exsist independantly.

How do we the British farming community
expect to compete with our European counterparts if we take them on single
handed. As individuals we are weak, as a community we are strong. We can
have market influence, we can dictate to the supermarkets, we can educate
the public, we can take the fight to them rather than sit on our back sides
and moan about how we are going to pay the next diesel bill!

It is
now or never to be honest. How do you start? Get in the pub where most
things are decided and start talking and establish your main cash sinks,
we all have them and to have only one between four farms in a village or a
radius is a darn sight cleverer than having one each. Then start actioning
combine.

Swallow pride and tradition there is little or no space for that now it is a case of surviva!

Answer me one question. If you farmed 3000 acres of arable, how many
tractors would you need to carry out the required work? Maybe five. In my
valley there are five arable farms in close proximity together we farm
around 3000 acres how many tractors have we got between us? 10 that
makes no sense. Lets action, lets go for it come on the best is British!

James Williams, Andover, Hants
Email:jabw51@hotmail.com