Oxford Farming chairman blasts hill farmers

02 October 1998

Oxford Farming chairman blasts hill farmers

By FWi staff

THE man at the helm of the world-famous Oxford Farming Conference has accused hill farmers of reaping massive profits from European Union subsidies.

David Harden, who is also a Welsh landowner, said farmers who kept cows and sheep in upland areas had little to do with the food production chain.

“They wont like me saying this, but what are these people doing all week?,” he asked.

Mr Harden, who farms 2023 hectares near Pwllheli, Gwynedd, acknowledged his views would infuriate hard-up hill producers.

“They run large numbers of sheep round the mountains and they get a very, very handsome return for doing so,” he said.

The annual Oxford Farming Conference which is chaired by Mr Harden, is a premier event in the agricultural calendar.

Speakers at this years Oxford conference in January included the then agriculture minister Jack Cunningham, US agriculture secretary Dan Glickman, and EU farm commissioner Franz Fischler.

But Mr Harden chose to make his remarks at last weekends British Veterinary Association congress in Nottingham.

Mr Harden told delegates that marginal farmers would be unable to make a living from farming once the European Union moved to world prices.

He predicted a gradual “fading away” of the UKs marginal farmers, similar to the situation seen in France over the past 20 years.

The Government should reconsider a pension scheme to allow hill farmers to leave the industry with dignity, Mr Harden told delegates

The future role of hill farmers would shortly become that of looking after upland areas, rather than farming, he added.