Quota buy-up the end for family farms
30 May 2001
Quota buy-up ‘the end for family farms’
By Robert Davies, Wales correspondent
GOVERNMENT proposals to buy up sheep and beef quota would spell the end for family farms, the Farmers Union of Wales has warned.
Ministry of Agriculture plans for a scheme to stockpile production quotas from farmers leaving the industry were revealed by FARMERS WEEKLY last week.
The Farmers Union of Wales believes that livestock numbers will be reduced by keeping the quota in a reserve rather than distributing it to other producers.
Bob Parry, FUW president, has written to agriculture minister Nick Brown and senior MAFF officials stop promoting the idea that big is beautiful.
“I fear that once quota is lost, it will never return to the industry in full.”
Livestock numbers could be reduced to placate environmental groups who claim that overgrazing has damaged upland areas of Britain, said Mr Parry.
Traditional family farms could be forced to merge and create bigger units if quota was withheld by the government, he added.
But the amalgamation of farms would not necessarily lead to environmentally friendly production methods, Mr Parry warned.
Given fair political support, smaller farms would be capable of using family labour to produce high-quality food while protecting the environment.
The traditional Welsh family farm should be used as a template for the future direction of farming in the UK, said Mr Parry.
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