READERS LETTERS
READERS LETTERS
Slagging us Brits off on French TV
While on business in France this week, I was dismayed to hear on TV the crass remarks about UK farmers made by Tony Blairs new rural affairs
co-ordinator, Lord Haskins.
Lord Haskins, Northern Foods chairman and farmer, claimed UK farmers have much to learn from French agriculture, they should be more enterprising and rely less on state handouts. In particular, he singled out small farmers in France, who he claimed had been a great deal more successful in striving and finding ways of surviving than their British counterparts.
The French agricultural industry is a government priority. With almost 10% of the population still employed in agriculture, compared with 1% in the UK, farmers not only have the upper hand, they are in control.
French farmers are supported from the CAP budget to a similar level as their UK counterparts. But when it comes to additional support, a plethora of schemes is available supported by French tax-payers. When the pig sector hit a market crisis several years ago, £70m of state aid was made available to help producers.
In addition, there are countless French government aided schemes, grants and preferential loans to encourage young farmers and new entrants. That is why the average age of French farmers is 40 years compared with 58 years in the UK where government has never supported such schemes.
France, with its booming rural economy, achieves more than five times the sum that Britain draws from the EU Rural Development Fund. The French government is usually the first to trigger further compensatory payments from Brussels direct to farmers when market prices dip.
Lord Haskins remarks smack of either complete ignorance or sheer stupidity. Why does Lord Haskins, along with other peers, like to kick the British industry in the teeth? Shouldnt they be promoting, not demoting any successful industry?
Peter Donger
Chairman, British Charolais Cattle Society, Seawell Grounds, Foxley, Towcester, Northants.
Real purpose of Haskins words
What a way to start a new job. Lord Haskins is about to take up a new government post to sort out British farming. Any small farmers who saw Lord Haskins on breakfast TV (Aug 13), when he eulogised the enterprise of French farmers, could be forgiven for feeling they might as well give up now. Perhaps that was the real purpose behind his words. He is also on record as saying there should be fewer farmers and larger farms.
From his French holiday resort, the chairman of Northern Foods drew unfair comparisons between French and British agriculture. Even Lord Haskins friend, Tony Blair, in a moment of great honesty said that "the supermarkets have the farmers in an arm lock".
For historical reasons there are many small farms in France and a larger proportion of the population is engaged in agriculture. Their government goes out of its way to support them as do other European countries which are our competitors.
Sadly, foot-and-mouth is being used as an excuse to further reduce this once proud industry and the countryside it supports. Lord Haskins may go down in history as the Dr Beeching of British agriculture.
Rosalind Pasmore
Hatchet Gate Farm, Hale, Fordingbridge, Hampshire.
More militant British farmers
Lord Haskins visited France to pontificate that UK farmers should learn from the French. Is Lord Haskins suggesting that British farmers should become militant like French farmers, hijacking and burning imported food?
French supermarkets, unlike their UK counterparts, pay fair prices because they are frightened of French farmers. It would appear that the chairman of Northern Foods is encouraging British farmers to imitate the French and commit unlawful acts. I hope that his supermarket customers will know whom to blame if British farmers imitate the French and become militant.
Robert Persey
Upcott Farm, Broadhembury, Honiton, Devon.
Two jobs for MPs as well?
It is a simply excellent suggestion by the farmers friend Elliott Morley that farmers should have two jobs. Provided that was also compulsory for members of parliament. They could obtain full-time employment during the day and deal with Parliamentary work in the evening.
After all, the entire Civil Service is at their disposal for the administration. That, I am sure, would help to utilise all that superfluous energy that allows them to indulge themselves in nefarious business and sexual activities.
Mrs Pat Rickett
A & P Rickett, Wood Farm, Everdon, Daventry.
Open, speedy, honest inquiry
I fully support the arguments of those demanding a full public inquiry into the handling of the foot-and-mouth crisis.
This is the only way forward to discover what has gone wrong before in order to avoid making the same mistakes. The upper levels of government, MAFF/DEFRA, the NFU, and the farming fraternity, particularly the old establishment, are diluted with mediocrity and partisanship.
Lets have an open, speedy and honest enquiry now which moves away from the politics of Whitehall. Lets get on with what will be an uncomfortable job for many. There have been too many mistakes made for the wrong reasons. It is that which has caused so much expense to the Treasury, not the farmers.
Ann Walker
ann@kisdonresearch.co.uk
Dont let the EU destroy us
It is known that the EU is out to destroy this countrys livestock sector to promote its own industry. At the same time we are expected to join the euro when they hold the purse strings. What a ridiculous situation to be in! But that is what both Labour and the Conservatives, if Ken Clarke wins the leadership, would lead us into. Let us not vote ourselves into such a terrible situation.
Mr G MacDowel
31 Preston Lane, Lyneham, Chippenham, Wiltshire.
Concern about Blair regime
Margaret Beckett, DEFRA minister, has said there will be three inquiries into foot-and-mouth. But there will not be a public inquiry because farmers will not receive the conclusion they want quickly and DEFRA is not covering anything up.
Dictatorships do not have to cover anything up. Europe and "President Blair" have decided that our countryside is to be used only for recreation and arable production. He will toe the line.
On my travels delivering straw, I have started my own public inquiry. Even the mention of Mr Blairs name to a farmer brings on a reaction of disgust. Speaking to a committee member of the British Friesian Society, he told me his members could predict where the next case of F&M would be confirmed after the vets visited farms, on MAFFs behalf.
Also when contiguous culling in the Uttoxeter area, MAFF employees contractors were seen in a public house in the Chartley area still wearing clothing soiled from culling and moving carcasses. Would common sense not advise sanitisation before leaving the place of culling?
In fact, I am becoming increasingly concerned about this country under the Blair regime.
Jonathan Baker
72 Sherrard Close, Whissendine, Oakham, Rutland.
Industry worth over £570m
Your correspondent John S Pearson makes the point that all vaccination would save would be £570m in exports (Letters, Aug 10). His argument is flawed in that while the value of the exports may only be £570m, the value to the farming industry is far more than that.
Farmers Ferry, whatever the rights and wrongs of live exports, put a bottom in the market which cannot be quantified. One has only to look at the sow market denied an outlet. Sows are practically worthless. Processors like Lord Haskins are bound to argue their contribution gives them even greater control over the domestic market.
Bald statistics do not always show the full picture of the marketplace.
Jack Caley
Glebe House, East Newton, Aldbrough, Hull.
Simple choices for best cows
I read with interest your article "US genetic technology offers hope" (Features, Aug 3). In the early 1970s, I did some work on this subject. First, we found a cow that would live on a cheap ration. The method was not high-tech but simply monitoring which cows would winter best on barley straw. Having tried several other breeds and crosses, including Continentals, I found the Lincoln Red to be the best converter of roughage. I then looked for a breed that would have length, loin, leg, docility and calve easily with plenty of milk.
I chose a South Devon for all the attributes to complement the Lincoln Red traits and introduced a South Devon bull in 1982. We find that the cows that live the longest, 12-14 years, are the ones that started their career later calving at 2 years 7 months.
Some would argue that the Lincoln Red produces beef with marbling and flavour to rival that of the Aberdeen-Angus.
In recent years we have crossed both the Lincoln Red to the South Devon and the South Devon to the Lincoln Red to make excellent suckler dams.
John R Garner,
Garner & Sons, Stockenhall Farm, Wood Enderby, Boston, Lincs. David@garner2.freeserve.co.uk
No more than they deserve
Could I draw your readers attention to the facts that lie behind the amount farmers receive for their stock when compulsory purchased by the government. Monies paid should reflect the quality of the stock on particular farms. When farmers, through dedicated breeding, have achieved high quality bloodlines in their stock, these animals are almost irreplaceable. When the time comes to restock, it is absolutely certain they will pay more than they received.
Henry Boughton
Deputy chairman, Gloucestershire NFU.
Extend scheme thats successful
Your excellent coverage of the sugar beet growers outgoers scheme, announced by British Sugar and NFU, was based on information provided by agents who have tried to hype up the values.
It appears that there are many more potential selling growers than acquiring growers which, given the slump in the beet price over the past two years, is unsurprising. With doubts hanging over the long term future of EU beet growing, threatened by the import of cane sugar from third world countries, potential buyers are unlikely to invest funds at levels that would persuade existing growers to sell their tonnage.
For that reason, the scheme is unlikely to achieve the rationalisation of growers contracts that British Sugar requires. At about £27/t for average sugar content, plus a transport allowance which only partially covers the cost of delivery to the factories, the crop provides a low rate of return on both growers working capital and management effort.
But, apart from potatoes in a shortage year, beet is the least unprofitable crop available to arable farmers. Sadly, beet also carries the risk of extreme soil structure damage in wet autumns such as the last one.
More rationalisation and concentration of beet growing on the more suitable soils would be achieved more successfully via an extension of the rhyzomania leasing scheme. That scheme works and, if operated annually to allow all growers the flexibility to lease out or in, contract tonnage within the same factory areas, would result in improved economics.
J L Wright
Riverview, Toad Row, Henstead, Beccles, Suffolk.
Witches brew is on the menu
The incumbents of Downing Street are enjoying their long summer holidays and the well-oiled spin machine has been switched to automatic pilot. While it produced reports of farmings so called compensation millionaires, livestock farmers with groaning overdrafts are wondering what their farming future holds?
The catalogue of doom that the present administration has presided over needs no repeating, but we are entitled to ask what is the recipe? The smell coming from the kitchen has a familiar odour.
It includes a strong sniff of continental cuisine, to stop the already overloaded CAP boat from sinking, mixed with malodorous wafts of stagnant conservation policies. Those stem from putrid fossilisation beloved by pseudo countryside experts who lean left even more when the right to roam aroma is emitted from the pot.
This witches brew must have some seasoning. Three helpings of public inquiries into foot-and-mouth include deadly nightshade to spice up their caustic cauldron. The three inquiries will look at how F&M started, what can be done to stop it happening again and the future of farming. How could they miss the chance to further penalise the most bureaucratically afflicted and politically monitored agricultural society in the world? Most pundits could write a book on the ineptitude government has displayed in trying to cope with the outbreak.
When Mrs Becketts gypsy caravan returns from her holidays, laden with the ingredients described above, to terminate farming, we will at least be able to say we smelt it coming.
Simon Bennett Evans
Bennett Evans & Co, Sweet Lamb Rally Compelte, Glanrhyd, Llangurig, Powys.
What about the mountains?
Hill farmers have been misled and abused, not only by government departments, scientists and environmentalists, but also by their own representatives. That is by the people who have received membership fees, the ones who have been trusted and referred to for advice and protection. Unless we voice our concerns now, we wont be in business much longer. We are already in mid-ocean, aboard our ships wreckage. So please prepare either for rescue or to drown. It is no use waiting and hoping that things will improve, because they wont.
The worlds population is within the control of scientists and the propaganda machine. Our governors have been twisted and moulded like clay in the hands of a potter. We know that older ewes must be replaced by young ones, but the present policy of slaughtering young, healthy hefted flocks must be halted.
If it is meant to be a hill livestock reduction programme, please stop now. Exporting food instead of arms to the poorer countries would save rather than destroy millions of adults and young children throughout the world. It would save the environment, and our animals as well as our farmers.
Lets have some common sense. Has anyone considered the well-being of the mountains in those areas where all the sheep have gone? I doubt it. Vaccination must be allowed in some areas immediately.
Dafydd Morris
Chairman, Welsh Highland Shepherds, Ffern Cefn Coch, Deiniolen, Caernarfon, Gwynedd.
Answering own DW question
Mr Evans has perhaps unwittingly settled his own argument (Letters, Aug 10). He bemoans the returns received for stock sold on a deadweight basis. His letter highlighted some lambs from a neighbour who sold liveweight at about 40-44kg but achieved only 16kg on the hook.
Has Mr Evans and his neighbour considered that they are now receiving the genuine weights for their stock as opposed to an averaged arbitrary bulk liveweight? In addition to the weight information, he also receives carcass classification information. Those details can be used to modify breeding and feeding regimes, allowing producers to more readily hit the required quality carcass target and tailor their stock according to customer demands.
That should allow processors to pay more for stock, because the amount of wastage from overweight and over fat meat will be reduced. In turn, that will benefit manufacturing costs which would allow some of the savings to be passed back to farmers.
Tim Bastable
timbastable@lineone.net
Merger not so good for staff
While I can applaud the Northants farmers initiative in merging five farms to ensure they continue into the future ("How trio merge everything but the kitchen sink", Arable, July 27) I am concerned at the fate of the seven or more of their staff who lost their jobs. It would be interesting to hear about the merger from their perspective.
Have they found contract work on the same farms and does that keep them in food and lodging? Can they benefit from new money for farm-based conservation jobs? Or are they getting by on state aid while seeking work, skilled or otherwise, outside of farming? All to often, we hear of the struggles of farmers, but what of the workers, who have so much less in the first place?
Vicki Hird
Policy director, Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming, 94 White Lion Street, London.
Certified seed is cheap insurance
All farmers should have a choice between farm-saved seed and purchased certified seed. But there are worrying aspects to that decision. In a consumer-led market, we as seed producers are constantly asked to prove complete traceability for the end user of our products.
Throughout the chain of production we have a number of interested parties – millers, maltsters, supermarkets and housewives. The miller and maltster will not take our product if it contains injurious weeds or ergot. Neither will they take the crop if it is not the correct variety or contains an admixture of species.
The British Society of Plant Breeders has a legal obligation to point out to the farming community any changes to the FSS scheme rules. Also, it should reaffirm that FSS can only be sown on the holding it was grown.
The issue that always seems a little grey is the so-called savings to be gained with FSS. The actual seed cost is open to wide interpretation. When you include all seed costs, including management time, the true difference is the cost between FSS royalty and certified seed royalty that averages £20/t. This varies depending on sowing rate and represents between £1 and £1.50/acre on seed costs.
I would suggest that this is cheap insurance to have the safeguards of certified seed, considering the value of the total crop at risk.
David Buttle
British Association Seed Producers, Unit 5, Old Dairy Court, Burcot Farm, East Stratton, Winchester, Hants.
Confidence of people is vital
Agriculture is inspired by the fear of hunger, we should not forget that. Neither should we forget the essentials of good government. Those are sufficient food, sufficient armament and the confidence of the people.
Suppose an emergency arose and it was impossible to have all three, which goes first?
Armament. And if one of the remaining two had to go it would be food. Everyone is subject to death, but without the confidence of the people there would be no government.
AE Searle
Mayfields, Croft, Wainfleet, Lincs.
Green waste gains excessive
Further to your article (Features, Jul 27) on the potential benefits of on-farm composting of green wastes, it was pleasing to see such an initiative being encouraged. But to practitioners of processing green wastes on-farm, under the current 1000cu m exemption, the monetary gains quoted for farmers, both in terms of processing wastes and from potential sales of the compost product, appeared excessive.
In most cases waste processors receive material and shred it on a licensed site before transporting it to an exempt on-farm site for subsequent composting. To be eligible for an exempt site, the area has to be suitably positioned to satisfy both the Environment Agency and local planners in terms of its environmental impact. Evidence is necessary to prove a use for the finished product on the land in which composting is taking place.
Farmers are usually willing for the waste processor, or their sub-contractors and consultants, to oversee all those pre-requisites plus subsequent monitoring. And they receive a modest fee of about £2-£4/t for use of the land. Farmers might also make a saving of about £3/t from the equivalent fertiliser value of the compost. Sales of the product, allowed at a licensed site but not from an exempt site, might be difficult and will rarely achieve above £5/t.
Therefore, unless farmers invest large amounts of capital into properly regulated and licensed composting sites, with their associated composting machinery, high gate fees of between £12-£25/t will not be achievable.
It is probably better to start small and then, once a sufficient supply of waste has been found and or a market for the product established, full commercial-scale composting can begin.
Dr Andrew Groenhof
Fieldfare Associates Ltd, Hartnoll Farm Centre, Post Hill, Tiverton, Devon.
Vets to blame, not farmers
As your article "Vets risk spread of disease" (News, Aug 10) states, the fact that they were wearing protective overalls tied around their waists was shown on the BBC Wales News. The incident occurred during the hot spell at the beginning of the month.
The news item was about the blood testing of more than 4000 sheep in the Beacons and the film footage showed officials, wearing overalls tied around their waists, rounding up and handling the sheep. I thought at the time they ran the risk of spreading F&M. I am outraged that they continue to criticise farmers for breaking biosecurity rules.
I am not a farmer, but have a keen interest in the farming industry due to family members who farm.
Name and address supplied.
Put payments into perspective
Recently much attention has been devoted to the compensation paid to 37 farmers after the compulsory slaughter of their livestock. We would like to put this in perspective.
So far, more than 9000 families have lost their animals in this way. As a result of animal movement restrictions, many thousands more have had no income for months and have had extra animals to feed. When they are able to sell anything, they often have to sell at a loss. The livelihoods of many farm families are in ruins. We are aware that many others in rural communities are in the same plight.
The outstanding bright spot in all of this has been the public generosity in support of our work. We would like to pass on the heartfelt expressions of gratitude that we receive from those who have been helped.
We want to assure people that those who we have been able to support have really needed our help. Indeed, for many the situation is getting steadily worse.
Rev Gordon Gatward
ARC-Addington Fund.Christopher JonesFarm Crisis Network.Tony McMahonRoyal Agricultural Benevolent Institution.Caroline DaviesRural Stress Information Network.Janet PughThe Samaritans.
Big thank-you from keepers
On behalf of all the gamekeepers up and down the country, through the pages of your excellent magazine I would like to thank all the people who took the time and trouble to nominate their keepers for the Gamekeeper of the Year Award, run by FARMERS WEEKLY and the Country Landowners Association.
And on behalf of the finalists I would like to thank Farmlife, FWs photographer and the CLA for looking after the finalists so well after the presentations.
I personally have had a great time throughout the whole experience. I hope Wendy Cummins and Tim Potter have too, Well done Tim.
Steve Reynolds
1 Park Cottages, Hamels Lane, Westmill, Buntingford, Herts.