READERS LETTERS
READERS LETTERS
Please, more respect for job seekers
I am writing not out of anger but out of sadness for the state of agriculture today. Things may be taking a turn for the worse in farming, but a little respect for workers would not affect gross margins and would be appreciated.
My father was made redundant for the second time in six years and was applying for jobs advertised in farmers weekly over the past few months. He was deeply saddened by the rejections but what hurt most was the lack of acknowledgement from some farms – not even a simple letter to say you have not been successful.
That must have upset him deeply because he recently committed suicide at work leaving behind a loving family and grandchildren. At the age of 56 he had everything except a way of life hed been used to. He will be deeply missed by everyone who knew him.
I feel that an industry that cannot respect an existing workforce or potential workforce has no future and does not deserve one. To treat people with respect does not cost anything and takes little effort.
Short of writing to all the vacancies he had applied for over the past months, I dont know what to do. Farming is not just a way of life for farmers but the people who work in farming as well.
I would like all of the advertisers in the situations vacant section to apply a little thought to the way in which they reply to applicants. A reply is the least they should do.
S Reading
37 St Pauls Drive, Chatteris, Cambs.
Our wildlife is farmable too
Last week I spent £50 on a new girth for my horse. Day in, day out, the grain trailers are coming in with grain at the equivalent of £50/t. That is an absolute joke.
Anyone who is happy to trudge on selling grain for this price in the hope that it will pick up and be worth the £130/t as it was six years ago, needs to think again – unless they have a bottomless pit of capital. I do not think we will ever stop the import of cheap, foreign meat or produce.
Switching subsidies from food production to environmental stewardship seems a great idea. We will always be able to go back to large-scale food production should there be a famine. And there will always be a requirement for a proportion of home produce. Not everyone likes to see perfectly straight tramlines in fields with crops well sprayed to promote uniform and quick growth.
If we cannot farm profitably then farm the countryside. Who says only crops and stock are farmable? Encourage birds, wildlife, flower and fauna, and get paid for it. Use your imagination, the rewards could be endless. We are living in one of the most beautiful countries in the world – use it.
Incidentally I am not a long-haired, vegetarian hippy. I am a meat-eating, hot blooded, country-loving farmers wife.
Jennifer Blenkiron
Chillington Farm, Codsall Wood, Wolverhampton, Staffs.
Hunts helped defeat F&M
The Anderson report into the foot-and-mouth crisis is deeply critical of the manner in which MAFF dealt with the epidemic. Is it not suspicious that nowhere in the report is there mention of the part played in the cull programme by employees of UK hunts? There is no reference to the fact that the offer of skilled assistance and equipment was ignored for the first six weeks of the outbreak and was accepted only once the army took control.
Also there is no reference to the fact that at one stage nearly 30% of the Great Orton culling team were provided by hunts. No reference to the fact that it was UK hunt staff who rejected piece work payments on animal welfare grounds. No reference to the universal gratitude and recognition by local MAFF officials, farmers and vets that these men did a difficult job with skill and sensitivity.
Given those facts, alongside a letter of thanks from a MAFF minister and evidence submitted to this inquiry, people can only speculate as to why this significant contribution has mysteriously vanished.
Peter Darcsbury
Council of Hunting Associations (address supplied).
Hats off to swill fed pigs
I write regarding the ban on swill feeding of pigs or, to use a much better term, the waste food feeding of pigs. What a lot of rubbish is talked about this type of feeding.
I would like to relate to my association with farmers feeding food collected from hospitals, hotels and restaurants some years ago in the outer London area. Thousands of pigs were kept in yards, spotlessly clean, everything washed by high pressure hoses down the main sewer. Premises were inspected and it was an education to meet the owners and see the wonderful way they ran their businesses.
The food was cooked to a high degree for a given time to make sure no raw meat or fish was fed. But now I understand all of this excellent food is wasted. What sort of country are we becoming?
I would like to pay tribute to these farmers for the way their pigs looked. Their shiny coats and their song at feeding time were sights and sounds to behold.
Bill Morphew
Horsham, West Sussex.
Organic plan earns praise
I am writing to welcome Mr Morleys announcement on the Organic Action Plan. The commitment the government is showing to the organic sector is to be applauded.
The annual payment to organic farmers is recognition of the public benefits organic farming delivers and the wishes of the public to have a more environmentally responsible system of food production. This clear commitment the government is giving should make farmers give further consideration to organic conversion. It is clear that technically organic systems are proven and it is farmer uncertainty that often holds producers back.
It should be highlighted that the Organic Conversion Information service (OCIS) is available free to farmers wanting to find out more about converting to organic production. Also available is an assessment of the suitability of individual farms for conversion.
Organic farming is not a fad. It is a proven production system that has both public support and government backing. When was the last time that could be said about British farming?
Bruce Pearce
The Organic Advisory Service, Elm Farm Research Centre, Hamstead Marshall, Near Newbury, Berks.
Spud variety key to taste
The storage conditions of potatoes is important. They should not be stored at too low a temperature, neither be wrapped in plastic. However, that does not alter the fact that the variety is important in terms of culinary use including King Edward for baking, Golden Wonder for frying and Charlotte for boiling.
I have been trying to get the message through to the supermarkets that we want good varieties. Also that potatoes and other vegetables and fruit need to be looked after properly. They should not be thrown about with new batches put on top of old. The supermarkets dont seem to employ people who know about produce.
But I was pleased to see in our local Safeway recently, not only Charlotte, but also Desiree and the older variety, Maris Peer.
Perhaps if more people nagged the supermarkets, they would buy more of the better varieties and in turn, the consumption would increase. The different varieties have their individual properties making them more suitable for different purposes. Some seem suitable just for mass production but not cooking.
I also agree we should not buy foreign produce when we can produce our own. That applies to all food.
Dr L C Herbert
Orchard Cottage, Halsdon Barton, Holsworthy Beacon, Holsworthy, Devon.
Importance of pure seeds
Your article on farm-saved seed, giving the view of a mobile seed processor (Arable, Jul 19), omits important factors concerning seed quality, in particular varietal purity and hence traceability.
Accidental admixture of varieties is of increasing concern to buyers and food processors. That comes at a time when low returns for all within the industry mean that farmers decision making must take ever greater account of the levels of risk and risk avoidance. Product liability insurance is one option but it comes at a cost. That cost is increasing annually, partly as a result of the size of claims involving consequential loss, resulting from varietal impurities.
The purchase of certified seed places the buyer in the unique position of having a product which has varietal purity levels guaranteed by legislation. Furthermore, most of the seed supplied in the UK through the HVS system exceeds the EU minimum. For example, varietal purity levels for C2 seed are 99.7%.
Farming and seed trade representatives have recently been fighting to ensure the HVS system is retained under the current review of UK seed legislation. It is the standard that producers both expect and often specifically ask for. Varietal purity is central to that and should not be overlooked when making decisions on seed sourcing.
The use of certified seed, with its guarantees backed up by law, together with traceability is, we believe, a small price to pay for peace of mind.
Paul Rooke,
Policy director, UKASTA, 21 Arlington Street, London.
Welsh lamb isnt Welsh
I am not surprised that MLCWales, the Welsh Development Agency and Welsh Lamb and Beef Promotions have failed in their bid to form a new integrated body to develop, market and promote red meat in Wales.
Without the support and expertise of farmers and butchers, this company will become another botched attempt at marketing meat in Wales. This latest effort probably suffered from too much persuasion from former rural affairs minister Carwyn Jones in his efforts to increase state control of agriculture in Wales.
Over the years there have been many failed attempts to improve the marketing of Welsh meat. Bureaucrats and politicians wish to create a high profile for themselves while the opinions of farmers and wholesale butchers are ignored. There is always a high-profile launch scheduled for the Royal Welsh or the Welsh Winter Fair, but never adequate consideration for farmers.
In the latest attempt, it was necessary to obtain the support of at least 1000 farmers but a glossy brochure achieved only half that number. However, with the support of the ex-minister, they ploughed on because that would benefit the bureaucrats. The fundamental error in the marketing of Welsh livestock was the arbitrary rule that cattle and sheep slaughtered in Wales could be marketed as Welsh.
As I travel the A55 North Wales Expressway, I pass truckloads of sheep from outside Wales about to be marketed as Welsh lamb. But the poor animals will only tread on Welsh soil for that short walk from truck to abattoir.
It is wrong to undermine consumers. They often buy Welsh lamb in the belief that it was reared and marketed by Welsh farmers without realising they have been misled by bureaucrats and large supermarket companies.
Arnold Pennant
Nnant Gwilym, Tremeirchion, St Asaph, Denbighs.
Cant compete without aid
It was sad, but not surprising to see that David Richardson has only recently accepted that UK farming cannot compete on world markets without aid. Also Sean Rickard, Oliver Walston and many others who support the government should have known that UK farming collapsed when free trade was introduced between the two world wars.
During the 1920s and 1930s world depression, cheap food imports from the Commonwealth kept wages low, and gave an edge to British made exports. But with the UK now in the EU, Britains £5bn CAP contribution still has to be paid. The government can allow cheap food imports in, but that would lead to UK farmers being paid not to produce food in the form of set-aside payments instead of area payments for what they did produce.
Before joining the EU in 1973, UK farmers were far more efficient than their European counterparts. The CAP was designed with two purposes in mind: First, to keep as many of the EU population as possible in the countryside to avoid the problems of inner-city deprivation and crime. Second, to ensure self-sufficiency in food. It is unreasonable to believe that the EU will welcome cheap food imports, even from central and eastern Europe, at least until their wages match those of western Europe.
George Scales,
Cobblers Pieces, Abbess Roding, Ongar Essex.
Confusion with measurements
Your Talking Point contributor (July 19) can get on with his farming and ignore the cartography. He seems to think that his fields have been measured by two men with a chain. But a moments thought should have made him realise that if this were so, enormous complications would result.
A deep narrow valley with a stream at the bottom would have two streams shown on a map; the other one would be the field boundary. Horizontal distances measured by triangulation will be the same as those on an aerial photograph, other things being equal. In practice of course, other things are not equal, and constant revision of maps is required.
Why is it that farmers persist in using mixed imperial and metric measurements when the metric system is so much easier? Mr Flindt has himself been forced to use metres in his calculation. The scientific community have always used metric. The British Association bolts used in small machines are metric.
When I attended a sprayer training course most students used imperial at the start, but by the end everyone used metric, it was simply so much easier.
Perhaps its because people think imperial refers to the British Empire. But that is incorrect. The word refers to the Holy Roman Empire and the empire of Philip of Spain, not that of Queen Victoria. What could be more unBritish than that?
Geoffrey Crisp
Woodside Farm, Privett, Alton, Hants.
Wedding worry for women
I write regarding your feature on pre-nuptial agreements, "An agreement that could cut stress?" (Feature, July 5). The article cites the landmark judgement in the White v White case as a cause of fear among farming families, and suggests that pre-nuptial agreements could influence the courts and avoid the risk of selling family farms. Such agreements would, presumably, be used in cases where non-farming females marry landowning males, to ensure that the latter retain their farms.
If both spouses are farmers, joint proprietors and titleholders (as in the White v White case), and are taxed on their shares, the division of the property and assets is already determined by the partnership agreement or the Partnership Act and stated in the accounts. Equal distribution of assets between equal shareholders is fair, under these circumstances, regardless of marital status.
On divorce, male partners are given the opportunity to purchase the females shares, but not vice versa. Once matrimonial law is invoked, the judiciary is obliged to redistribute the land in accordance with government policy. Land must be transferred to the male line, not the female. This policy is deemed to be in the public interest, but it is not endorsed by the public and its legality is questionable.
Women farmers and titleholders lose their land rights on marriage so they would be well-advised to remain unattached if they wish to retain title to their landed property. As with all male-female partnership agreements, whether pre-nuptial, marital, civil or businesses, the governing legislation should be carefully scrutinised before commitment.
Patricia Ann Mallaby
Womens Land Reform Group, Edinburgh.
RSPB view too raptor-friendly
I recently received an invitation to join the RSPB. I wrote back explaining that I could not join the organisation because of its policy on raptors. I received a reply stating that the society has determined that raptors are not to blame for the decline in songbird numbers but it was continuing extensive research to find out the reason.
With the letter came a leaflet on sparrowhawks saying they eat tens of millions of songbirds each year.
Mr N Bishop,
Sunnymount Farm, 143 Ringwood road, St Leonards, Ringwood, Hants.