Archive 2001
'Farming Matters!':- Facts on Farms and statistics.
'Burning Issues':- Globalisation; Crisis and Recovery; Global Sourcing.
'Food for Thought':- Globalisation; the Church post FMD; Farming in Crisis; Food labelling; GM crop debate; Transport and Travel
Foot and Mouth:- Reports, comments and help

'Burning Issues' - including Rural Post Offices; Abattoirs; Rare Breeds; GM Crops; Food Safety

Rural Poverty:- Rural Idyll? Things are not what they seem

'Food' for Thought - Globalisation; The Church post-FMD; Foot and Mouth; The cost of food production; Farming in crisis; Food labelling;GM crop debate; Transport and Travel

Radical Changes - job losses in British farming (Jan 2000)

Farming Matters!: - From Farm to Supermarket (Dec.2000)

'Future Directions for Agriculture and the Countryside': October 2000

The Countryside Matters (1): - True cost of food;taxes and the countryside.

The Countryside Matters (2): - Development in the countryside.

'Food for Thought': - January, May 2000; Rural Transport: June/July, August 2000;
'Best Value' November 2000

Archive 1999 -
Abattoirs;
Food for Thought;
Radical Changes (small farms)
Farming Matters - From Farm to Supermarket and Facts about Farming (Dec 99)

Job losses in British Farming:

Mr. Sean Rickard's outspoken critique on British farming and the economy ( see my Article in this web site 'Radical Changes - Autumn '99 - Archive) has been commented upon this week by Ben Gill, the president of the N.F.U. He described Mr. Rickard as being 'out of touch' and 'insulting' over the possibility of losing 100,000 jobs in the farming industry's restructuring over the next 10 years.

Is it not possible that, unpalatable as it may seem, Sean Rickard may be right?

In my reckoning 10 multiplied by 18,000 (jobs lost last year) brings us to a total of 180,000 in the 10 years to 2008/9! Mr. Gill and the N.F.U. leadership should be asking 'Why ?'

I ask again as I asked in October -

"What kind of farming and countryside do the British people want ?"

In a week when the Bishops of the Church of England have challenged the Government to develop a long-term strategy for British agriculture, everyone concerned about rural communities should be making a positive contribution to the debate.

We need to get the whole population onside. Who pays for the 'Picture Window' effect of cattle and sheep peacefully grazing on beautiful meadows ? Certainly not the shopper looking for cheap processed food in the Supermarkets !

T.W.B. Jan. 2000
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