Farming Matters !

'Farming Matters!'
Aug 2001

Even before B.S.E. and Foot and Mouth Disease, British farming was in crisis due to the fall in prices of foodstuffs on the world-wide market. The strong Pound cost the average 1,000-acre cereal farmer £30,000 a year in subsidies. Whether we agree with the principle of subsidies or not the fact is that our Euro-zone competitors depend upon them. The reality is that food can be produced cheaper overseas, where labour is cheap and animal and human welfare regulations are minimal.

(True figures are difficult to obtain owing to the apparent ‘adjustment’ of totals for previous years!)

In the year ending June 2001 the average income per farmer rose to £8267 from a low in 1999 / 2000 of £7100. These figures are based on a total income from farming of £1.8 billion in 2000 / 2001 compared with £1.75 in 1999 / 2000. (n.b. this last figure is variously given as £1.88 billion: £1.75 billion or £1.57 billion. Take your choice but be aware that the true facts can be hidden by these kind of statistics coming from DEFRA)

Whichever set of figures one uses there has been a tremendous drop in income since the heady days of 1995 when the total income was over £5 billion; about £24,000 / person.

Average net income from cereal farms is expected to be around £4,400 for 2000 / 2001 and prospects for 2002 are not much better.

In the year ending June 2001, a total of 5600 farmers and farm workers left the industry.
Compare this with over 20,000 in each of the previous years.
The total labour force on farms including farmers and their spouses is now 363,000.

In the short term what is needed is solidarity and support. In the long term we need to do some hard thinking together about priorities. What kind of farming? What kind of land use? What kind of communities? and what kind of countryside do we want our grandchildren and great-grandchildren to inherit?

Suggestion:- Get in touch with a local farmer and ask if he can organise an informal visit to his farm for you and your friends. If you belong to a church or a local group like the W.I. or Probus why not ask a local farmer to talk about his life and work? If you live in an urban area get in touch with a local branch of the National Farmers Union (NFU) and ask for their advice and help. It is important that as many people as possible know and understand the complicated process and true cost of food production

(If you fail to get help locally please get in touch with me - details on 'Home Page’)