I have been thinking about alternatives to subs, we already have fair trade items now including some milk in a way.
Do you think it would be possible to use this type of system, to bump farm gate prices to the point farmers don't need subs.
The only possible issue I have with this is it encourages farmers to increase production, which is something that the EU did in the past, and we ended up with food mountains and farmers needing heavy support. As food prices crashed and again food was not much cheaper for the public.
For me it limits the fair trade system unless it also is managed in some way to avoid the mistakes of the past.
As we will be out of the EU what about this, the government set a minimum farm gate price, this is forced on anyone buying farming products within the uk. When I say minimum I mean it's just above the average break even point or a little higher to give farmers an exeptable profit.(one they can live on without subs)
But it also sets a minimum price for the "farmers" providing imports. So no cheap imports but no trade tariffs the restriction is placed on company's and retailers that the farmer in what ever country the food comes from gets the equivalent to the uk farm gate price minimum. That means before imports start that the uk farmer will be getting over the minimum price because of transport costs.
This does a few things sets a fair price for uk farmers, encourages home grown food to be used, and pays the poor farmers in other countries a fair price for there food if we import it.
This would have to be actively run and the minimum price would be have to be set and monitored and adjusted as things went on, as farm inputs change. So do the minimum prices set.
This system also restricts massive price rises in the uk as if imports are cheaper they restrict prices from going high as imports step in as normal, with the only proviso that transport costs are factored in.
Exports...... as imports are going to be restricted by the system but not buy trade tariffs I am not sure what will happen with exports, exports will only happen if we have some to export and it will have to be at the normal prices, no minimum price set. That's the head scratch part....we cannot force our price on the rest of the world.
In the short term the govermant can maybe cover the difference if it's lower and is exported at world prices.
Which if managed right will give farmers time to move cropping into filling what we import rather than what we export.
This is just an idea, it would offer farming a way out of subsidies, it maybe cannot be done, it may not work, but it's an idea.
If anyone else has an idea that will, post it. Let's see if we can farm without subs. But without the risk of going bust overnight.
Do you think it would be possible to use this type of system, to bump farm gate prices to the point farmers don't need subs.
The only possible issue I have with this is it encourages farmers to increase production, which is something that the EU did in the past, and we ended up with food mountains and farmers needing heavy support. As food prices crashed and again food was not much cheaper for the public.
For me it limits the fair trade system unless it also is managed in some way to avoid the mistakes of the past.
As we will be out of the EU what about this, the government set a minimum farm gate price, this is forced on anyone buying farming products within the uk. When I say minimum I mean it's just above the average break even point or a little higher to give farmers an exeptable profit.(one they can live on without subs)
But it also sets a minimum price for the "farmers" providing imports. So no cheap imports but no trade tariffs the restriction is placed on company's and retailers that the farmer in what ever country the food comes from gets the equivalent to the uk farm gate price minimum. That means before imports start that the uk farmer will be getting over the minimum price because of transport costs.
This does a few things sets a fair price for uk farmers, encourages home grown food to be used, and pays the poor farmers in other countries a fair price for there food if we import it.
This would have to be actively run and the minimum price would be have to be set and monitored and adjusted as things went on, as farm inputs change. So do the minimum prices set.
This system also restricts massive price rises in the uk as if imports are cheaper they restrict prices from going high as imports step in as normal, with the only proviso that transport costs are factored in.
Exports...... as imports are going to be restricted by the system but not buy trade tariffs I am not sure what will happen with exports, exports will only happen if we have some to export and it will have to be at the normal prices, no minimum price set. That's the head scratch part....we cannot force our price on the rest of the world.
In the short term the govermant can maybe cover the difference if it's lower and is exported at world prices.
Which if managed right will give farmers time to move cropping into filling what we import rather than what we export.
This is just an idea, it would offer farming a way out of subsidies, it maybe cannot be done, it may not work, but it's an idea.
If anyone else has an idea that will, post it. Let's see if we can farm without subs. But without the risk of going bust overnight.
Best to only drink that outside too