Beef / Lamb & Pig Price Tracker

Hfd Cattle

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Hereford
I dont think they are going home tbh, i think they have moved up the ladder and got better jobs. After brexit i can see africans being the next poor sods flown over to do the jobs nobody else wants. I havent seen a poor fruit farmer so perhaps they should pay more.
We had Eastern European tenants in 2 of our houses and they left to go back home off fruit farms.
 

Frank-the-Wool

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Sussex
We had Eastern European tenants in 2 of our houses and they left to go back home off fruit farms.

It appears that many have left early and there are a lot of apples that are struggling to get picked. Some soft fruit farms had to abandon good crops due to lack of staff.
Our abattoirs will grind to a halt without the Eastern Europeans, but perhaps all the Brexit people or the Extinction Rebellion lot will get stuck in and help out to make sure we leave on 31st October!
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
It appears that many have left early and there are a lot of apples that are struggling to get picked. Some soft fruit farms had to abandon good crops due to lack of staff.
Our abattoirs will grind to a halt without the Eastern Europeans, but perhaps all the Brexit people or the Extinction Rebellion lot will get stuck in and help out to make sure we leave on 31st October!
If there was demand for the apples they would of got picked. Project fear is alive and well on TFF. Irish firms were going to move there abattoirs over here along with all their staff not so long ago in a threat to beat tariffs so i stand by my comments that these staff shortages are smoke and mirrors.
 

Frank-the-Wool

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Sussex
If there was demand for the apples they would of got picked. Project fear is alive and well on TFF. Irish firms were going to move there abattoirs over here along with all their staff not so long ago in a threat to beat tariffs so i stand by my comments that these staff shortages are smoke and mirrors.

Not true I am afraid as this is reality for many of the large fruit farms in Herefordshire and Kent.
My neighbour who is picking apples is 40% down on labour, this is reality not some imagination about the so called Project Fear!
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
Not true I am afraid as this is reality for many of the large fruit farms in Herefordshire and Kent.
My neighbour who is picking apples is 40% down on labour, this is reality not some imagination about the so called Project Fear!
There bulldozing orchards in herefordshire and contracts are being bought out because of lack of demand. £20/hr will get them picked.
 

Hfd Cattle

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Hereford
I think the orchards being bulldozed are cider fruit . It's the hand picked fruit thats not being picked for the domestic market .
We are letting our cattle eat our cider fruit . Bit reluctant to bulldoze them out ......you never know they might just be wanted again .
 

Frank-the-Wool

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
East Sussex
I am afraid Werzle you had better get a job picking apples. It is not too bad at least it is mostly clean and regular hours. If you are a good picker you can earn £100 a day without any trouble. You might even get put up in a nice caravan with all mod cons for a very reasonable price. You might have a shop on site but it might only be selling Polish or other East european food.

In Kent huge areas are now being planted with new varieties of apples and as the crop this year is down the price is very good. However the industry relies on casual labour to pick this fruit. These people have for many years come from the EU.
There is a saying that the further East you go the faster the hand to eye movement becomes. Meaning that the poorer and hungrier people tend to pick more quickly!
 

Werzle

Member
Location
Midlands
I am afraid Werzle you had better get a job picking apples. It is not too bad at least it is mostly clean and regular hours. If you are a good picker you can earn £100 a day without any trouble. You might even get put up in a nice caravan with all mod cons for a very reasonable price. You might have a shop on site but it might only be selling Polish or other East european food.

In Kent huge areas are now being planted with new varieties of apples and as the crop this year is down the price is very good. However the industry relies on casual labour to pick this fruit. These people have for many years come from the EU.
There is a saying that the further East you go the faster the hand to eye movement becomes. Meaning that the poorer and hungrier people tend to pick more quickly!
Its ironic that the wealthy now need the poor and hungry and not the other way around. Most places that have always paid and treated staff well have still got staff, those that have treated and paid them harshly are rightly having the tables turned imo. Is this still the beef and lamb price tracking thread?!
 
I think the orchards being bulldozed are cider fruit . It's the hand picked fruit thats not being picked for the domestic market .
We are letting our cattle eat our cider fruit . Bit reluctant to bulldoze them out ......you never know they might just be wanted again .
Where’s the cider apples coming from if they don’t want yours???
 

Boydvalley

Member
Location
Bath
??? Yes plenty thanks , with my eyes and ears open . I see the foreign workers earning better money in better jobs like delivery vans, hotels etc etc, not living in a caravan/sheds, while working in mud and sh#te or blood and guts. Money will find workers just like it finds everything else.
That is correct. Many businesses have had cheap east European labour because of the exchange rate meant workers could send home or take home enough money to set themselves up. Not only has the exchange rate gone against them, the cost of living has risen in East Europe. It doesn’t make sense to come over.

If businesses want them they will have to pay to attract them.

It’s about time this race to the bottom stopped.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,291
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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