Mail on Sunday front page tommorrow :-(

glasshouse · Mar 1, 2020

Exfarmer said:
They are preparing the country forthe shape of a deal with the EU. We will give them our fish take their food with no tarriffs but accept tarriffs against our agricultural imports to them, in return they will let the city operate across Europe as has happened up till now.
it will be win win for London who was dead against Brexit and a good stuffing for the rural and coastal populations who voted for.
There will be scraps for the North of course, one came out this morning , re nationalisation of Northern railway network, which will make sod all difference, to services.
Then in the summer when the full details of the deal emerge the nation will be distracted by marriages and babies in Downing street

Spot on

Cowabunga · Mar 1, 2020

Martin Holden said:
Does Tesco really have a bigger T/O than UK Ag’? Remarkable if it does and just goes to show the in balance in what is the most important industry.

unlacedgecko said:
UK ag total output 2017/18 £26.5bil
Tesco turnover for same period £51bil

You see Martin!!!! How do you think those figures look to the powers that be?

glasshouse · Mar 1, 2020

JP1 said:
Discussion point really. Farmers in UK and US driven by commodity returns having to go for expanding holding size to stand still. Maybe a taper on sub , planning restrictions etc

From the tories???????????

Cowabunga · Mar 1, 2020

br jones said:
Amazing isn't it ,i quoted something from the mail six months or so ago and was told by the duck and certain moderators that you shouldnt belive anything that rag says

'They' are not saying this. It is not a comment piece it is quoting a government adviser. Let's not even start to look at what Sean Rickard will be advising unless you want a seizure.

Turkish_FR · Mar 1, 2020

curlietailz said:
Tim Leunig argues that the food sector is not 'critically important' to the economy – and that agriculture and fishery production 'certainly isn't'.

May be logical, we should look for pros and cons of it and compare them.

Producing own food VS Importing food

Hindsight · Mar 1, 2020

Cowabunga said:
'They' are not saying this. It is not a comment piece it is quoting a government adviser. Let's not even start to look at what Sean Rickard will be advising unless you want a seizure.

I have been assuming for a few months that Sean Rickard must be having the longest wet dream in history.

Cowabunga · Mar 1, 2020

Hindsight said:
Why of course. First TESCO do not just sell food! They diversified a while ago! And when that food leaves the shop it has been processed, packaged, transported etc. Farmers produce raw materials, mainly commodities, cereals, beef etc. Although within those commodities some clever marketing may differentiate and attach a specific value. As I posted earlier in the thread the question for UK ag is where does the government and primary users of those commodities wish to source - UK or elsewhere.

It is only one of several massive supermarkets though and each of their individual food sales alone dwarf UK agriculture. The point being that UK ag does indeed look as if it is almost insignificant to the economy to those that have near zero understanding of the food chain and business and, specifically, the rural economy. I should add, or of the nation's food security, which should be right up there at the top of priorities.

czechmate · Mar 1, 2020

Hindsight said:
Gracious you are older than I thought - would put a smiley but emoji thingy not working!! Cheers.

We had the pleasure of having lunch with a SAS veteran from a 1944 mission here, last july. But he wasn’t far short of a 100.
I too am impressed that two tone is climbing up and down combine steps

Cowabunga · Mar 1, 2020

kiwi pom said:
I don't think UK Ag is in that bad a shape is it? There's certainly no shortage of customers. Dairy is a bit shaky but many are expanding, there will be a liquid market for some years yet and the low input spring calvers seem to be able to compete with other low cost countries in the powder market.

The liquid market is a dead loss due to supermarkets using milk as almost a loss-leader. It has become a burden and downward pressure on the industry as processors compete with each other to bid down the price they charge to the supermarkets. Sainsburys supermarket alone has cause severe disruption and bankruptcies in the processing industry lately which has left many farmers missing several month's income with no compensation. Marks and Spencer, on the other hand, who also processed with the same company, have paid farmers directly for the milk they supplied.

Shep · Mar 1, 2020

kiwi pom said:
I'll get yelled at for this but whenever anything like this is discussed the whole of UK Ag seems to be thrown together as one and every farmer is working night and day to feed the British public, who all need their arses kicked because they don't appreciate it. Not really the case though is it?
Plenty of farmers getting paid for environmental schemes or growing crops for AD plants, or even making thousands of bales of hay for the horsey market. What about all the contract farmers out there pumping out cheap feed grain to load straight on a boat, while milling wheat is imported. Cant see any of that helping the British public much or those that farm that way giving any thought to what is needed for the domestic market. Easier to just blame the public for everything even though they have nothing to do with what people farm. They just buy what's put in front of them on the shop shelves.

I'm off to hide.

But what about the people who are working hard producing food? They definitely do exist and more than likely in the vast majority, of course they are supposed to put up or shut up aren't they? Just because of a handful of landlords and digesters and the opinion of people on the other side of the world.
Anyway who's blaming the public? This is about some moron writing in a newspaper.

Cowabunga · Mar 1, 2020

Two Tone said:
Bloke’s a complete tosser!
What proportion of our weekly shop at the supermarket is food?

So the UK stops farming. What does that do to our balance of payments?

On top of which, the countryside would look a bit of a mess.
Who is going to pay to stop it all becoming a wilderness?
We all become park keepers or foresters.
Is Govt. going to pay for that?
How much will that cost it?
How long before people start complaining about the cost?

We might as well keep farming it and do something useful like producing food!

He’d do well to remember that if it wasn’t for us, he’d be speaking German!

Why do you seem to assume that anyone is under any obligation to pay farmers anything? Or indeed that the population at large want to stop the countryside becoming a wilderness?

Still Farming · Mar 1, 2020

vantage said:
Foods only important if you’re hungry.

Starve him

Derrick Hughes · Mar 1, 2020

Dont know why you are giving the Idiot Air Time

Henarar · Mar 1, 2020

Cowabunga said:
Why do you seem to assume that anyone is under any obligation to pay farmers anything? Or indeed that the population at large want to stop the countryside becoming a wilderness?

Perhaps the population don't want to use the roads and footpaths in the countryside after all wilderness has none of these

czechmate · Mar 1, 2020

Forage Trader said:
Dont know why you are giving the Idiot Air Time

At least they are your own idiots now

Cowabunga · Mar 1, 2020

Henarar said:
Perhaps the population don't want to use the roads and footpaths in the countryside after all wilderness has none of these

Yes they do. You are thinking of the Australian outback and other depopulated places. The UK is quite different and there are already plenty of wildernesses here that have popular footpaths and the occasional road passing through. Basically a wilderness in the UK would be a farm abandoned for several years with land reverting to whatever it reverts to.

unlacedgecko · Mar 1, 2020

Cowabunga said:
Why do you seem to assume that anyone is under any obligation to pay farmers anything? Or indeed that the population at large want to stop the countryside becoming a wilderness?

this should be at the start and end of every lesson in every ag college everywhere.

Henarar · Mar 1, 2020

unlacedgecko said:
this should be at the start and end of every lesson in every ag college everywhere.

Would you class yourself as a farmer?

Two Tone · Mar 1, 2020

Cowabunga said:
Why do you seem to assume that anyone is under any obligation to pay farmers anything? Or indeed that the population at large want to stop the countryside becoming a wilderness?

Staying the obvious, subsidies and support aside, if farmers don’t get paid anything, they won’t grow food.

But the Bloke’s still a tosser! And here in his terms it why:
Without some form of support, Rents will collapse. Landlords won’t be able to get anybody to farm their land, reducing its value.
The price of Farmland for Owner occupiers will also collapse too.
All of a sudden all Agricultural debt becomes completely understandable and the Banks call all their loans in.
This causes even more of land sales, reducing its value even more and the Banks collapse!

This then bleeds into all House mortgages and the value of Bricks and Mortar collapses too.

WTF (Who) does this twunt think he is and where did he learn his maths?

What a complete and utter idiot!

Pennine Ploughing · Mar 1, 2020

Forage Trader said:
Dont know why you are giving the Idiot Air Time

yes there is a few about

Mail on Sunday front page tommorrow :-(

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