Looming food crisis,what can uk ag industry do?

Cowabunga · Apr 25, 2022

case44 said:
I have just seen this.View attachment 1031480

The resistance to famers covering their rising costs has begun then. Be very aware that this may well prevail for the next six months or so, while shelves are still well stocked, partly by farmers de-stocking. These companies are very like governments, only looking at the short term rather than long term security of supply. They know only too well that farmers are mugs enough to ramp up production given the slightest opportunity even if it means going deeper into debt if their banks allow them to.

Tarw Coch · Apr 25, 2022

holwellcourtfarm said:
The nation's diet was WAY more healthy in WW2 than now. Ultra processed grain based foods lie behind most of the current crescendo of ill health in the UK.

Less food doesn't necessarily mean less health...

Not sure my father would entirely agree with that, he put the relatively early death of his parents down to hard living during the war years whilst raising a family............although there’s certainly a point that much of the nations diet isn’t particularly healthy nowadays, too much sugar and salt in processed foods

Ffermer Bach · Apr 25, 2022

JP1 said:
It was me

The change in dynamic now is that the eco loons want to take marginal and hill land that would have been extensive ruminant grassland and plant trees on it

and the grass fed meat produced here, is higher in omega 3 fatty acids and far more healthy than the ultra processed vegi type food, that is fuelling the obesity epidemic.

som farmer · Apr 25, 2022

Lowland1 said:
Nope they need to eat more greens. As previously stated people were much healthier previously than today. Most of this thread is taken up with ‘if fertiliser is too expensive I’m not growing corn or yields will be down and people will be hungry’ However if a majority of grain in UK is fed to livestock and it becomes scarce then if it’s a case of feeding it to chickens or people it’s going to be people. At no point to I advocate fake meat or processed foods against proper food. Billions of people throughout the world exist on low meat diets getting their protein from other sources because they’re poor. That might happen in the UK.

spot on.
feeding high amounts of grain, is wrong to fatten cattle - unless there is surplus, don't really think there will be a surplus for long though.
But you cannot blame farmers for that, that is down to what the mkt wants. Most of us produce what the mkt requires, we have to, to get a semi decent return. And yet there are breeds, that will finish off grass, but processors don't like them.

Putting a tin hat on, one of the problems with the beef industry, is a lack of conformity, with the cattle they produce, looking at 1 massive beef lot, in the USA, killing 5,000 a day, 5 days a week, and all carcasses break down, to one basic range/box. That saves a huge amount of costs, all the 'output' is a standard size, buyers know exactly what they order, will appear.
I don't think its possible in the UK, farmers are to independently minded, and processors want to screw us.

You can imagine the amount of research, going into finding cheaper sorts of protein, insects, for example. But it is all aimed at increasing profits for retailers.
Climate change, populations needs and food production, really need a sensible, joined up policy, agreed by all three. At the moment, there isn't a remote chance of that happening. Climate change advocate mass tree planting, and less animals for meat. retailers are only interested in market share and profit, and farming is caught between the two, and probably despised by both.

Until agreement is reached, about a united forward plan, we will lurch from one disaster, to the next, and nothing we can do about it. It will be politicians that will alter it, knowing them, it will be eye-catching, sounding brilliant, but completely impactable. So nothing much will change, until there are massive social problems/unrest, by society, a knee jerk response, leading to something worse.

Jackov Altraids · Apr 25, 2022

glasshouse said:
This coming year is a great opportunity to make some money for once, yet i cant believe some dont want to plant.

The thing is @glasshouse, I do wish you every success with that, but we all know that if there should be a poor harvest or poor price at the end of the year, you will be the first to call for financial help because it's all gone wrong and you were only trying your best to feed the world.........

Scouse eater · Apr 25, 2022

I watched Wartime Farm on telly a while ago. In early 1940s in ww2, the 'war ag' said that grazing land for cattle etc had to be dug up and sown with wheat or spuds, as that would feed more people than the animals would. However, by 1943 the yields had dropped drastically because the land was exhausted of nutrients due to no animals manure going into the land. They couldnt get much chemical fertiliser due to the restrictions on shipping etc during the war.
It looks to me that similar conditions are starting to happen (fertiliser/ oil /food shortages) due to the war in Ukraine and the fallout from the lockdowns on the container/shipping industry. So the way i see it, paying farmers to leave farming, planting trees to offset carbon on good agricultural land and building houses on farmland is just stupid!
Makes no sense to me...

4course · Apr 25, 2022

glasshouse said:
This coming year is a great opportunity to make some money for once, yet i cant believe some dont want to plant.

you could well be right but it I reckon it will be made in the office and not in the field

holwellcourtfarm · Apr 25, 2022

Scouse eater said:
I watched Wartime Farm on telly a while ago. In early 1940s in ww2, the 'war ag' said that grazing land for cattle etc had to be dug up and sown with wheat or spuds, as that would feed more people than the animals would. However, by 1943 the yields had dropped drastically because the land was exhausted of nutrients due to no animals manure going into the land. They couldnt get much chemical fertiliser due to the restrictions on shipping etc during the war.
It looks to me that similar conditions are starting to happen (fertiliser/ oil /food shortages) due to the war in Ukraine and the fallout from the lockdowns on the container/shipping industry. So the way i see it, paying farmers to leave farming, planting trees to offset carbon on good agricultural land and building houses on farmland is just stupid!
Makes no sense to me...

Chemical fertiliser only really got going AFTER WW2. During the war all the ammonia was needed for munition manufacture. After the war the ammonia manufacturers needed a market so created one in nitrogen fertilisers......

Huno · Apr 25, 2022

Scouse eater said:
I watched Wartime Farm on telly a while ago. In early 1940s in ww2, the 'war ag' said that grazing land for cattle etc had to be dug up and sown with wheat or spuds, as that would feed more people than the animals would. However, by 1943 the yields had dropped drastically because the land was exhausted of nutrients due to no animals manure going into the land. They couldnt get much chemical fertiliser due to the restrictions on shipping etc during the war.
It looks to me that similar conditions are starting to happen (fertiliser/ oil /food shortages) due to the war in Ukraine and the fallout from the lockdowns on the container/shipping industry. So the way i see it, paying farmers to leave farming, planting trees to offset carbon on good agricultural land and building houses on farmland is just stupid!
Makes no sense to me...

Try joining the military and they will quote " preserved occupation" rubbish... cause you are needed to produce food...it opens you eyes to their global games... or rot on the land... or make it work

glasshouse · Apr 25, 2022

4course said:
you could well be right but it I reckon it will be made in the office and not in the field

U planting window boxes?

glasshouse · Apr 25, 2022

Base Farmer John H said:
Try joining the military and they will quote " preserved occupation" rubbish... cause you are needed to produce food...it opens you eyes to their global games... or rot on the land... or make it work

Please explain?

Huno · Apr 25, 2022

Scouse eater said:
I watched Wartime Farm on telly a while ago. In early 1940s in ww2, the 'war ag' said that grazing land for cattle etc had to be dug up and sown with wheat or spuds, as that would feed more people than the animals would. However, by 1943 the yields had dropped drastically because the land was exhausted of nutrients due to no animals manure going into the land. They couldnt get much chemical fertiliser due to the restrictions on shipping etc during the war.
It looks to me that similar conditions are starting to happen (fertiliser/ oil /food shortages) due to the war in Ukraine and the fallout from the lockdowns on the container/shipping industry. So the way i see it, paying farmers to leave farming, planting trees to offset carbon on good agricultural land and building houses on farmland is just stupid!
Makes no sense to me...

Try joining the military and they will quote " preserved occupation" rubbish... cause you are needed to produce food...it opens you eyes to their global games... or rot on the land... or make it work

glasshouse said:
Please explain?

Preserved occupation stops active farmers from serving their country in wartime as food production is considered a less strategic occuption... unless you are called Boris of course!!

glasshouse · Apr 25, 2022

Base Farmer John H said:
Try joining the military and they will quote " preserved occupation" rubbish... cause you are needed to produce food...it opens you eyes to their global games... or rot on the land... or make it work

Preserved occupation stops active farmers from serving their country in wartime as food production is considered a less strategic occuption... unless you are called Boris of course!!

More strategic u mean?

Huno · Apr 25, 2022

sorry in 1943.. food production was more stategic than serving in the cannon fodder brigade... just watch the film" land girls" all will make sense

glasshouse · Apr 25, 2022

Base Farmer John H said:
sorry in 1943.. food production was more stategic than serving in the cannon fodder brigade... just watch the film" land girls" all will make sense

Seen it all before
Farms were bought in 1939 for young men to avoid the war

DaveGrohl · Apr 25, 2022

Cowabunga said:
The resistance to famers covering their rising costs has begun then. Be very aware that this may well prevail for the next six months or so, while shelves are still well stocked, partly by farmers de-stocking. These companies are very like governments, only looking at the short term rather than long term security of supply. They know only too well that farmers are mugs enough to ramp up production given the slightest opportunity even if it means going deeper into debt if their banks allow them to.

Do you know any farmers that are "ramping up production" in response to mahoosive cost increases?

Cowabunga · Apr 25, 2022

DaveGrohl said:
Do you know any farmers that are "ramping up production" in response to mahoosive cost increases?

Three off-hand. I suspect two others within 10 miles radius [the sea takes out 180 degrees].

ollie989898 · Apr 25, 2022

The NFU telling people to produce more food at a time like this is utterly insane.

som farmer · Apr 25, 2022

produce less, for higher prices, simple.
NFU, no f-ing use. Utterly is a good word to include, but where ?

DaveGrohl · Apr 25, 2022

Cowabunga said:
Three off-hand. I suspect two others within 10 miles radius [the sea takes out 180 degrees].

And how are they planning on doing this? Putting more fert on? Feeding extra cake? Or taking on more land?

Looming food crisis,what can uk ag industry do?

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100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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