yellow belly
Member
- Location
- south west lincolnshire
Stilton cheese is marketed in the USA
But the U.K. is mostly not self deficient in food
We are not allowed to use many techniques or products which are banned for environmental reasons
Will Agricultural imports from US and other countries be damaging to UK farmers
- Thread starter Seed&Grain
- Start date
But the U.K. is mostly not self deficient in food
We are not allowed to use many techniques or products which are banned for environmental reasons
betweenthelines
Member
- Location
- southwest
Where do you think the soya meal, grain maize, palm kernal etc used in animal feeds comes from? And do you really believe it's produced to UK standards?
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
And do the animals mind if it possibly isn't?
If you wanted to spend a little extra on animal feed that is produced in accordance with "better" arbitrary rules, is there anything that would prevent you from doing so - other than a possible lack of supply?
kiwi pom
Member
- Location
- canterbury NZ
Yeah, right...
No different than a grain store with a leaky roof, doors that are only shut on inspection day (after you've taken the stuff out that's not supposed to be in there) birds perched above the grain, rats etc.
Not everyone's farm of course but they do still exist and do still pass inspection.
What does a non assured UK grain store have to have?
I agree that different countries have different rules though, some worse than others.
As @Hindsight we're often talking about different production methods, not standards. Are UK farmers worse of as a whole compared to other countries or do the rules, regulations, advantages and disadvantages balance themselves out.
Good arguments on both sides I think.
foxbox
Member
- Location
- West Northants
But would it be the country trying to export or the producers trying to export as there's a huge difference? If a producer group in the US with equal or better standards to us could prove it was only their product to be exported could we still object, even if their scale and labour costs etc bear no resemblance to ours?
I think the idea that we're going to be protected by a blanket ban on imports from a country is wishful thinking; a trade deal demanding parity of standards would sound good politically but in reality probably wouldn't offer us much more protection.
- Location
- Bay of Plenty NZ
Congratulations on meeting SAI Global standards, as SAI is an Australian based company operating in North American Asia and Europe you may quite possibly not be alone in meeting those standards.
I appreciate the respect you have for NZ farmers although I am a little puzzled by the comment "given their situation" what do you think our situation is.
I do not see it as laughable or incorrect that food and environmental standards are at least as high as the UK , it may be 20 years ago when I left England but have been back several times, in the last 5 years I have been back every year so am still aware of agricultural practices in the UK, standards are high but no higher than many other countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, New Zealand )
It is foolish to believe that your standards are higher than the rest of the world and does the UK farming industry no benefit to believe so,
- Location
- Bay of Plenty NZ
NO it doesn't.
What it means is that there are different farming practices carried out in both countries that are in place to take account of the different conditions that prevail in each country, a long as the welfare of the animal is not compromised I do not have a problem with either method.
Why do so many UK farmers think that because another country farms in a different way then it must be wrong and the only way is the British way.
farmerm
Member
- Location
- Shropshire
More freedom for imports will of course hurt UK ag. Plenty of countries can export food into this country much cheaper than we can produce it here, at least with the current position of Sterling.
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
It depends what you tell yourself as you brush your teeth in the morning.
One thing that seems to set GB apart is the thorough platinum plating of any concievable rule or regulation that could create a job for someone who wouldn't otherwise have one - so I can see how the confusion could be that it makes a tangible difference to the produce - farm standards do that on their own, or at least should do that.
The crux is added production cost and insularity, which adds a lot of fat to be skimmed off by the middle-men - maybe that is what "our situation" is lacking?
So in that context it is astonishing that someone who lurks in the middle, is claiming it is a "low productivity sector" when it is perhaps them, and the multitudes of their ilk, that are the problem; fostering all this damp-pizzled handwringing, it benefits themselves?
- Location
- Cornwall
I’m not too familiar with the livestock/meat side of export and related standards, but with grains, fruit, nuts etc export standards are largely driven by residue levels and an exhaustive testing regime. Someone rightly pointed out that we can use products like Treflan here still, but there will be a residue test for that in order to export into the EU/UK. Any products not used in that country will have a nil detect level set for residue. Since trifluralin is not likely to be detected in grain it would be fine to continue to use the product.
When and if the EU bans certain triazoles however, there will be a nil detect level set on those export products and Australian grains will have to be free from any residue. This will likely mean a significant rethink/restriction on fungicide use patterns for those export crops. We have already started planning for this scenario. If we want to export to the EU we have to tow the line.
China has (surprisingly) very stringent residue levels for imports. As one of our key export markets we have to abide by their rules.
More bits of paper floating around the system doesn’t necessarily equate to better standards, any more than more over paid, under performing bureaucrats equates to less transgressions of the rules. It just makes the machine more unwieldy and costly to run from what I can see. That advisor to Gove suggested that UK Ag was unproductive and inefficient... perhaps he should try advising on DEFRA or the EA?!
When and if the EU bans certain triazoles however, there will be a nil detect level set on those export products and Australian grains will have to be free from any residue. This will likely mean a significant rethink/restriction on fungicide use patterns for those export crops. We have already started planning for this scenario. If we want to export to the EU we have to tow the line.
China has (surprisingly) very stringent residue levels for imports. As one of our key export markets we have to abide by their rules.
More bits of paper floating around the system doesn’t necessarily equate to better standards, any more than more over paid, under performing bureaucrats equates to less transgressions of the rules. It just makes the machine more unwieldy and costly to run from what I can see. That advisor to Gove suggested that UK Ag was unproductive and inefficient... perhaps he should try advising on DEFRA or the EA?!
Last edited:
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
That's the fooker
With less fat-cats comes less drive to continue to do what isn't really working or what doesn't pay well.
- Location
- Cornwall
That's the fooker
With less fat-cats comes less drive to continue to do what isn't really working or what doesn't pay well.
At the end of the day, Australia and NZ are net exporters of food. It’s big business and it’s in their interests to play by the rules, be professional and adapt accordingly.
Now there’s a useful phrase... “adapt accordingly”!
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
I don't mutilate my lambs at all, because I don't have flies and parasite issues, because I graze properly according to the conditions and time of year- but what others may or may not do or be allowed to do is not my concern, how can it be??
Many of us are blinded because of prejudiced information, I can be just as guilty of that trap myself - but the scary part of dealing with the US is it isn't, generally, how they operate.
If the milk price drops, production drops, they are more adaptable than many food producers because they deal in the present not the past.
So much posted on here skips the present because it is painful, and the past much better suits the agenda - so the future is anyone's.
It is highly unlikely to suit farmers, as a result of this - because in terms of chemicals and inputs, less is more - and that is how you protect yourself...
- Location
- Bay of Plenty NZ
"High" welfare standards ? Where the remains of sheep are fed to cows resulting in BSE and pig farmers evade the regulations feeding untreaded food waste to pigs causing a devastating outbreak of F&M.
- Location
- Cornwall
It is probably fair to conclude that much of the current “welfare regulation” inflicted on the UK and Europe is as a result of historic poor practices and the loss of trust by the consumer. It’s probably equally fair to conclude that, without those outbreaks in Australia and NZ, they have never lost the trust of their domestic or export markets. In fact Aus/NZ meat is considered high welfare and low environmental impact by many markets.
And that’s before we mention the fiasco of bTB, a raft of regulation that appears to do nothing for livestock or wildlife welfare. As I understand it, bTB was swiftly and concisely dealt with in both countries here without the need for years of f**king around.
Having said that, live export here continues to make headlines from time to time. This has resulted in the loss of a big chunk of the lucrative middle eastern market for lamb.
- Location
- Bay of Plenty NZ
Aus/NZ primary products be that milk, beef, lamb, fruit or wine are considered by the markets to be both welfare and environmentally friendly, both countries, as exporters of primary produce also run very effective marketing campaigns around the world and are hard to compete with.
Agricultural imports have the potential to be damaging to UK farmers, as the UK is a net importer of food it could be beneficial for agricultural to target the higher end of the market.
Look for solutions instead of finding problems.
Last edited: