An open goal?

[anzani]

Published today by Sir John Redwood MP for Wokingham on his blogpost :

John Redwood's Diary – For freedom and prosperity

January 23, 2021 6 Comments

The U.K. needs to earn its living

"
The answers I have been getting from DEFRA are worrying. They show no sense of urgency to use our new freedoms to promote more growing and rearing home grown food. They are not standing up for U.K. interests in interpreting the Trade Agreement with the EU. They are not bringing forward early plans to raise our fishing capacity or to expand our market gardening areas.
The thrust of policy seems to be to wilding our landscape instead of farming it better.There are too many proposed grants for so called environmental gains and not enough for food production. Many of us want to slash the food mikes, employ more U.K. people and enjoy more good U.K. produced food.That means extending the season for vegetables and soft fruit with more glasshouses and polytunnels. It means working with the food manufacturing industry to put more U.K. produce into imaginative meals and good recipes for ready meals. It means strong U.K. branding.
I see some of the supermarkets understand U.K. consumer wishes. Many fresh food items have the Union flag on. None carry the EU, Spanish or Dutch flags. Let’s go one step further and have a farming policy which delivers us more great British food. The world does not owe us a living and it is not good to be so dependent on overseas supply of things we can grow for ourselves. "

It is possible for you to post "Comments" by following the link at the article end.



It occurs to me that this might be a golden opportunity for us all to express views that at least this non rural MP may be unused to receiving. What's to lose?

 

[Yale]

Surprise,surprise,politicians starting to realise the days of cheap food may be over and they want to ensure farmers keep giving food away instead of repairing the damage done to farming ecosystems.

 

[Raider112]

It sometimes feels as if the world is against us but the penny will drop with more and more, the biggest problem we have shares the Prime Minister's bed unfortunately.

 

[Exfarmer]

The trouble is that the swivel eyed Loonies, to quote John Major, are precisely that. Not one on the right has a clue what the others are doing.
while all farmers are happy to get behind an agenda of producing more UK food, so many of those on the right are happy to trade away every last drop of milk, grain of wheat, morsel of steak, for selling UK services to countries from Albania to Venezuela, in return for raw materials to manufacture into burgers and coffee to feed the masses. As long as it is cheap and I and my mates can make a profit , eh Bojo

 

[Secret Agronomist]

Surprise,surprise,politicians starting to realise the days of cheap food may be over and they want to ensure farmers keep giving food away instead of repairing the damage done to farming ecosystems.

Oh no, they will want both.

 

[Hjcarter]

Tim Leunig.. Enough said....

...but.... what can/ should we do as individuals? NFU, Red Tractor, DEFRA, etc should have a strategy but whilst we're waiting for that what can we do.

I can't see anything getting better if we as an industry (nation) wait for someone else to start helping us and griping about it won't change anything...

 

[Bald Rick]

It sometimes feels as if the world is against us but the penny will drop with more and more, the biggest problem we have shares the Prime Minister's bed unfortunately.

What have you got against Dilyn? No tongues?

 

[Secret Agronomist]

Tim Leunig.. Enough said....

...but.... what can/ should we do as individuals? NFU, Red Tractor, DEFRA, etc should have a strategy but whilst we're waiting for that what can we do.

I can't see anything getting better if we as an industry (nation) wait for someone else to start helping us and griping about it won't change anything...

Yes they have a strategy, keep the £ and peerages rolling in.

 

[glasshouse]

Published today by Sir John Redwood MP for Wokingham on his blogpost :

John Redwood's Diary – For freedom and prosperity

January 23, 2021 6 Comments

The U.K. needs to earn its living

"
The answers I have been getting from DEFRA are worrying. They show no sense of urgency to use our new freedoms to promote more growing and rearing home grown food. They are not standing up for U.K. interests in interpreting the Trade Agreement with the EU. They are not bringing forward early plans to raise our fishing capacity or to expand our market gardening areas.
The thrust of policy seems to be to wilding our landscape instead of farming it better.There are too many proposed grants for so called environmental gains and not enough for food production. Many of us want to slash the food mikes, employ more U.K. people and enjoy more good U.K. produced food.That means extending the season for vegetables and soft fruit with more glasshouses and polytunnels. It means working with the food manufacturing industry to put more U.K. produce into imaginative meals and good recipes for ready meals. It means strong U.K. branding.
I see some of the supermarkets understand U.K. consumer wishes. Many fresh food items have the Union flag on. None carry the EU, Spanish or Dutch flags. Let’s go one step further and have a farming policy which delivers us more great British food. The world does not owe us a living and it is not good to be so dependent on overseas supply of things we can grow for ourselves. "

It is possible for you to post "Comments" by following the link at the article end.



It occurs to me that this might be a golden opportunity for us all to express views that at least this non rural MP may be unused to receiving. What's to lose?

It was the tories that brought in the fuel price escalator Which wrecked uk competitiveness in food v imports

 

[Breakthru]

Surprise,surprise,politicians starting to realise the days of cheap food may be over and they want to ensure farmers keep giving food away instead of repairing the damage done to farming ecosystems.

Steady up, who gets the least out of the cheap food price, The producer/farmer.
The poly bag and printing round the loaf of bread is worth more than the wheat inside. I think a return to the old deficiency system would be a good way of putting in a floor price for the producer. Anything such as wheat where we export would attract no sub so we could not be accused of dumping. Supporting our own producers for consumed home production as in EU US Japan etc etc etc is not against WTO.