BBC Farming Today.:Sybil Ruscoe speaks to one farmer who has decided not to plant food crops this spring.

[Eildon Hill]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000gvdn from 9.25 min re....Tom Allen-Stevens...

not exactly what I expected to hear.....

 

[Bongodog]

As things stand at present, if it is your intention to not plants food crops, wouldn't you just keep quiet, rather than speak out and get shot at from all sides ?

I fully realise that there is no shortage of wheat at present, but when the shelves are bare of flour, it doesn't look good when a farmer says "I'm not planting this year"

 

[hel123]

But food doesn't come from farms We just had a national clap last night for the carers and key workers from the supermarkets as we heard from the bbc several times.

 

[Bald Rick]

He mentions how America are looking after their farmers ..... well, have a look at @Dead Rabbits post here:

View attachment 867970
Co-op said dump it.

Anyway, he does admit he doesnt have rent to pay nor a £500,000 combine on finance so he can sit on his thumbs. Good for him. Maybe he's right & the rest of us freaking out at the prospect of a milk price cut at any moment are wrong?

 

[kiwi pom]

Read today that some of the veg growers that don't have supermarket contracts here, aren't going to plant anything. What they are harvesting at the moment is dumped or given to food banks because cafes and restaurants are closed and the police have forced greengrocers to close.
Not flash.

 

[jpd]

??????
i havnt produced food for over 10 years
whats the problem
he sowing a soil conditioning cover crop

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

At least he's thought it through and worked out what's best for him. Many will be blindly doing what they've always done and expect the government to support them.

 

[Tarw Coch]

You’ve got to be in it to win it though, no crops equals no income at some point so not ideal especially if trade should swing the other way, allthough I can quite understand that thought is needed about costs and expected yields after one of the wettest wi test known.

I’m hearing a lot of talk of people going to plant maize for the digesters on land that didn’t go into winter crops, don’t know if they’ve got contracts or thought it through as not only does there seem a lot wanting to do it but the arable farms with digesters will likely have land of their own not drilled so they may well have all the maize they need.

One things for sure, if enough people don’t plant , the produce they would have produced will be worth good money............,,but that doesn’t guarantee going ahead as usual will pay.

 

[Formatted]

But food doesn't come from farms We just had a national clap last night for the carers and key workers from the supermarkets as we heard from the bbc several times.

What do you want, a medal? Get a grip

 

[Old Boar]

I hope the press dont see this and give us headlines "Farmers refusing to grow crops".

The general public do not understand farming, and EVERY farmer would be condemned. It would not matter if you only milked and had never planted a crop in your life.

It would also give us another round of panic buying.

 

[Woolless]

There's a lot of ground being ploughed/worked here at the moment.