Big announcement tonight!

DRC

Member
Throughout the Brexit debate many young guns couldn’t wait for subs to go,and were hoping it’d free up more land with older traditional farmers retiring or being forced out. This new bill, in my opinion, will probably allow the status quo to continue, with environmental payments providing older farmers and non farming landlords to continue.
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
just been talking to someone near you, some of his ground has been virtually continuous corn since 1942, other ground very close to me, come out of arable rotation, and been corn for 25 years, Now telling me that it is marginal corn ground, 1 year in 5, he reckons to have a good crop, the other years, between 2/3 ton. Very surprised at that, as for 25 years he's been telling me he averages 3.5 ton sold, which I never believed anyway. Some of the 25yr corn ground, I used to farm, in a rotation with grass, the last three yrs, I farmed it, I av 4ton wheat sold, as in payed for 4 t/acre. Thinking on how they are going to pay us for looking after the soils, etc, his ground is basically baggered, he won't put manure on it, because someone might make a mess, and threaten his sfp, and manure is no good anyway, had to stop growing rape, as can't control f/beetle, slugs are rife, due to non breakdown of stubble, and chopped straw, puddles of water lie on top of the ground, after rain. He would be really hurt, if you told him, he was farming badly. And, if you look at subs to improve soils, he would be a prime candidate !

Ironic how those who have been striving to improve their soils may be effectively penalised if their base level health status is higher, though frankly I think the years of better production from better management will produce a far better margin than any grant schemes.
 

Brisel

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Midlands
Throughout the Brexit debate many young guns couldn’t wait for subs to go,and were hoping it’d free up more land with older traditional farmers retiring or being forced out. This new bill, in my opinion, will probably allow the status quo to continue, with environmental payments providing older farmers and non farming landlords to continue.

So who would be best as custodians of the countryside? The older generation with more experience of what is reliable and achievable or the younger blood who have the hunger to make it work? A mix of the two?
 

Steevo

Member
Location
Gloucestershire
So who would be best as custodians of the countryside? The older generation with more experience of what is reliable and achievable or the younger blood who have the hunger to make it work? A mix of the two?

Both are constrained by governments, quangos and regulation.

Leave either group to their own devices and they've both do the job, and happily co-exist alongside one another. There's space for both to work in harmony together....it's the continual change of everything that makes it hard on both parties.
 

ajd132

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Suffolk
thanks for saying that, we are blinded by ag policies dating back to WW2, and it is a new horizon for farmers, my generation are getting towards the end of our active farming lives, and, tend to view change with trepidation, it is for the younger farmers to bite the bullet, and make the most of it.
interesting you use the word 'model' because it helps me explain a danger I can see coming. You know those Lego kits you get that construct a unique model. Olaf from Frozen for example. The problem with this model and the unique pieces that go into its construction is that you can't build anything else with it. It's a one hit wonde.

i admire your optimism, let's hope it's a ball we can run with.
model is probably the wrong word. It will just be moving from input based farming to a more systems approach where we need to understand the various soil pest and disease cycles better dealing with them in a different way. It’s bound to happen anyway as the chemicals aren’t coming to market anymore so we don’t really have a choice.
 

andybk

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Mendips Somerset
i see on twitter Theresa Villiers on hit list for reshuffle next month , along with 4 other women mps , Industry does not want or need this procession of "caretaker" heads of department changing every couple of years .Time we had someone committed to seeing a job through for life of parliament with a deputy coming on behind .
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Ironic how those who have been striving to improve their soils may be effectively penalised if their base level health status is higher, though frankly I think the years of better production from better management will produce a far better margin than any grant schemes.

Wasn’t great stead put on the idea that they would be paying those that already managed their soils in such a way, rather than penalising them in favour of those that will need to correct the damage they’ve been doing?

Will they be banning the growing of maize, potatoes and sugar beet in year one I wonder?
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
Ironic how those who have been striving to improve their soils may be effectively penalised if their base level health status is higher, though frankly I think the years of better production from better management will produce a far better margin than any grant schemes.
you would know the farmer, to hear him speak, you would think he is top notch ! Soil structure, and health of soil, will become vitally important, as we move forward, Carbon is absorbed in quantity in 'good' soil, fertility improves, fert use should decrease, and water retention should improve, all things that could have a positive effect on our businesses.
Whether we take grants/subs to do this, or not, its basically good farming practices, that have fallen by the way, in the desire of increased yields.
For years, we have been told, the next conflicts, will be over water, seemed to have quietly died off. But, while we have had masses of rain, other countries haven't, and no doubt, water will play an important part in the future, and the retention of soil, to absorb and hold water, will be critical, whether to stop flooding, or to allow crops to grow, and in the drier parts of the world, huge improvements have been made in this area, in some parts of Australia, where this has been achieved, arial photo's show green farms, in the middle of drought stricken ones !
 

Exfarmer

Member
Location
Bury St Edmunds
I honestly think this whole thing is best thing to happen to U.K. agriculture since the war. If farmers can just stop being so blinded by the past and what they are comfortable with then the opportunities are absolutely huge. I am SO excited and am feeling very lucky that I am young at 28 to crack on with a totally different Model of business.
40 years ago I too was 28 and had a business model, which was very succesful and we made a huge amount of money. It was called winter milk, and I thought then it would be my life in farming. Coming home from college a few years earlier, I too had seen the writing on the wall for UK agriculture, the mixed farm was at an end and 10,000 litre cows were the future.
3 years later theMMB was finished quotas came in and once again the writing flashed up a very different message. Don’t ever think you have cracked it, you have to go with flow and never trust consumers who tell you, that they will pay a premium for quality!
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
just been talking to someone near you, some of his ground has been virtually continuous corn since 1942, other ground very close to me, come out of arable rotation, and been corn for 25 years, Now telling me that it is marginal corn ground, 1 year in 5, he reckons to have a good crop, the other years, between 2/3 ton. Very surprised at that, as for 25 years he's been telling me he averages 3.5 ton sold, which I never believed anyway. Some of the 25yr corn ground, I used to farm, in a rotation with grass, the last three yrs, I farmed it, I av 4ton wheat sold, as in payed for 4 t/acre. Thinking on how they are going to pay us for looking after the soils, etc, his ground is basically baggered, he won't put manure on it, because someone might make a mess, and threaten his sfp, and manure is no good anyway, had to stop growing rape, as can't control f/beetle, slugs are rife, due to non breakdown of stubble, and chopped straw, puddles of water lie on top of the ground, after rain. He would be really hurt, if you told him, he was farming badly. And, if you look at subs to improve soils, he would be a prime candidate !
Between two and three tons an acre would have been considered to be exceptionally good crops up until the early to mid 1970's.
 

DRC

Member
So who would be best as custodians of the countryside? The older generation with more experience of what is reliable and achievable or the younger blood who have the hunger to make it work? A mix of the two?
Probably a mix of the two . My son is 27 and has purchased a cross slot drill on the estate he manages, with a new dairy unit planned with 4 robots ( you may have seen his mug in the Xmas addition FW), whereas his dad is bumbling on with the plough/ combi drill. (y)
 

Chae1

Member
Location
Aberdeenshire
Probably a mix of the two . My son is 27 and has purchased a cross slot drill on the estate he manages, with a new dairy unit planned with 4 robots ( you may have seen his mug in the Xmas addition FW), whereas his dad is bumbling on with the plough/ combi drill. (y)
Must be nice having a job spending someone elses money.

Bet in a few years time he's following his dads lead with a plough, combi drill on farm.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 34.6%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 4 2.2%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
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