Bspb (seed police)

[Minesapint]

Returned my on-line seed return last week. I am always totally honest, and stick to the rules.

Today receive a phone call asking why I had only declared X ha's of s barley, when I had enough seed cleaned and bagged for Y ha's. This seed was left from last year, as didn't get it planted, and with an area going into NUM3, s barley area is reduced. The rest went back on the feed heap.

This follows 2 (if not 3) phone calls about 13.5t of beans I had cleaned and bagged by the same processor, but haven't drilled, so they have gone back on the heap.

Is anybody else getting hassled like this, its starting to p me off, when I do everything by the book.

 

[robbie]

I had the same on my autumn declaration, why hadn't I declared all the ha as the tons I'd had dresses in the autumn would mean a very high seed rate.
I asked him if he ever looked out of the window from his office, told him that if he had he would have realised the weather had been terrible and a fair chunk of said seed was still sitting in the bags!!!!

I expect to get another call very shortly because I had my spring barley dressed in January and at that time I didn't know how much more wheat I'd be able to drill or weather the stuff I had drilled would need re drilling with spring barley. I did drill more wheat as it turned out and now have several bags of spring barley left in the shed which no doubt will throw a spanner in the works for the seed feds!!!!

 

[Minesapint]

I had the same on my autumn declaration, why hadn't I declared all the ha as the tons I'd had dresses in the autumn would mean a very high seed rate.
I asked him if he ever looked out of the window from his office, told him that if he had he would have realised the weather had been terrible and a fair chunk of said seed was still sitting in the bags!!!!

I expect to get another call very shortly because I had my spring barley dressed in January and at that time I didn't know how much more wheat I'd be able to drill or weather the stuff I had drilled would need re drilling with spring barley. I did drill more wheat as it turned out and now have several bags of spring barley left in the shed which no doubt will throw a spanner in the works for the seed feds!!!!

I wasn't particularly polite to the lady, which I felt bad about, but did suggest don't bother asking for a seed return if you are going to ring me every other week.

At least its not just me.

 

[robbie]

I'm afraid that's the trouble the world over we're governed by busy body idiots.

 

[Phil P]

Tell them to fek off, your cropping area is between you and your account and everyone else can get bent! Knowing cropped area is just another tool for them to help gov/traders manipulate the markets and keep prices low.
I give them the tonnage same as the dressing company and that’s it.

 

[Steevo]

I'm afraid that's the trouble the world over we're governed by busy body idiots.

Sadly it seems more so than almost any other industry - almost everything seems to involve a civil servant or government body nowadays.

 

[Minesapint]

Tell them to fek off, your cropping area is between you and your account and everyone else can get bent! Knowing cropped area is just another tool for them to help gov/traders manipulate the markets and keep prices low.
I give them the tonnage same as the dressing company and that’s it.

I never pay royalties to the processor, as it can go back on the heap if not used (don’t usually use a dressing). If seed rates are high, it’s cheaper to pay /area rather than /tonne.

 

[deleted user 837354]

This kind of carry on won't be appreciated after a season where drilling was challenging.

 

[Roger Perry]

I'm afraid that's the trouble the world over we're governed by busy body idiots.

Hate to break it to you but its' actually not a global problem.

 

[Spencer]

Hate to break it to you but its' actually not a global problem.

Probably got your own problems right enough..

 

[yellow belly]

Round here there biggest problem is the reduced area of crops
Fallow and sfi will reduce the seed needs

 

[David.]

I'm only surprised that you answered the phone. Never answer unknown numbers here, unless I'm expecting a delivery.

 

[robbie]

I'm only surprised that you answered the phone. Never answer unknown numbers here, unless I'm expecting a delivery.

Just comes up as an Ely number rather than a with held or an 02 or 08 or whatever it is that call centres rung you on.

 

[WillYorkshire]

This kind of carry on won't be appreciated after a season where drilling was challenging.

Maybe not but they don't like tax avoidance or the possibility of selling off farm. No one would ever do such a thin of course!

 

[solo]

I’ve had a similar experience with reclean only barley seed which ended up on the feed heap. The bspb lady who phoned the first time, accepted my polite and reasonable explanation for the declaration, and that was it I thought. About two weeks later a different bspb lady phone ref the same declaration. She got the same answer as the first but I was not quite so civil, questioning their competence in the process. Over a year later I had a further phone call over the same declaration which I was not amused about so I said instead of being honest, i would amend my declarations in future to take account of their wasting my time. Haven’t heard from them since and declare online twice a year. I think they got my message.

 

[MrNoo]

I told the lady who rang that I’d sold the farm and no longer farm, no hassle after that.
Sometimes it’s better to be below the radar, it leads to a quieter life.

 

[Jo28]

we had the same last autumn, first time ever. Declared an area basis as we ha drilled later than planned on a much reduced area with higher seed rates due to the weather. As it happens a lot of the area we declared has since been fallowed so they got money for nothing.

 

[soapsud]

Meant in jest but, this could be indicative of Whitehall mandarins trying to balance the fearful cries of food security with their helpless need for soviet-style Central Planning. As said above, the SFI and the weather may well take the fall. Surveys are, afterall, fed back into Command and Control.

 

[Tubbylew]

Hate to break it to you but its' actually not a global problem.

The civil service seems to be a uniquley british problem along with parish councils etc. When someone makes a mistake they just double down and gaslight everyone instead of owning up early on, and even when they're found out they act like scolded children dragging their heels to the headmasters office, likely why we seem to have more big scandal and coverups than most.

 

[PSQ]

The civil service seems to be a uniquley british problem

It is, and it isn’t. Having stood in a queue for an Indian driving licence for the best part of a day, and not getting to the front, I can assure you that bureaucracy is alive and well throughout the former Empire. They might have got rid of the British, but they kept the stiff collars and love of paperwork for paperwork’s sake. Its not dissimilar to Orwells Animal Farm really, the liberators morphing into their former oppressors.