Dysfunctional farming

[Goffer]

Currently going around our various grass areas for silage / haylage fields which cover 3-4 miles in any direction and have observed the following. 2-3 miles of riverbank grazing being topped because they've no stock but are happy to claim bps , another mile or so rank with thistles which they do graze with some cattle but nowhere near enough to eat it all but are intending to go out of cattle for lack of qualified staff and the boss apparently can't be arsed according to the foreman and just top it in future . Another making some hay of a couple of parcels but no stock themselves and it had received no fert . There conversation amounted to we'll keep doing it until the kit falls to bits but no enthusiasm too progress . There was a few others but my point being these such farmers whom have no need or point to grass farm should not have any payments made under sfi or any other scheme if they don't have they ability to farm these areas properly.
They in my eyes are glorified park keepers when they are many whom would relish some cheaper summer grazing to which is its purpose . This is one of sfi's downfalls to begin with already . Forking money out to people with no management skill just land owners

 

[Chae1]

Think this is the way the powers that be envisage the appearance of the British countryside should be going forward.

 

[Yale]

One man’s weed is another man‘s crop.

 

[ajd132]

Think this is the way the powers that be envisage the appearance of the British countryside should be going forward.

Yet they are already doing it under bps. It’s all bulls**t. Area payments are the worst thing to happen to uk agriculture. Precedent been set

 

[7610 super q]

Does it matter ? No great enthusiasm for food in the UK ATM. Same old sh!t prices. I like a tidy place myself,, but it's an expensive hobby..........

 

[steveR]

Does it matter ? No great enthusiasm for food in the UK ATM. Same old sh!t prices. I like a tidy place myself,, but it's an expensive hobby..........

Thought that myself, when topping a herbal ley to tidy up some boar thistles and reset some of the grass after the sheep. Even ticking over, teh fuel and wear and tear all adding up...

 

[willie waver]

concentrate on your own business instead of sticking your nose into other peoples

 

[steveR]

concentrate on your own business instead of sticking your nose into other peoples

And break the habit of Generations of Farmers....? Pah!!

 

[No wot]

Its quite obvious that it's the cross over period between going out of beef production and the start of " responsible sourced venison " production that this great Government and Mr Dimbleby are advocating

 

[Goffer]

Part of the point is there many a new entrants would break there neck for such area while so called 'farmers' do little, take sub or scheme monies which we all know are flawed and next to nothing is reinvested into the countryside . Really we are at a crossroads with agriculture as a whole .if you can't actually tend to the land for its intended purpose then it should be someone else's if you are going to take tax payers money.

 

[BrianV]

Farms such as you mention are the inevitable consequences of area payments with no cap, if you have enough land why bother farming properly, sack the workers & let the farm go to rack & ruin.
All subsidy payments of whatever sort should have a cap on payments as most EU countries have done where there was no Country Land Owners Association disguised as the NFU manipulating the government!!

 

[lloyd]

Yet they are already doing it under bps. It’s all bulls**t. Area payments are the worst thing to happen to uk agriculture. Precedent been set

Off setting carbon credits is the worst thing happening to UK agriculture .
The problem should be dealt with at source in the country where the polluter
is based.

 

[delilah]

Just for balance. We have several bits of grazing ground where the owners have no interest in farming but do want the place kept tidy, our stock do that cheaper and better than the topper, the landowners spend the sub on keeping it fenced, paying the water bill etc so we have no rent to pay. It's a very functional arrangement.

 

[Goffer]

Farms such as you mention are the inevitable consequences of area payments with no cap, if you have enough land why bother farming properly, sack the workers & let the farm go to rack & ruin.
All subsidy payments of whatever sort should have a cap on payments as most EU countries have done where there was no Country Land Owners Association disguised as the NFU manipulating the government!!

Privately we call such individuals something I can't write on here

 

[ajd132]

Off setting carbon credits is the worst thing happening to UK agriculture .
The problem should be dealt with at source in the country where the polluter
is based.

Sadly if farmers don’t grab this opportunity to provide carbon whilst producing food we will be either forced to do it for free by powerful multi nationals buying our produce as part of a contract, or rich people buy our land at insane prices and plant trees.

 

[Goffer]

Just for balance. We have several bits of grazing ground where the owners have no interest in farming but do want the place kept tidy, our stock do that cheaper and better than the topper, the landowners spend the sub on keeping it fenced, paying the water bill etc so we have no rent to pay. It's a very functional arrangement.

This sounds good and should be compulsory that monies received are reinvested in yours and others futures

 

[lloyd]

Sadly if farmers don’t grab this opportunity to provide carbon whilst producing food we will be either forced to do it for free by powerful multi nationals buying our produce as part of a contract, or rich people buy our land at insane prices and plant trees.

This is just letting polluters off the hook instead of tackling the
problem at the source .The UK has the ability to produce food with
low detriment to the enviroment without the need of being blackmailed by multi nationals.
The same people who lambast red tractor seem to think carbon credits is a good idea which is both
strange and sad.

 

[7610 super q]

Sounds like we need WarAg back again, taking land off pesky thistle growing straw chewing elderly oiks driving Ford 4000's, and giving it to new up start pipsqueaks mob grazing easy care sheep posting pics of their forward thinking cutting edge new fangled electric fencing on Tik Tok then ?

 

[bobk]

Sounds like we need WarAg back again, taking land off pesky thistle growing straw chewing elderly oiks driving Ford 4000's, and giving it to new up start pipsqueaks mob grazing easy care sheep posting pics of their forward thinking cutting edge new fangled electric fencing on Tik Tok then ?

Top post , ha ha ha .

 

[bobk]

Sounds like we need WarAg back again, taking land off pesky thistle growing straw chewing elderly oiks driving Ford 4000's, and giving it to new up start pipsqueaks mob grazing easy care sheep posting pics of their forward thinking cutting edge new fangled electric fencing on Tik Tok then ?

You missed out the crowd funded bit