Feeding the nation.

VIP

Member
Trade
Do farmers honestly run their business with a view to “feeding the nation”? It sounds like a nice marketing line some graduate from Harper dreamt up, but do any of you wake up in the morning and think “ time to feed the nation” or are you in the business of producing food? One is a business and the other sounds like something Bob Geldof would dream up. I think it belittles what you do when you start making it sound like a charity. You are all business men, not aid workers. What ever “angel wings” some of you are trying to pin on isn’t working…just sounds desperate.
 
I wish I had spent more time studying beaver………


I still think there is a certain pride taken in the job on most farms, but that’s different to feeling an obligation to feed someone else. I think farmers farm because that’s what they do come hell or high water, right?

I mean, you have to actually love cows to be a dairy farmer, don’t you? And to get up at midnight with rain lashing the windows to lamb a ewe? It’s madness really.
But again, that’s not an obligation to the masses, more an obligation to care for the animals we choose to own.

Then there’s the previous generations. Do we want to give up all they’ve worked for. I know I don’t and all I have is some depreciating machinery, none of which was owned by Dad when he died. I just feel he did all the hard work so who am I to give up because it gets a bit tricky?

The nation happens to be your customer, but if another nation said they would pay twice as much for your product then I’m sure you would choose them. I know I would.

So it’s no matter really. It’s just how it is.

Crack on.
 

DeeGee

Member
Location
North East Wales
The Nation were telling us loud and clear 6mths ago that they wanted rewilding and imported food from wherever its cheapest.
So no, I don't feel any obligation to them at all.
In fact I'm considering a sabbatical next year, to study lynx and beaver somewhere.
Studying beaver






There's websites for that 😏
Yeah, most of them run by Baldrick.
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
of course we ought to feed the nation, its our duty, and l will do my very best to do so.
only one stipulation, they have to pay me enough, to re-ignite my patriotism, and l am not cheap. Taken to much crap, for far to long, to feel anything but exploitive. A trend l have learnt from the current buyers habits. To be fair, they are experts, and one should always learn from the best !
 

Cowabunga

Member
Location
Ceredigion,Wales
The recent priorities of this Country, no matter which Party you take heed of, is for some pie in the sky 'environmental benefit' from restricting all types of agriculture with more and more onerous regulations and schemes to reduce production in favour of mass tree planting and [ridiculous] rewilding, the formation of massive wetlands, the neglect of drainage schemes, the restriction on the use of fertiliser and even organic fertiliser, more access for the public and so on. No regard whatsoever for food security through growing our own food.

Well the chickens are coming home to roost even sooner than I thought, with prices rising exponentially and, significantly, more and more inaccessible and unavailable products to import and a new country’s export ban or restriction to contend with almost daily.

Do we have a responsibility to feed the nation? Hell NO! The ’nation’ still does not want us. The reality of our position as regards food hasn’t really crossed their mind yet and ’they’ certainly haven’t shown any responsibility towards domestic food producers with their trade deals with countries far away. No, our responsibility is one hundred percent to the running of our own businesses and the security of our families and workers.

Have a look at this, and subscribe to Joe’s channel for the very latest analysis. The lower tenth percentile, they know who they are, need not bother.

 
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VIP

Member
Trade
Good answers. Farmers need to ditch this “feeding the nation” BS. You are all businesses producing a product for profit, end of. These pious lot who see their saintly lives as the nation’s saviour remind me of the Morrison’s worker who’s job it was to take the security tags off bottles of booze at the self checkout. Bright yellow hiviz vest with “Key Worker” printed in huge letters front and back! 🤦‍♂️
 

MrNoo

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Cirencester
Well, I guess we'll see very shortly if we're valued or not, to be frank I have given up caring.
They seem plenty happy enough shoving petrol in their car @£2/litre to drive to McDonalds drive through, so £450/t for milling wheat shouldnt be an issue.
The one annoying thing about all of this is the very smug Tesla w*ankers who will be gloating even more in the pub this weekend!
 

DaveGrohl

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Cumbria
S
Well, I guess we'll see very shortly if we're valued or not, to be frank I have given up caring.
They seem plenty happy enough shoving petrol in their car @£2/litre to drive to McDonalds drive through, so £450/t for milling wheat shouldnt be an issue.
The one annoying thing about all of this is the very smug Tesla w*ankers who will be gloating even more in the pub this weekend!
Shame their leccy bill’s going up too……
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
food isn't going to run out, l wish it would, but it wont.
price might rise, well will rise.
as to the penny dropping, l wonder how the s/mkts view it, do they think, up the price now, we turn the taps on, supply goes up, then they drop it, their usual practice.
Some how, l doubt we can turn the taps on, inputs are to high, fert at £1000/t, isn't going to be bought/used as before, world supplies are not there, transport will kill that. But not sure product is out there, our prices have been good, if there were plenty, they wouldn't be.

What might change, is the type of food we produce. Organic, won't increase, there will always be the dedicated mkt, and like vegan, they will always be there, but the ones who do it, for 'trendy' bit, will stop.
Likewise, the quality, or niche market share, probably won't increase, and might be more special occasion.
The demand will be for the staple foods, mince, spuds, wheat etc.
And being farmers, we always have, and will, adapt to those changing markets.
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 77 43.5%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 35.0%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 28 15.8%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

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

    Votes: 4 2.3%

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

  • 1,285
  • 1
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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