Food Security

Pilatus

Member
Location
cotswolds
Meanwhile the reality is:

21 deaths
1,140 confirmed cases out of
37,746 tested "contacts"

So, less than 3% of contacts have caught the virus, 1 death per 18,000 contacts, all these before the impact of control measures.

More people die/get injured by workplace and traffic accidents

Let's not panic guys!
Surely providing the death rate does not increase dramatically within in the next month, this Coronavirus will have to be accepted like ordinary flu , and the Uk and many other countries ( that have not had an increase in people dying per 100,000) get back to normal.
 

JP1

Member
Livestock Farmer
Are the general public about to get a lesson in food security? Supermarket shelves in many areas are empty due to panic buying. I just went to the butchers and he isn't worried about his supply of local meat (so I have my pork and black pudding sausages). Can the same be said for anything we import?
Now Spain affected the salad will start to dry up
 

JP1

Member
Livestock Farmer
While I fully appreciate the seriousness of Covid 19, Is the world not going way over the top with its reaction? By now the virus will have spread worldwide and I don’t think lockdown is necessarily going to make it go away; it may slow it down but it seems to being treated like the Plague which killed all, young and old. Flu still contributes to many premature deaths each year! How bad do the scientists think this will get? We all remember CJD was going to be an epidemic.
In Italy it killed 8% of those affected aged 70 to 80 (and no they didn't all have "underlying health issues" as our own team spin would have you believe). If it happens too fast, the hospitals and respirators will be oevr-run and the medics will have to make horrendous decisions as to who leave to die
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
In Italy it killed 8% of those affected aged 70 to 80 (and no they didn't all have "underlying health issues" as our own team spin would have you believe). If it happens too fast, the hospitals and respirators will be oevr-run and the medics will have to make horrendous decisions as to who leave to die
Depends what you call underlying health isues. It is well know that an 80 year old has a far weaker immune system and are more vulnerable too any illness
 

delilah

Member
Perfect time for the NFU to start a food security campaign?

You would have thought so.
The only problem being, the NFU are totally and utterly in thrall to the supermarkets, have been for years, ask them they wont deny it.
And the supermarket model is to:
a) use imports, and the threat of imports, as a means to keep the UK farm-gate price down.
b) continuously push, through every means possible, to rationalise their supply chain, ie to have to deal with less of those pesky farmers. And less farmers, all other things being equal, means less security of supply. Once any industry loses its critical mass of knowledge it is in trouble.
c) Centralize, and hence lengthen, their supply chain, which impacts on security of supply through heavy reliance on all the links in that chain (principally road haulage) functioning properly.
It is difficult to see how the NFU can promote home security without having to fundamentally reassess their love-in with global corporations.
 

JP1

Member
Livestock Farmer
Depends what you call underlying health isues. It is well know that an 80 year old has a far weaker immune system and are more vulnerable too any illness
Rubbish.

Spin

If you die as a result of something you are 80. If they want to spin away from the risk they add "with underlying health issues"

There was a disgusting reference in the Times the other day that my Dad read to me classing 80 year olds as "gonners"

My Dad is fitter than many in their late sixties. Rach's Dad is in his 80's and works on the farm every day
 

Chris F

Staff Member
Media
Location
Hammerwich
You would have thought so.
The only problem being, the NFU are totally and utterly in thrall to the supermarkets, have been for years, ask them they wont deny it.
And the supermarket model is to:
a) use imports, and the threat of imports, as a means to keep the UK farm-gate price down.
b) continuously push, through every means possible, to rationalise their supply chain, ie to have to deal with less of those pesky farmers. And less farmers, all other things being equal, means less security of supply. Once any industry loses its critical mass of knowledge it is in trouble.
c) Centralize, and hence lengthen, their supply chain, which impacts on security of supply through heavy reliance on all the links in that chain (principally road haulage) functioning properly.
It is difficult to see how the NFU can promote home security without having to fundamentally reassess their love-in with global corporations.

Actually, @Clive and I met with some of the supermarkets this week. We were very heartened by what they had to say. They do have ideas and plans to help make things better for farmers.
 

Chris F

Staff Member
Media
Location
Hammerwich
No they don't.

The people we met weren't at the top of the tree, but they really do. And I am a massive skeptic and questioned their approach during the meeting. As I too feel they make their profits out of imported products. I came away feeling better. Still a long way to go though.
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
Are the general public about to get a lesson in food security? Supermarket shelves in many areas are empty due to panic buying. I just went to the butchers and he isn't worried about his supply of local meat (so I have my pork and black pudding sausages). Can the same be said for anything we import?

Possibly but it will be because processors and logistics are disrupted, farmers might get a bit of a wake up too when they realise how much they depend on the "general public". Not much point milking cows if the factory's closed and its hard to plant spuds without diesel etc.
 

Chris F

Staff Member
Media
Location
Hammerwich
Possibly but it will be because processors and logistics are disrupted, farmers might get a bit of a wake up too when they realise how much they depend on the "general public". Not much point milking cows if the factory's closed and its hard to plant spuds without diesel etc.

Very true - although I bet they will drive to farms to get milk if they really want it.
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
30 years of study and research says I wouldn't be.
Market share is the root of all evil.

It doesn't matter who owns the supermarket and how local the produce is there's still going to be processors, warehousing and transport that all has to be paid for, if you break that into smaller local businesses it will push up costs. The actual distance something travels doesn't really have much of an impact.
 

Chris F

Staff Member
Media
Location
Hammerwich
And you can't get there from here.
The people you met, their brief is to increase their market share. You cannot marry that with a more sustainable environment or better off farmers. Sorry, but you can't.

I get your point. They do need to work together to deliver benefits. Whether that will happen I have no idea. So much independent thinking, too many schemes to make up for how irrelevant Red Tractor is to them. My leaving point was to ask them not to create more schemes and to work together on any future schemes.
 

kiwi pom

Member
Location
canterbury NZ
Very true - although I bet they will drive to farms to get milk if they really want it.

I think in a few weeks governments will have to change their message and start forcing people back out into work instead of insisting everyone isolates themselves if they have a sore throat.
At the moment its quite likely that someone like a milk processor could just shut down if enough staff are off. Obviously that cant be allowed to happen, something will have to give, the chain has to keep moving and supermarkets have to stay open.
Interesting times.
 

delilah

Member
It doesn't matter who owns the supermarket and how local the produce is there's still going to be processors, warehousing and transport that all has to be paid for, if you break that into smaller local businesses it will push up costs. The actual distance something travels doesn't really have much of an impact.

I could dissect pretty much every element of that, but we've had this discussion before, lets agree to differ, bedtime this side of the world, which at the moment feels pretty small. Stay safe :) .
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 76 43.7%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 62 35.6%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 27 15.5%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

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

    Votes: 3 1.7%

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

  • 1,284
  • 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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