Making a living from sheep

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
The UK, with its relatively central location & climate, SHOULD be a major world producer & exporter of lamb, rivalling NZ & Australia. You have a massive population on your doorstep, & USED to be a sea faring, trading nation . . .

what’s happened ?

why aren’t you now ?

But we are still a major ‘producer & exporter’ of lamb. The majority of our exports have been going to our continental neighbours, as would be sensible, so I don’t really get your point.

IF we are allowed to export to China & Asia (every country needs Export Certificates in place to do so, whether that’s from the EU or the ‘independent’ UK), then it would certainly represent a valuable additional export market at the moment. It would be shortsighted to starve the more reliable customer on our doorstep though, given China’s record of building up a trade then dropping you in it. As a trading nation, they make the UK supermarkets seem benevolent!
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
it does seem easier to complain about “unfair advantages” & needing more payments . . .

Payments are the problem. Subs have stagnated the industry and strangle innovation. Why strive to improve things and under go change when you can do what you've always done, taking comfort in the knowledge the tax payer will maintain your standard of living?
 

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
Roger Fletcher ( biggest sheep meat processor here ) sends container loads of lambs oesophagi to China, just for a start . . .

As an aside, everyone SHOULD be aware that ASF has wiped out about half of the Chinese pig population.
They are replacing that meat with mostly, imported LAMB & beef, partly because of any perceived health concerns from eating pork.

Savvy marketing & export nations are already taking advantage of this, but sadly, from everything I have read on TFF, the UK idea of marketing is to produce something then expect people to buy it.
Hes not a farmer.
 

Al R

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
West Wales
Ok, Australia is a major world exporter of lamb meat
IF we assume that supply is down due to climatic conditions & agree that prices currently are at historic highs, then I have just ONE question

WHY aren’t UK lamb producers clamouring over each other to fill OUR export markets - especially the recent massive one in China ?
Why ?

reading this thread it seems some are too busy stressing about sub payments or something, rather than taking advantage of the massive worldwide shortage of lamb

yet again, it shows that UK ag, both livestock & grain producers & their industry representatives have NO concept international trade or how to market their produce
What I find most shocking is that I was watching videos of pigs being buried alive in China due to ASF months ago (July?) and only now people are realising that ASF is happening...
 

Farmer Roy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
NSW, Newstralya
What I find most shocking is that I was watching videos of pigs being buried alive in China due to ASF months ago (July?) and only now people are realising that ASF is happening...

Our quarantine services have been onto it for longer than that
Since November 2018 they have stopped 27 tonne of pork product coming in via airline passengers alone . . .

 

Farmer Roy

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
NSW, Newstralya
Payments are the problem. Subs have stagnated the industry and strangle innovation. Why strive to improve things and under go change when you can do what you've always done, taking comfort in the knowledge the tax payer will maintain your standard of living?
47414588-E846-439C-9C32-1F5667D20A34.jpeg
 

Kiwi Pete

Member
Livestock Farmer
The UK, with its relatively central location & climate, SHOULD be a major world producer & exporter of lamb, rivalling NZ & Australia. You have a massive population on your doorstep, & USED to be a sea faring, trading nation . . .

what’s happened ?

why aren’t you now ?
"Should" is always a dangerous word, in the countryside.
"Will" and "Should" aren't currently on speaking terms
 

egbert

Member
Livestock Farmer
Do try not to let this slip into a 'whinging (subsidised) Pom' thing fellas.

We didn't ask for this state of affairs, and critically, just because we are being paid to sit about and scratch our backsides, it doesn't mean that we aren't/can't be innovative go-ahead businessmen or farmers.
It might have escaped your attention that many of us actively pursue outside enterprises, keeping the farm business ticking over for a change in the weather.
EU subsidies haven't taken away our nouse, merely redirected it.

Personally, i think we've bigger fish to fry than navel gazing about whether sheep pay in the UK , as the great and the good realise we're already part of their solution (carbon woes et al), rather than the problem.
 

tepapa

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Wales
The UK, with its relatively central location & climate, SHOULD be a major world producer & exporter of lamb, rivalling NZ & Australia. You have a massive population on your doorstep, & USED to be a sea faring, trading nation . . .

what’s happened ?

why aren’t you now ?
Errr, were part of the EU. We aren't allowed to do our own trade deals, that's up to the EU and they take 10years to put some down on paper which then needs all member states to agree.
But then, why would the EU want the UK to get a good trading deal outside of their group if it was to affect their supply that they have come accustomed to?
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Errr, were part of the EU. We aren't allowed to do our own trade deals, that's up to the EU and they take 10years to put some down on paper which then needs all member states to agree.
But then, why would the EU want the UK to get a good trading deal outside of their group if it was to affect their supply that they have come accustomed to?

Have you ever been involved with export certificates? I have been involved with EHC’s for exports of sheep, ram semen & embryos. If there is an EU certificate in place, it’s already relatively simple, even more so if trading within the EU.
However, if you want to trade with countries outside the EU, where there isn’t a health certificate in place, it is perfectly possible for the UK to organise it’s own, usually more or less copying the Requirements of most EU certificates. That process is often like running a marathon through waste deep mud though, with OUR LOT seemingly holding everything up at every stage. It is incredibly frustrating for everyone involved, and I have had a couple of large deals that have fallen by the wayside as a result of getting bogged down by DEFRA.
 

texas pete

Member
Location
East Mids
Have you ever been involved with export certificates? I have been involved with EHC’s for exports of sheep, ram semen & embryos. If there is an EU certificate in place, it’s already relatively simple, even more so if trading within the EU.
However, if you want to trade with countries outside the EU, where there isn’t a health certificate in place, it is perfectly possible for the UK to organise it’s own, usually more or less copying the Requirements of most EU certificates. That process is often like running a marathon through waste deep mud though, with OUR LOT seemingly holding everything up at every stage. It is incredibly frustrating for everyone involved, and I have had a couple of large deals that have fallen by the wayside as a result of getting bogged down by DEFRA.

"OUR LOT" have an awful lot to answer for.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Do you think Nige has enough about him to cut unnecessary red tape to help industry?

1. Of course he won't, but he'll likely promise it the same as Conservative candidates always have in the past.
2. He doesn't have a cat in hell's chance of being in government to implement any plans anyway.
 

tepapa

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Wales
1. Of course he won't, but he'll likely promise it the same as Conservative candidates always have in the past.
2. He doesn't have a cat in hell's chance of being in government to implement any plans anyway.
We're screwed then. I'd have thought fararge might have done something different as I wouldn't believe the others to cut red tape.
 

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

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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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