What is the time difference between Britain and France? 1 hour and 40 years...

[Muck Spreader]

So if the verges are left uncut to help wildlife thrive what about all the weeds in the paddocks? is that for the same reason? Surely as farmers it would be more productive to grow grass than thistles and ragwort.
Over the course of three years we have covered a lot of Europe and a variety of countries within Europe, we keep away from the main tourist areas so it is not kept clean just for the visitors. I see the odd untidy place but that is minimal, in general everything looks tidy and the farms seem to be very well run.

In France every village no matter how small has it's own council worker with his own tractor and equipment that maintains the verges, hedges and does all the general maintenance in and around the village and is under the management of the village mayor.

 

[czechmate]

In France every village no matter how small has it's own council worker with his own tractor and equipment that maintains the verges, hedges and does all the general maintenance in and around the village and is under the management of the village mayor.

Much as I would like to fully agree with Stewart, there is some terribly managed agricultural land around these parts.
However, I take the almost total lack of litter, here, for granted, until I take a trip to the UK

 

[bobk]

In France every village no matter how small has it's own council worker with his own tractor and equipment that maintains the verges, hedges and does all the general maintenance in and around the village and is under the management of the village mayor.

I like that too , lovely driving through pretty well kept villages , shame you don't see many..... people.

 

[czechmate]

I like that too , lovely driving through pretty well kept villages , shame you don't see many..... people.

Depends if you like people or not

 

[stewart]

Much as I would like to fully agree with Stewart, there is some terribly managed agricultural land around these parts.
However, I take the almost total lack of litter, here, for granted, until I take a trip to the UK

That is what I find when I go back to the U.K. Litter everywhere and everything looks tired and worn out. I am also amazed at how untidy some of the farms look, generally livestock farms.

 

[czechmate]

That is what I find when I go back to the U.K. Litter everywhere and everything looks tired and worn out. I am also amazed at how untidy some of the farms look, generally livestock farms.

For balance, I will just say, I wonder if some of my neighbours are actually farming soft rush. But the land is wet,rocky cheap and a good sub on it so maybe they are right to accept it as it is?

 

[Muck Spreader]

Much as I would like to fully agree with Stewart, there is some terribly managed agricultural land around these parts.
However, I take the almost total lack of litter, here, for granted, until I take a trip to the UK

That's because it takes a lot of managing. Turn you back on it for a minute and the grass has gone to seed, the brambles are halfway across the field and a 15 metre wide headland has tuned into a tree plantation.

 

[czechmate]

That's because it takes a lot of managing. Turn you back on it for a minute and the grass has gone to seed, the brambles are halfway across the field and a 15 metre wide headland has tuned into a tree plantation.

It's for sure. I don't remember my land in the uk looking after itself either, I think it's as wide as it's long. The far greater cost of uk land surely means it has to work harder yo earn it's keep though?

 

[Henarar]

That is what I find when I go back to the U.K. Litter everywhere and everything looks tired and worn out. I am also amazed at how untidy some of the farms look, generally livestock farms.

yea come and look at ours rubbish everywhere
I just sold some of that rubbish LOL

 

[rob1]

My post did say SOME of the farms look untidy, take a look next time you drive through the countryside, I could not believe the amount of weeds in the fields, productive grass could be growing where the thistles are.

Maybe its organic

 

[le bon paysan]

Wrong , france has active population of 19m people of which 5.7m are public workers
UK has 30.7m workers of which 5.24m are public sector .
Plus nearly 3m EU workers....

Busted..

http://www.lefigaro.fr/economie/le-...llent-desormais-dans-le-secteur-tertiaire.php

 

[le bon paysan]

Can't remember , anyway your figure of is 28m is the 18-64 age group , everyone retires at 60 in france ....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...rances-active-workforce-living-off-state.html

Interesting, would you include all Farmers, farm workers in the UK statistics, he has!
Daft article, anything to promote Brexit though, "Torygraph"
" Under the current Socialist government, there are 750,000 state-subsidised jobs and the author – perhaps arguably - includes a million people in the agricultural sector who rely largely on contributions from European Common Agricultural Policy subsidies"

 

[rob1]

http://www.lefigaro.fr/economie/le-...llent-desormais-dans-le-secteur-tertiaire.php

thats a lot of inactive people for the active ones to support,add in the under 15s and its no wonder there are problems making ends meet, must be similar here, at least we are pushing the retirement age up, sooner or later the french will have to aswell,or pay a lot more tax

 

[Exfarmer]

That is what I find when I go back to the U.K. Litter everywhere and everything looks tired and worn out. I am also amazed at how untidy some of the farms look, generally livestock farms.

I totally despair at the litter spoiling our countryside. It is a stain on our country. Near me , the A143 is disgusting with barrowloads of detritus every yard. Then the hundreds of acres of land in our river valleys, going to waste which our ancestors devoted fifty generations or more making into prime grazing land. It is a national didgrace.

 

[jendan]

That is what I find when I go back to the U.K. Litter everywhere and everything looks tired and worn out. I am also amazed at how untidy some of the farms look, generally livestock farms.

Guilty m,lud.But trying to improve! (untidy livestock farm)

 

[Pasty]

So, just imagine if where you lived, half the folk treated you in such a way because you were a bit dark or spoke with an accent?
Racism, pah - oh yes I used to feel soooo proud to be English/British when I used to take my young daughter to watch Leicester and thousands would be chanting "you black barsteward"

You picked the wrong sport. Go to an F1 race and see if you hear the same about HAM. Football is beyond the.......everything and should be roundly ignored or bagged up and posted to Greenland for a long holiday. The players are wrong and so are many of the fans. It's just an anomaly the world over.

 

[Pasty]

I totally despair at the litter spoiling our countryside. It is a stain on our country. Near me , the A143 is disgusting with barrowloads of detritus every yard. Then the hundreds of acres of land in our river valleys, going to waste which our ancestors devoted fifty generations or more making into prime grazing land. It is a national didgrace.

Nobody picks it up though. I pick up everything on my patch but I have met people in the lane who have pointed at litter and told me how disgusting it was and then walked on. Problem is with litter is that it tends to breed.

 

[Henarar]

Guilty m,lud.But trying to improve! (untidy livestock farm)

but some of it may come in handy one day

 

[czechmate]

Nobody picks it up though. I pick up everything on my patch but I have met people in the lane who have pointed at litter and told me how disgusting it was and then walked on. Problem is with litter is that it tends to breed.

When I was chairman of our yfc, we litter picked a three mile stretch of road one Sunday.
Three months later, it was back to how it was before. Only place in the world I have been to, that's more of a dump than the uk is Sardinia.

 

[Pasty]

but some of it may come in handy one day

Especially for welding. You never know.