Why won’t Brits pick vegetables for £30 an hour?

delilah

Member
Those people will come from places where life isn’t so easy.

The East Europeans aren't coming back. I reckon we are going to see an influx of workers from Africa. We have a Zimbabwean chap helps us out, whenever we have lambs or a bullock killed he goes to the abattoir to collect the offal as none of our white box customers want it. He could fill a plane tomorrow to come and work in our abattoirs.
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
The East Europeans aren't coming back. I reckon we are going to see an influx of workers from Africa. We have a Zimbabwean chap helps us out, whenever we have lambs or a bullock killed he goes to the abattoir to collect the offal as none of our white box customers want it. He could fill a plane tomorrow to come and work in our abattoirs.
There is nothing wrong with the idea of a seasonal workers visa. Six months and back home. The employer pays a security bond so if they disappear it is their responsibility. 3% of Kenya's GDP is money sent back by expats it's a very good way for the UK to gain influence in other countries.
 

Lincoln75

Member
It created a work ethic.
Nothing like knowing your survival hinges on getting a crop harvested successfully.
Loads of folk want to get into farming, bring their kids up outdoors, but the opportunities are scarce with dyson etc buying it all
It's no different today in so far as people know if they don't do their job in commerce , construction or finance etc their survival is also threatened , loads may like the idea of farming but listening to the amount of whining on this forum they'll be put off.
Re Dyson he may own huge amounts of land but he also has to employ a huge amount of staff.
 
Last edited:

thesilentone

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Cumbria
Why bother supporting a business that needs cheap imported slaves to survive when food can be cheaply imported from the rest of the world?
The UK isn't self sufficient now so what would it matter if farmers like @Lowland1 grew more veg for the country?
The UK could concentrate on producing things that didn't require lots of manual labour, which is what the big combinable farms and livestock units do now.
Smaller growers with more modest businesses could carry on growing for farm shops and farmers markets, just leave the supermarket contracts to overseas companies with access to labour.
The majority of the UK veg market is only lining the pockets of a few big farming companies, so let them fall over and start again.

Well, the vegi-bashers own the best land, that has always grown veg, they have expanded over decades and have a supply infrastructure in place.

But, there again, I suppose they could become the UK Energy Industry, which is much more profitable. Imagine if all the vegi-growers grew energy crop, made biogas and upgraded to the gas grid. All our gas supply problems solved.
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
surely, shouldn't all the Vegans be out there harvesting veggies? After all, if you want everyone to become Vegan, allowing all those veggies to be wasted is not a good idea.
This fear of Vegans is really a bit daft. More meat is being eaten than ever before. My daughter went vegan when she went to University in London we didn’t say anything just let her get on with it. This morning for breakfast she had a cup of tea and a packet of biltong at lunch she told us she wanted a cow. Why? We asked. ‘Because I want to raise my own meat’
Two years from Vegan to eating raw meat and she’s not the only one.
 

Oldmacdonald

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Scotland
surely, shouldn't all the Vegans be out there harvesting veggies? After all, if you want everyone to become Vegan, allowing all those veggies to be wasted is not a good idea.

And presumably as a meat eater you are currently undertaking butchery training so you can go work in the abattoirs to prevent pigs going to waste?

No?

Thought not.

It's crap comments like yours that only fuels division and distrust of vegans and farmers.
 
This fear of Vegans is really a bit daft. More meat is being eaten than ever before. My daughter went vegan when she went to University in London we didn’t say anything just let her get on with it. This morning for breakfast she had a cup of tea and a packet of biltong at lunch she told us she wanted a cow. Why? We asked. ‘Because I want to raise my own meat’
Two years from Vegan to eating raw meat and she’s not the only one.
From vegan to raw meat ain’t a major improvement 😂😂😂

The cooking of meat was a milestone in the development of our species, cooking of meat leading to increased brain development.

Hopefully she’ll catch on to this new fangled cooking thing soon. 😜
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
From vegan to raw meat ain’t a major improvement 😂😂😂

The cooking of meat was a milestone in the development of our species, cooking of meat leading to increased brain development.

Hopefully she’ll catch on to this new fangled cooking thing soon. 😜
Actually she’s a better than average cook and got all A* at Alevel and is at Kings College hopefully the raw meat thing will bring her down to my level.
 

farmerm

Member
Location
Shropshire
The East Europeans aren't coming back. I reckon we are going to see an influx of workers from Africa. We have a Zimbabwean chap helps us out, whenever we have lambs or a bullock killed he goes to the abattoir to collect the offal as none of our white box customers want it. He could fill a plane tomorrow to come and work in our abattoirs.
Given the new barriers to EU workers I cant see Patel having plans to wave in Africans instead, even from the colonies :scratchhead: Having done work in some African countries I would suggest many would struggle to work in the cold cabbage fields of Lincolnshire as much as I do under a blazing African sun. Kenyan's I met would often be found wrapping up in woolly hat and gloves at temperatures at which I start to consider wearing shorts! In contrast for many Eastern Europeans workers our winters feel like their spring!
 

Lowland1

Member
Mixed Farmer
Given the new barriers to EU workers I cant see Patel having plans to wave in Africans instead, even from the colonies :scratchhead: Having done work in some African countries I would suggest many would struggle to work in the cold cabbage fields of Lincolnshire as much as I do under a blazing African sun. Kenyan's I met would often be found wrapping up in woolly hat and gloves at temperatures at which I start to consider wearing shorts! In contrast for many Eastern Europeans workers our winters feel like their spring!
I'd disagree with that the cabbage cutters my buyer uses will walk 400metres or so carrying 30 or 40 kilos of cabbages in a sack and run back for the next lot. Yesterday we had an inch of rain and they didn't shelter just kept on cutting. It does make me laugh that the U.K has an American born prime-minister who didn't renounce his US citizenship until he thought he had a chance of the big job and the cabinet has several first generation U.K citizens born of immigrant parents who want to deny the opportunities they have recieved to others. As I posted earlier 20,000 nurses are being recruited from Kenya to fill vacancies so the U.K is looking to the colonies but I personally think short term contracts are the way to go.
 
There is nothing wrong with the idea of a seasonal workers visa. Six months and back home. The employer pays a security bond so if they disappear it is their responsibility. 3% of Kenya's GDP is money sent back by expats it's a very good way for the UK to gain influence in other countries.

That sounds like a great plan and FAR more useful for all concerned than handing out endless amounts of aid money. It would also probably help train people overseas with some useful skills.
 

farmerm

Member
Location
Shropshire
I'd disagree with that the cabbage cutters my buyer uses will walk 400metres or so carrying 30 or 40 kilos of cabbages in a sack and run back for the next lot. Yesterday we had an inch of rain and they didn't shelter just kept on cutting. It does make me laugh that the U.K has an American born prime-minister who didn't renounce his US citizenship until he thought he had a chance of the big job and the cabinet has several first generation U.K citizens born of immigrant parents who want to deny the opportunities they have recieved to others. As I posted earlier 20,000 nurses are being recruited from Kenya to fill vacancies so the U.K is looking to the colonies but I personally think short term contracts are the way to go.
Yes note how the willing Government is to recruit from overseas to fill government employed jobs but much less willing to allow private business to do the same!!
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

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

  • 1,289
  • 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/
Top