Will Sean Rickard ever understand the CAP?

[Muck Spreader]

If farmers can't be bothered to find out costs of production and do what they've always done for the lifestyle then it is a pertinent question to ask why someone else should pay for it. I am not anti small farm, in fact I'm pro family farm generally. I think the excess' of the CAP are worse than the act of actually subsidising things (all primary industries are subsidised) I think the payments should taper off as farms size gets greater.

I always drone on about the 1/2 rate SFP I get thanks to historic. I survive because I've cut costs and adapted, thats life and you don't change til you have to.

I think it quite reasonable to suggest this, but I am sure there would be a great wailing and gnashing of teeth from the big agribusiness who claim they are doing as much for the environment, food security etc and why shouldn't whey be paid for it. I have always believed that the CAP means different things to different EU countries. Maybe the EU should pay farmers a basic fixed wage like civil servants with a list of compliances that must be met to receive it. Then size won't matter?

 

[le bon paysan]

I think it quite reasonable to suggest this, but I am sure there would be a great wailing and gnashing of teeth from the big agribusiness who claim they are doing as much for the environment, food security etc and why shouldn't whey be paid for it. I have always believed that the CAP means different things to different EU countries. Maybe the EU should pay farmers a basic fixed wage like civil servants with a list of compliances that must be met to receive it. Then size won't matter?

Quite agree with you. Also if they put farming on a fixed wage, what would happen? In Russia the peasants "own" half Hectare plots produced more food than the collective farms. Personally on a fixed wage, I would run a few less cows, only put on inputs for 2 ton and if it didn't yield -- well I 've still got my wage haven't I !

 

[Steevo]

If farmers can't be bothered to find out costs of production and do what they've always done for the lifestyle then it is a pertinent question to ask why someone else should pay for it. I am not anti small farm, in fact I'm pro family farm generally. I think the excess' of the CAP are worse than the act of actually subsidising things (all primary industries are subsidised) I think the payments should taper off as farms size gets greater.

I always drone on about the 1/2 rate SFP I get thanks to historic. I survive because I've cut costs and adapted, thats life and you don't change til you have to.

Someone else isn't paying for it. They are paying for the farmer to keep their land in GAEC. Simple as.

But...indirectly this results in food production and thus is bound to impact upon prices through additional supply.