My parents are victims of cowboy tree surgeons who are now blaming my mother.

[Mesterh]

6 hours ago, coppice cutter said:

Farming is something which can bring great joy, but equally take you to the depths of despair.

I don't doubt that a second. My take on disliking farmers was nothing more than a bit of poor humour, the rest of the story was true unfortunately. Farming is a job that I certainly don't envy, it seems like its a 24/7 job with a lot of graft. As you say I'm sure some parts of the job are really rewarding but I guess there is the scope for things to go seriously wrong fairly quickly, most of the time it being completly beyond their control.

 

I always have respect for the farming lads and lasses.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

15 hours ago, Mesterh said:

It's got to be better than the endless series of garbage my Mrs watches on Netflix!

It is precisely that - Netflix garbage. Watch it if you can bear it. I’ll be surprised if you get past 3 episodes. 
 

episode 1 because you can

 

episode 2 because you’ll believe it must get better

 

episode 3 just out of sheer determination despite the realisation starting to become undeniable

 

if you start episode 4 the beers are on me (APF only)

 

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

10 hours ago, Mesterh said:

I always have respect for the farming lads and lasses.

And that is where anyone with any sense should be questioning and challenging the historic grant funding scheme which did VERY little to actually support those ‘hands on the tools’ members of that farmining community but rather spaffed literally billions up the wall of grouse moors, QUANGOs, charities and landed gentry. 
 

Anyone with ½ an ounce of sense would see the inequity and illogicality of single farm payment scheme and kick the NFU well and truly into touch. 
 

What actually happens is all the grant beneficiaries at the lower level suckle at the teat of ignorant subservience like crack zombies and dutifully toe the line for fear of disrupting the steady stream of crumb that is brushed from their masters’ tables. 
 

Any other ‘business’ which relied so openly and fundamentally upon tax payer support simply wouldn’t qualify as a viable business under HMRC definitions. If it can’t operate without grant funding it is NOT a viable business. 

[Stere]

BPS is supposedly being scrapped for some new enviro sub scheme ELMS.

 

Maybe tate & lyle won't get 600 million a year in future?

 

 

United Kingdom | FarmSubsidy.org

FARMSUBSIDY.ORG

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FarmSubsidy shows who gets subsidies under the European Common Agricultural Policy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2022 by Stere

[coppice cutter]

24 minutes ago, kevinjohnsonmbe said:

Anyone with ½ an ounce of sense would see the inequity and illogicality of single farm payment scheme and kick the NFU well and truly into touch.

Well at least we can agree on something.

 

I cancelled my subscription to NFU about 30yrs ago when it became obvious that their main priority was selling insurance.

 

And I don't claim Basic Farm Payment as I don't want then to have any say over how my farm is run.

 

I still abide by the vast majority of legislation, but if there's something which is any way detrimental to best farming practice I will have no qualms about ignoring it. They could still potentially prosecute me if they felt so inclined, but nowadays they prefer to just threaten to withhold money from you unless you promise to be good in future.

 

With me, they don't have that option.

[GarethM]

Same here regarding subsidies, including stewardship etc. Paperwork would be more hassle than it's worth when you also factor in the restrictions it forces you to abide by.

 

I would factor the subsidies argument, if it was paid directly for maintenance of say the public footpaths, gates, hedgerows etc. 

 

Dyson is another if recipient, I'm sure he owns most of Lincolnshire.

Edited September 8, 2022 by GarethM

[Sutton]

1 hour ago, Stere said:

BPS is supposedly being scrapped for some new enviro sub scheme ELMS.

 

Maybe tate & lyle won't get 600 million a year in future?

 

 

United Kingdom | FarmSubsidy.org

FARMSUBSIDY.ORG

---

FarmSubsidy shows who gets subsidies under the European Common Agricultural Policy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You're right.

 

The subsidy focus has changed from food production to some kind of demented Countryfile version of a pastoral idyll crossed with X factor. It wont end well.

 

England and some of Wales had a drought this summer thats badly effected yields, both crops and livestock growth.

 

Like many other industries over this winter, farmers have got hard times ahead. Higher costs (fuel fertiliser, animal feed, commercial electric rates etc) with dwindling traditional subsidies, means, if market prices remain comparatively low, that farmers will simply stop growing food. Landowners may well simply become custodians for a fantasy, a picturesque view of the countryside for ramblers and nimby second home owners. No one will work it but it will be serviced by tree surgeons and forestors. 😃

 

So what's the political plan for our nation's food security?

 

Russian and the Ukraine will supply us with grain (if the sanctions are lifted and the war ends), the US their beef and chlorinated chicken,  and New Zealand (who got rid of subsidies years ago) will supply us their lamb. That leaves Spain and North Africa supplying us with vegetables.

 

Given transport and storage costs, many believe this wont be sustainable for long.

[GarethM]

They'll be suggesting an honesty box for donations and every farmer standing at the gates asking for customer feedback like those charity chuggers 

[Dan Maynard]

21 minutes ago, Sutton said:

that farmers will simply stop growing food.

I read an article the other day about the horticultural industry selling off the land with glasshouses on. My teenage job was on a tomato and lettuce nursery, there was turmoil in the 80s when Dutch tomatoes started coming in, and crops and methods changed but the business survived. Once you've built houses on the land there's no going back, we'll not have salad from there any more.

[GarethM]

Well they won't stop growing food, they will however be forced to do one of two things.

 

1. Increase prices to pay for the fertiliser.

2. Increase prices but sacrifice yields, which would mean using more land to get the same amount of crop.

 

It's almost as nonsensical as regenerative farming, it not regenerative it low input farming. Put simply you're just farming livestock on a larger amount of land.