‘New farming subsidies aren’t fit for purpose – I might as well get a job in Asda’
Off you go then.
He is a seventh-generation dairy farmer who has been organic since 1997, produces antibiotic-free milk, and “likes the feeling of working with nature, not trying to beat it”.
If the costs of doing that are higher than the value of having done that then stop doing that.
This really is very simple.
Note also. Antibiotic free organic milk is rather a virtue signal for the upper middle classes. So, the real demand here is tht everyone should pay taxes to fund the subsidies for upper middle class virtue signalling. Another reason to tell ’em all to bugger off.
Off you go then.
Thus speaks the economist, ignoring all other considerations one of which is the strategic value for a country to be able to produce at least a proportion of the food its population wishes to consume.
That’s not to defend the status quo. My neighbour has untold acres of bramble, thistle, ragwort, gorse and calls this “rewilding”. The costs to him are zero and the subsidy is as good or better than if the land was in productive use.
Virtue-signalling middle classes ensuring that there are plenty of shrews and voles to feed the barn owl and the kestrels is a poor reward for tax-payers.
Post-Brexit farm payments encourage farmers to nurture the environment, but at the cost of producing food
So we’re paying farmers not to grow food, while growing our population by over a million hungry mouths a year, while Net Zeroing the economy.
Lol.
But Steve, all these new people are rocket scientists and surgeons. They’ll think of something.
We are truly blessed.
” My neighbour has untold acres of bramble, thistle, ragwort, gorse and calls this “rewilding”. The costs to him are zero and the subsidy is as good or better than if the land was in productive use.”
Quite. The amount of money that is being spent on subsidies to farmland have not changed as a result of Brexit, all thats changed is what is being subsidised. It used to pay people to produce food (or at least it allowed you to produce food on top of the subsidy, and 99% of farmers continued to do so, even though they didn’t have to), now its to pay people not to produce food. The environmental payments that allow some food production are low, and the restrictions on what you can do on the land very onerous, while the payments that do not allow food production are quite generous. Its obvious that the thrust of current public policy is to end food production in the UK, and import everything, presumably on Net Zero grounds. As for some reason imported food does not count towards CO2 emissions calculations.
The whole thing is mad. If you are going to subsidise land at least do it in a way that produces something useful. To spend all that money on nothing more than weeds is immoral.
https://youtu.be/BNQ3itmFug8?si=0-hDkQzXoFGhW0dL
I’ve never seen a farmer on a bike.
Its obvious that the thrust of current public policy is to end food production in the UK, and import everything
Das ist ein gut plan.
“likes the feeling of working with nature, not trying to beat it”.
Dairy farming is far from working with nature. The man is too much of an idiot to continue farming. “Seventh generation dairy farmer”? Has he been inbreeding with the cows?
So, presumably, ordinary milk is inorganic. It is surprising how many folk never studied chemistry at school – or at least paid no attention in class.
It is surprising how many folk never studied chemistry at school
Not even black, queer or indigenous chemistry?
And it’s folx by the way.
Pendant alert:
Das ist ein guter Plan.
And no doubt I’m now going to have fallen for sods law.
What he needs to do is change his farm to produce the popular foods that prod noses want banned.