Richard Hyde on the pandemic’s lessons.
This year I will have been in livestock auctioneering for 40 years, involved with Hereford, Talgarth and Builth Wells Markets.
I have always been waiting for the day when the sheep and beef sectors were fully appreciated and 24 years ago, I was involved with the launch of Íæż½ã½ã Ferry, which has led to abattoirs in Kenilworth and Wrexham being set up. The ferry and abattoirs have helped enormously with the expansion of the export trade which is the key to maintaining a buoyant sheep trade throughout the year.
Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic have thankfully done little to dampen trade. At last livestock farmers are getting the rewards they have always richly deserved.
Thankfully, through Lambing Live and similar programmes, the public is shown what farming entails and it is hugely important to connect the consumer with the producer.
This is something Countryfile should be doing, but has sadly lost its way.
Temperature rise is with us and there are governments all over the world who will not be able to afford to take the measures we are imposing upon ourselves. The interior of the continental landmasses will become hotter in summer and colder in winter, making food production more difficult.
Basic Payment Scheme is being phased out to be replaced by the Environmental Land Management scheme, albeit with no mention of food production. Additionally, the price of fertiliser has reached 700/tonne.
These elements will combine to reduce food production worldwide when a growing global population will require more food, not less. Britain has a maritime climate protected by the sea from extremes of temperature in summer and winter.
We can grow a diverse range of crops and produce top quality livestock. Íæż½ã½ã want to produce food; they look after the land and the environment while feeding the population. There is no profession or job more important than farming and food production.
Dangerous
From the pandemic our Government should have learnt that we must not be dependent upon the external supply of anything, especially food. The trade of gas to Europe must show us that dependence upon others is a dangerous path to follow. We are currently around 60 per cent self-sufficient in food production, but this is almost guaranteed to fall.
Jeremy Clarkson has said that we need a Minister for food. The food supply of the nation is of massive consequence and the pandemic should have shown us not to be reliant upon others, if we can produce the goods required.
Our farmers are quite capable of growing food but we should be careful as to where our massive tree planting requirement takes place as we cannot eat trees.
There are plenty of areas of the country where tree planting would be sensible, but to take land perfectly capable of crop or livestock production appears to be a knee-jerk reaction to offset carbon footprints.
Please can our Government wake up to the essential importance of a plentiful, secure, sustainable, home-produced food supply for the long-term security of the nation.
On a much brighter note, I understand that a major supermarket is to commence sourcing livestock from markets once again.
May I thank and congratulate them and suggest their competitors do likewise to end the pretence of not having market livestock, which is clearly impossible if they wish to maintain their throughput.
Sell live to thrive.
