Grass Roots - February 2002 | | Anton Coaker is a Devon hill farmer whose stock was culled as contiguous to an outbreak of Foot-and-Mouth.
Ten years ago he diversified into the sawmill and timber business, he also retails beef and lamb reared on the farm.
A family man, each month he takes a look at the state of farming, from grass roots level: |
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It might as well rain until September... |
Ha! Why did I have to open my big mouth? Did I really say, last month, how kind the weather had been?
Now, as February is upon us, the gales howl, and the rain is that sideways-type we know and love! It seems to have fallen from its cloud three parishes upwind, each drop charged with the holy task of finding my last dry layer of clothing.
At least it’s mild - to be optimistic.
To be frightfully topical, my good wife has tried out the tender mercies of the NHS. Several years ago, Alison crash-landed from a fast moving horse (please remain in your seats during the journey).
Dobbin was quite unharmed, as was Ali’s right collarbone.
Her left collarbone, however, was in 3 pieces, all pointing in different directions.
 | Don't let my story put you off horseriding... |
A local hospital (which shall remain nameless) treated this condition by, initially, leaving Ali for over a week to saviour the sensation of jagged broken bones straining to come out into the daylight.
The next stage was to bolt her back together, with a piece of flat 1 inch bar, 4 inches long, with square pointy corners.
We know exactly the shape of the metalwork, as it was plainly on view to anyone looking at Alison’s shoulders (not that I encourage people to look at my wife’s shoulders.)
A different local hospital (which I shall name; Torbay) has now, 6 years later, removed the ironwork, efficiently and neatly.
The speed of initial treatment was not acceptable in a country that still rates itself as a global player - and the "finesse" of the repair was something one might expect of an army field hospital after a heavy day's artillery exchange. (By the way, in case any individual NHS staff should read this, I think you're all stars and when my turn comes next I’ll try to remember to be in clean socks and not to be smelling of silage!)
TB or not TB, that is the question... |
Farmy type action in the last month has centred on a TB test of the cattle.
Luckily we tested clear despite having several groups of bought-in heifers and the numerous bush telegraph reports of a widespread upsurge in TB.
The thorny topic of TB and badgers is raising its head again and my tuppence worth would include the observation that I seem to have a steady population of healthy badgers in residence and no TB so I quietly take any steps necessary to ensure continuity.
I suspect a comparison of the date of the resurge in TB in cattle and the date of the act protecting our little black and white chums may be revealing.
Possibly a western shift in concentrations of cattle numbers, as mixed farming became rarer in the eastern counties, may have been relevant.
The Curry Report is out and I’ve yet to study the detail. I suspect little of great use to any of us just more tinkering at the edges.
The time is ripe for a serious shake up of the food chain, mostly beyond the farm gate.
I’ve every respect for the NFU but I don’t think they are pushing enough, nr in just the right direction. (Not that I am a supporter of the noisy demonstration league. Standing outside Tesco holding a placard is just an admission of defeat).
If you, the consumer, wish to help, go direct to a producer and buy produce where you can ask questions straight to our faces. If you cannot do that, at least ask for UK sourced goods when shopping or eating out. (Obviously UK sourced bananas are a bit thin on the ground and the Sutherland and Ross-shire crop of coffee was very small this year we hear.)
Back to the Curry Report and its relevance to the real state of UK farming. I will illustrate just how degraded our expectations have become.
A "farmers leader" - whom I know and respect - was discussing sets of projected figures with me recently. He was using his own business as the base example (and he is an intelligent, ambitious, young-ish man who thinks fairly big for a UK farmer).
If his cattle would sell for X and his production costs were Y he would need Z in some form of subsidy to maintain an income of £20,000. Therefore, he should lobby for a level of subsidy equal to Z.
Let's put that in context with today’s world.
 | It's hard to make ends meet without some form of diversification |
A self-employed man should invest heavily in a business which will involve seven days a week commitment for much of the year, no paid leave or holiday, no big pension, little chance of "promotion".
He’ll be swamped in beauro-crap, answerable to a legion of government departments and regarded as a parasite in many quarters into the bargain.
He’ll do all of this and if he has a great deal of skill and luck (remember, a week of bad weather at a couple of critical times will scupper an entire year), some years he just might pocket a figure similar to a basic employee’s salary (nothing against anyone else earning a living, you understand).
Other years he’ll be lucky to make anything at all!
Sorry people but that isn’t a sustainable industry - that’s a business with a short future.
Oh, the above all refers to "he’s" because most of the "she’s" have had to go out to work away from the farm to earn some money to keep the business afloat.
I don’t want our leaders to have to ask for ANY damn subsidy; it’ll only end up in the pockets of the supermarket anyway.
I just want the chance to be able to earn a living from producing food.
Longer evenings and warmer weather beckon, so keep your chin up and come back and join me for another page in my Grass Roots diary next month.
ANTON
You can comment on Anton's Diary on our Farmers' Forum and there'll be more "Grass Roots" next month.
And don't forget to turn the pages of Tony Beard's Dartmoor Diary each month in our Great Outdoors section |
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