Why UK Farming is in a mess!
This article represents my personal view of the causes of some of the problems facing farmers in the UK and elsewhere.
Supply and demand
UK farmers produce roughly the same amount every year with little regard to the laws of supply and demand. Imports for a lot of the products our farmers produce have increased, at the same time as consumption has fallen or stayed the same. As this then helps create a fall in prices, most farmers then try and produce more to offset their loss of income.
Price takers not price makers
Many British farmers like to think that they are good at doing deals. However with the increasing dominance of supermarkets there are fewer (but larger) buyers for their produce and farmers are in a poor position to dictate prices. The joke once told at the Oxford Farming Conference was "What’s the difference between a supermarket buyer and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist!"
The big 4 supermarkets have nearly 75% of the market (Observer 5 December 2004). See Who'll be going down the aisle? -a Guardian special report about the marketing strength of supermarkets in Britain.
The average farm gate milk prices in May 2003 according to DEFRA was 16.2 pence per litre. This is below the cost of production, and most farmers do not include all their costs (e.g. own labour) in that! In 1996 farmers received 25 pence per litre. The farmers other costs (e.g. electricity, paid labour and other overheads have generally carried on escalating. The cost in the supermarket (for the milk the farmer receives 16.2p) is around 45 pence per litre. It’s even more in small containers or for doorstep delivery. The supermarkets charge more for water than for milk!
Fewer farmers
As a result of the pressures on farmers the agricultural work force is declining. In 1990, according to DEFRA, the agricultural work force in England was 435,781, by 2002 it had fallen to 371,824. This trend is likely to continue. The average age for a farmer is around 58. The larger farmers will get bigger and the smaller farmers will disappear.
Intensive ways
Half the antibiotics
dispensed in Britain are
eaten in our food. On average a pig reared in Britain receives 15g of
medicine. Many poultry receive antibiotic growth promoters. Dairy cows
often receive long acting antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is
increasing in humans causing problems in our hospitals. There are
connections between human problems such as MRSA (Methicillin Resistant
Staphylococcus Aureus) and VRE (Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci).
These problems are a result of farm intensification (as a result of
increased competition and lower prices) and irresponsible use of
antibiotics.
Educating the public
British farmers have become increasingly remote from their customers. A typical farmer may have a good breakfast, home cooked meals eaten together as a family, roasts on Sunday etc. But the average consumer has less time to cook, is more likely to rely on ready meals and takeaways etc.
The British public professes to have an interest in animal welfare until they go into a shop. They usually then go for the cheapest food.
Food miles
More and more food travels ridiculous distances from where it was produced to the consumer. Livestock reared near Carlisle, Cumbria, go to Devon for slaughter, then the meat goes to Carlisle to a bakery to manufacture the pie, then to Birmingham to Marks and Spencers’s distribution centre, then to the Carlisle Marks and Spencers to be sold retail! source: www.go-nw.gov.uk/rural/sff_rep2.pdf
However, farmers' markets selling local produce are proving popular. See www.farmersmarkets.net to find those nearest you. Internet sites like Big Barn also helps you to find local food. Buying local food enables you to talk to the producer and find out how the food was produced.
Fishy business
It is sad to see that many fish farmers have not learnt anything from the mistakes of some the worst intensive farmers of the land. If you think eating salmon is a healthy and natural alternative to meat, read Farmed Fish first from the excellent Observer Food Monthly magazine.
As for eating prawns, read Prawn Free before you do!
Eat the view?
The British public is increasing concerned about environmental issues. Most people take for granted the countryside and do not realise how much farming has shaped it. The changes in farming are likely to change the countryside (bigger farms use more machinery and need bigger fields and less labour per acre. . Maybe the future is for farmers to be paid as custodians of the countryside?
I welcome the fact that some farmers have either set up retail outlets or offer Bed and Breakfast etc. This minority of farmers can educate the British public about the real conditions facing UK agriculture.
Sadly the majority of farmers don’t have time to do this. However there are now some excellent sites on the Internet such as Phil Smallwood’s www.greenheyes.com.
What can be done?
I feel that education is the answer. If people don't know enough about the food they eat, how can they make informed decisions about what they purchase? I used to enjoy Cointreau until I read Don't take the pith an article about the conditions the workers in Haiti suffered processing oranges. Most of us know little about how are food is produced. We are operating in a global community and know even less about some of the food we import.
I would also like to see clearer food labelling to ensure people know exactly what they are buying and how it was produced. In the UK it is legal to describe fish as fresh which has been previously frozen. Beer should be made from water, hops, barley and yeast. The powerful UK alcoholic drink manufacturers have managed to avoid declaring what ingredients and chemicals are in your drinks.
I am worried about how the big food producers influence our governments. Read That's the Horror of Haskins for George Monbiot’s views about Lord Haskins!
Most farmers are ordinary people, who work very hard for little reward. The unacceptable conditions with which some of our food is produced, are often directly due to market forces impinging on the farmer.