Dear Customer,
It is a cold wet January day and it seems impossible to think that not long ago we were suffering from too little rain and too much heat!!
In my letter last summer, I was talking about how the Spanish value their farming and how it is still recognised as being a primary industry, not just by Spanish farmers but by their government and people alike.
I have just been reading the Farming Profitability review written by Baroness Minette Batters. It is, in my opinion, a most important report and a work of great skill and dedication. I congratulate her on what must have been a huge undertaking.
It is a sobering thought to learn from her review, that since 1984 our self sufficiency in farming has fallen from 78% to less than 65% today. It is forecast to decline further unless urgent action is taken.
It appears that the government has NO plan for farming in this country, it simply thinks that importing food is the way forward. There are so many arguments against this ignorant strategy:
With a lack of food security for the British people and the loss of the diversity, the farmer’s ability to look after 70% of the land in this country will surely result in a loss of farming skills. And, of course, if farmers cannot hand their farms on to their children, then who will farm in the future?
We are also faced with the fact that we cannot import food from countries that do not have enough for themselves and along with climate change, this is becoming a more common occurrence!
The policy of importing food at supposedly cheaper prices, grown without the welfare standards imposed in this country would, you may expect, lead to lower food prices, so why is food inflation rampant at the moment?
Many years ago, I was speaking to a farmer friend of mine and I suggested that farmers in this country should work together more, like they did in New Zealand when they had a farming crisis. The response was, “it will never happen, farmers never work together.” A self-fulfilling prophesy if ever there was one!!
However, Minette Batter’s report suggests that farmers MUST unite and work together to promote UK farming both at home and abroad. In my working life I have not known farming to be under so much pressure and confidence to be so low. So surely it is time to put our heads together?
What will this year bring? Winter Crops are looking good right across the country, so a good harvest would help to cheer up our arable farmers.
We have a stock of good quality Spring cereal varieties including Westminster which is an old favourite! This is selling out fast as it is still one of the most popular varieties in the Southwest, so please book your seed in good time.
If you have some good seed in your barn, then home save it and have it cleaned and dressed by us! It is a no brainer and will help you keep a bit more margin.
This year we will be mixing bespoke grass seed mixtures as we now have a new grass seed mixing set up. This will help you to get your grass seeds delivered faster! We will be sending you an up-to-date Grass seed brochure very soon.
We live in strange times, but we at SW Seeds will continue to do the best we can for our customers.
Do read Minette’s review, but the forward and executive summary would probably take up most of your spare time!!!
Please don’t feel that you are on your own, we are all in this together!!!
Wishing you a Healthy and Happy New Year. And best wishes,
Yours sincerelyRichard M L Jones Managing Director
