On Thu 3 Jan at 2:16pm bored2 wrote:
Farmers starting to get worried that there is nothing in writing confirming food standards with Brexit just round the corner. With the government committing to match CAP subsidies only until 2022 it looks like they'll be another sector to be run down after Brexit.
Check it out here »
On Thu 3 Jan at 2:25pm Hello wrote:
Project fear approaches TDS levels.
Uninformed hysteria.
On Thu 3 Jan at 4:32pm SHS wrote:
The biggest current threat to farmers is cheap imports from the EU and elsewhere. A no-deal Brexit will help the majority of farmers. Ignore the media and the 'project fear' put out by many (who should be leading with optimism instead of dispelling doom and gloom).
On Thu 3 Jan at 8:37pm Mark wrote:
It's helpful that Sajid Javid is striding manfully around our coastline like a collosus of Brexit - close to the White Cliffs of Dover - what a bunch of tits.
On Thu 3 Jan at 10:58pm Clifford wrote:
Javid is putting in his bid for leadership of the Tory party. Let's hope it succeeds because you'd have to travel a long way to find a bigger moron in the party.
On Fri 4 Jan at 2:27am king of sussex wrote:
Is "The biggest current threat to farmers is cheap imports from the EU and elsewhere" another way of saying we should expect price rises in the produce aisle?
On Fri 4 Jan at 8:41am bored2 wrote:
Hello, SHS, Not sure why you're talking about Project Fear? That was a campaign thing. We are leaving the EU. This is the reality farmers are facing in 12 weeks time that the government has failed to prepare for.
50% of farm income is from CAP subsidies that are only guaranteed till 2022. There is no policy confirmed on farm labour migration or food standards. Imagine trying to run a business without information like this. That's the complaint from farmers and their union (all pro leave still BTW), not the media or me personally.
There is concern that to keep food prices low the government will lower food quality standards. This can then be used as a carrot for the US in a trade deal. Net effect of this, cheap EU imports replaced by cheaper poor quality ROW imports. This undercuts our farmers but means the government saves £2-3B a year in subsidies and can cut immigration as the farms will go under and no longer need labour from the EU.
The losers are farmers and the health of people who will have to buy the lower quality food. Why will the government not do anything about this concern from people who voted leave? Maybe because they are happy with that outcome?
On Fri 4 Jan at 9:49am Tommy wrote:
"The biggest current threat to farmers is cheap imports from the EU and elsewhere" Is another way of saying are farmers can't produce competitively as the 'Cheap imports' from the EU were produced to EU standards. However, they voted to Leave. They voted to lose their subsidiaries from the EU. They voted to lose their sources of cheap labor. And now maybe they will start to realise the price of bananas don't really matter
On Fri 4 Jan at 1:24pm bored2 wrote:
I'd disagree Tommy. They voted for continued tariff free access to export to the EU, continued labour migration for their seasonal workers, increased subsidies to replace CAP and all the other promises made to them. They voted for something they were told would make their lives better. Unfortunately it turns out most of what they were told was lies.
On Fri 4 Jan at 1:50pm Tommy wrote:
No, what they voted for was a group of people who had no real influence over the outcome. It wasn't a load of lies. It was no different from a guy at the bar in the pub spouting his opinion.
On Fri 4 Jan at 6:35pm Bert wrote:
I for one won't miss the tasteless tomatoes out of season, and the rest.
On Fri 4 Jan at 6:54pm Green Sleeves wrote:
Go drag those knuckles back to your cave, and tribe, Bert. Clan leader Barr is impatiently waiting on news from the east.
On Sat 5 Jan at 1:25am Fairmeadow wrote:
Bored to says "There is concern...". No policy proposals to form any basis for this concern though.
The farmers who might have most reason to be worried are Irish farmers, who produce nothing we can't easily produce in GB and are hugely dependent on their exports to us.
On Sat 5 Jan at 1:35am king of sussex wrote:
What does 'out of season' mean to you Bert?
Are you referring to tomatoes imported from southern EU states where they are actually in season, or the ones grown over UK winters in UK hothouses?
I totally agree they're pretty tasteless, though that's a consequence of breeding vines with higher yields and pest resistance. That's happened around the entire world, including UK - in and out of season. You're still going to see them in Tesco next April, they're just going to be more expensive.
Presumably, you buy the tastier, but undeniably more expensive 'on the vine' tomatoes.
Do you know here they come from?