We would surely expect him to contact the police and who would immediately investigate and try to establish who the culprit was. Alternatively, he could call the council to arrange to have a skip sent to remove the waste.
We would be wrong. The police have neither the time or inclination to investigate, and as for the council, they would, as happened to John Hatton, who farms near Chelmsford and is frequently targeted by fly-tippers, prosecute him for ‘allowing hazardous waste’ to be stored on his land!
You couldn’t make it up. Farmers who are victims of fly tipping are responsible for disposing of the stuff, and if caught moving it, will be prosecuted for storing and handling the stuff without a license.
Mr Hatton is quite rightly calling for a change in legislation. He is furious that the council took him to court for trying to clear up the rubbish repeatedly left by criminals. Fortunately for him, the magistrate had more sense than the council officials and dismissed the charges.
The problem is getting worse as municipal tips either turn away or excessively charge businesses with building waste, and any vehicle they consider non domestic. This as other rural crimes need addressing urgently.
Last week the Farmers Weekly ran a story about their nationwide search, in conjunction with the Woodland Trust, for young people aged between 18 and 35, who are involved with food chain businesses, and across the ancillary professions. The purpose was to shine a light on some of the ‘most talented of the talented’.
Unsurprisingly nominations flooded in. Readers of the FW nominated relatives, bosses, colleagues, employees, neighbours and former students, who work on family farms to multinational companies – and everywhere in between.
Each nomination was read, and a shortlist of candidates invited to complete a questionnaire, demonstrating in their own words their achievements and aspirations for the future.
The aim was to recognise and promote the talents of the next generation of farmers, agricultural professionals, academics, researchers and others in the food and farming supply chain.
The 13 winners are diverse and demonstrate what a huge pool of talent there is in the UK food and farming industry. I sincerely hope this helps to dispel those gloom mongers who regularly portray the industry as tired and devoid of young talent. This project dispels that notion, and has identified a mere fraction of the rising stars of our industry.
To give a few examples of the winners; there is a start-up visionary, and a senior agricultural manager at the Co-op, aged 25. A dairy herd manager who was crowned NFU Wales Woman Farmer of the Year 2016, who is a passionate communicator. Also brothers who as dairy farmers have totally reinvented their approach to marketing their product.
Robin Asquith, 28, is the care farm manager for the wonderful Camphill Village Trust, as well as running his own farm business. Another, is an agricultural engineering lecturer aged 27. His aim is to make a positive and visible difference to the way we farm.
Ed Dale aged 27, is a farm manager with Velcourt at the Abury Estate in Warwickshire. And Rohit Kaushish, 30, a self-confessed city boy, who wanted to do something which contributed more to society - particularly the rural environment. He is now a key part of the NFU’s economic team, and is coming up with solutions for farmers to manage market volatility through risk management and insurance schemes.
These and the other finalists will hopefully help dispel the myth that farming and food production is dominated by grumpy 60 year olds!
I am all for equality amongst the genders, but can it really be right that both the male and female Wimbledon champions receive the same winnings?!