Dr Therese Coffee the new DEFRA Secretary, represents a rural constituency in Suffolk. She has worked in the food industry, did a stint at DEFRA for three years from 2016 and sat on the Environmental Audit Committee. Dr Coffee has a long history of raising farmers’ concerns in the House of Commons, prior to joining the department.
All this bodes well for the farming community, together with her inclination to ‘champion’ farmers and give short shift to those suggesting that ‘axing red meat would save lives’. To which she was reported to have replied, “what next, no spag bol?”
Her views on the impact of solar farms v food security, will be interesting. She was reported to have said in the Commons, “We are starting to see a trend for change in land use which will have an effect on food security.” She certainly appears to be on the right page.
The exceptional warm, and damp weather is causing the autumn sown crops to romp away at a pace which is just as well as they are being challenged by slugs and aphids. Having successfully dealt with the slugs, and sprayed to clear the aphids, another batch has hatched encouraged by the unseasonal high temperature. The expense of yet another application is prohibitive along with other variable costs. Some short sharp frosts would do the job for free!
The grass continues to grow making up for when the fields resembled a desert. Now we hope the ground will remain dry enough to allow the livestock to clear up the grass before being housed for the winter. They look well, and hopefully we shall have the ’all clear’ with our TB Test this week.
Farmers are rejecting the new green subsidies, preferring to focus on food production. Just 1,000 have signed up since June for the basic environmental land management scheme which replaces the old EU-style subsidies. This is just 1.6 per cent of the Government’s target of participation by 2028. Not surprising as there is very little incentive to enter these schemes. The paperwork is tiresome, and the payments offered for undertaking work, most of which we do anyway, is insignificant. It certainly will not keep the wolf from the door whilst costs are rising sky high.
I pay little attention to social media but last week following Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter I checked in. The verbal abuse was shocking and the whining of so many pathetic. They all need to get on and get over it – whatever their gripe and circumstances.
Social media has created a vacuous platform on which to waste time. It seems to be populated by too many self-obsessed opinionated Muppets, doing far more harm than good. Life really is too short to take any of it seriously.
All this bodes well for the farming community, together with her inclination to ‘champion’ farmers and give short shift to those suggesting that ‘axing red meat would save lives’. To which she was reported to have replied, “what next, no spag bol?”
Her views on the impact of solar farms v food security, will be interesting. She was reported to have said in the Commons, “We are starting to see a trend for change in land use which will have an effect on food security.” She certainly appears to be on the right page.
The exceptional warm, and damp weather is causing the autumn sown crops to romp away at a pace which is just as well as they are being challenged by slugs and aphids. Having successfully dealt with the slugs, and sprayed to clear the aphids, another batch has hatched encouraged by the unseasonal high temperature. The expense of yet another application is prohibitive along with other variable costs. Some short sharp frosts would do the job for free!
The grass continues to grow making up for when the fields resembled a desert. Now we hope the ground will remain dry enough to allow the livestock to clear up the grass before being housed for the winter. They look well, and hopefully we shall have the ’all clear’ with our TB Test this week.
Farmers are rejecting the new green subsidies, preferring to focus on food production. Just 1,000 have signed up since June for the basic environmental land management scheme which replaces the old EU-style subsidies. This is just 1.6 per cent of the Government’s target of participation by 2028. Not surprising as there is very little incentive to enter these schemes. The paperwork is tiresome, and the payments offered for undertaking work, most of which we do anyway, is insignificant. It certainly will not keep the wolf from the door whilst costs are rising sky high.
I pay little attention to social media but last week following Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter I checked in. The verbal abuse was shocking and the whining of so many pathetic. They all need to get on and get over it – whatever their gripe and circumstances.
Social media has created a vacuous platform on which to waste time. It seems to be populated by too many self-obsessed opinionated Muppets, doing far more harm than good. Life really is too short to take any of it seriously.
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