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UK Farmers: Crisis Point?

The recent fuel tax crisis brought the desperation felt by many UK farmers into sharp relief. Feeling marginalised as an industry, the farmers have welcomed some of the focus on the countryside and agriculture that has stemmed from the activities of the rural pressure groups. Farmers insist that their livelihoods are under threat as never before. But as the following argument aims to show, despite clear evidence of deep problems in agriculture, public support for the farmers still falls far short of the national backing given to the farming lobby in France.

Farmers are at breaking point as the countryside is in crisis.

Farmers are always the first to moan, even though they caused the problems themselves.

	I've been reading how little farmers earn. Can't believe nothing's being done to help them. If they can't make a living, they've got no choice but to leave farming. With fewer locals involved, city people will carve up rural Britain with their 4-by-4 vehicles?
			Since when did you get all 'back-to-the-land?' Farmers are always complaining - if I had a pound for every time I heard a farmer moaning about how poor they are, I'd be able to afford one of those 4x4 'off-roaders' you're on about.

What's the truth about farming incomes and what's behind it all?

	That audit you're talking about praises farmers for cutting costs and looking to diversify into new business lines. Some farmers are coming up with new uses for their land, such as moving into the Leisure sector and converting land into Wildlife and Nature Parks.
			It doesn't matter how diverse they are if they can't run a business. An £80 K profit in 1995? They should have put some of that and previous years' incomes aside. All businesses have their ups and downs but the farmers think they're owed a living.

The UK Public and the Countryside

	See! There's a lot of ignorance about farming. What's needed is support for agriculture and education to show how important it is to us all. Farmers can't be blamed for leading the fuel protests in September. They get hit by higher petrol prices and lower farm incomes at the same time.
			It's all part of a campaign to win more help for farmers who have spent their lives getting rich whilst wrecking the countryside. As soon as they thought they would get backing they started a blockade of the oil terminals. But that wasn't public interest, it was self-interest. Farmers already get big discounts on their fuel bills.

The Fuel Crisis Re-Visited

	With a Government that doesn't care and a public that resents them like you've shown, you'd think farmers have enough to cope with. But they are also ripped-off by the supermarkets, when selling their produce down the supply chain.
			What's this all about? Have you got a persecution complex or what?! Farmers sell their goods in a free market - what's unfair about that?

Buyer Power of Supermarkets

	See? Farmers are being exploited everywhere they turn.
			Supermarkets exist to make money - farmers should learn to adapt. And farmers are still trying to sell us BSE-infected meat, aren't they?

Is British Meat Now Safe?

	Farming is a stressful occupation due to the long lonely hours. There are fewer farm workers due to cuts and new technology, and extra labour is seasonal. Medium-sized farms are being combined to cover larger and larger areas. Soon all we'll be left with are rural factories, bigger and emptier than disused shipyards.
			That's just the nature of the game. You hear farmers rambling on about how they love the solitude of the hills all the time on Country File. Anyway, bigger farms are more efficient - that's just economy of scale.

Farm Size Matters in the UK and France