On Wed, 4 Dec 2002 23:23:24 -0600, "Gordon Couger"
wrote:


"Torsten Brinch" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 4 Dec 2002 06:49:05 +0000 (UTC), "Charlie"
wrote:


world shortages and EU aid payments. But celebration would be
prematu the bad news is, it is all downhill from here.
(The Times, September 27 1996)

I wonder if they have ever looked back at this cutting and realised what
an
absolutely true piece of reporting this was!!
If farmers had known what was coming after this I am sure there would be
far
less about now, most could have sold up then and been better off now if
they
had never done another days work.

Hm. If The Times could see it coming, why couldn't the farmers.

Farming is a cycical bussness. If we ran and hid at every down market you
would be rather short on food.

But that isn't the point. UK had in 1996 a farm income peak, the
highest in 20 years. The Times could see what would come after, so why
couldn't the farmers.

When I quit faming I took a dressing down in
a restrant from one of my neighors for it. "My dad had farmed that land and
so had my grand dad and I by God sould stick to it". It wasn't a polite or
quite discussion. It's not a job that pays wages that you can get another
down around the corner. It's what many of our families have done for
generations.

That could be one mechanism, some would hold on to a non-competitive
business for, eh, not particularly rational reasons.

If your governments are going to tie your farmers hands so he can't make a
profit they are pretty much obliged to keep him in business

But our governments are not tying farmers hands so they can't make a
profit! Businesses must stay competitive to make a profit, and it is
no secret that UK farming has had on average higher overheads and
lower increase in productivity than farming elsewhere and for quite a
while. E.g. over the last few years UK farmers have been able to
shave away farming labor costs at a rate of appr. 30 full time workers
per day, or 10,000 per year.