Endless Flooding & Rain, Cheap Imports, Low Prices, UK Farmers Quitting; Dairy #s Down 50% Since 95
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It is only now becoming apparent just how terrible sodden 2012 has been for farmers, particularly those in the north-west and south-west. Wheat yields were at their lowest level since the 1980s, the potato crop at its lowest since 1976. The oilseed rape harvest and barley yields also suffered. Livestock farmers suffered too. The wet weather conditions sent the price of animal feed soaring as farmers were forced to keep their animals indoors.
For some, the consequences threaten to be devastating. Recent figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs paint a bleak picture of a year many would prefer to forget. Dairy farmers saw their income plunge by 42%. Livestock and pig farmers have seen their incomes as much as halved. There were double-digit decreases for cereal and crop farmers, too.
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Not surprisingly, some are calling it a day. The dairy industry has seen a huge decline in its ranks. There were 36,000 dairy producers in 1995, compared with fewer than 15,000 now. Concern is shifting to sheep farmers, who are losing as much as £29 for each lamb they sell, owing to the rising costs of feed, wet weather and increased competition from New Zealand farmers who can undercut them. The sector is also braced for the spread of the fatal Schmallenberg virus as the lambing season gets under way. The threat is so potent the government is considering licensing a vaccine. "It's having a devastating effect on some farmers," Smith said. "Some have lost between 30% and 50% of their lambs." Losing even a few of their lambs will see many of the smaller sheep farmers plunge into the red.
The pork and poultry sectors face a different threat. Both have increased welfare conditions in line with EU directives. But other countries have refused to invest in new pens and coops, allowing their farmers to undercut their British rivals because they are not shouldering the costs of expensive equipment. Once Britain produced 70% of the pork it consumed. Today, that stands at just 50%. The long-held feeling among UK farmers that they are not competing on a level playing field is exacerbated by their experience of the common agricultural policy [CAP]. In January, the government agreed a series of EU budget cuts, including a 10% reduction in the CAP.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/23/weather-battered-farmers-hope-food-security-will-help
