IF you think that farmers, food growers and producers are minor in British economy, think again.

A big black cloud, which isn't just the weather, is hanging over the future of farming, food producers and growers livelihoods, with incomes on the brink of below the price of production with De-Linked Payments and battling against the extended wintery weather conditions, looking into the future is very financially bleak.

Farmers and food producing generations are progressive entrepreneurs in their fields, if their livelihoods should stumble or even stop, the generations of knowledge, breeding stock, forward thinking, vision and ability to adapt to the ever changing weather conditions will be lost and possibly never regained.

Our counties farmers, food growers and food producers are team GB, who work together as one great team with countless other entrepreneurs in their fields, who need us to survive as much as we need them - agronomists, vets, nutritionists, feed traders, merchants, farm supplies - who stock all the latest requirements, nutrition, medicines, treatments, identifications for all types of farm animals, down to buckets and wheelbarrows. Agricultural construction, agricultural farm contractors and hauliers of livestock, cereals, machinery and dead stock. All these businesses are wheels within wheels on employment.

Another team we work together with is the tractors, machinery and agricultural engineering dealers, the aspiration, innovation and technology, which comes with forward planning for more efficient, technical, time saving developments and the skilled people involved from design to practical work in production is massive employment. The ever progressive teams working in spare parts stores and the mechanics always keeping up to date with technology to be ready to be called out, day time or night time, ALL rely on the main cog in the wheel = farmers, food growers and food producers to have a financially viable business to invest in these companies and ALL those jobs within.

Once the crops have been harvested and livestock is at the peak for food production, the next employment destination = markets, slaughterhouses or sold for next generation growing, breeding, brewing, milling, or frash produce to a warehouse or sorting station before heading straight to the butchers and shops, which is a whole new cycle of entrepreneur of employment in their fields.

In Cornwall farming, growers and food production entrepreneurs are at the top of their game, producing fresh healthy, tasty, home grown, meats, eggs, dairy, seasonal vegetables and fruits, ciders, beers, largers, wine, cheeses  and honey from countless great producers, which starts out in the fields, being carefully nurtured with many generations of knowledge, aspiration and innovation of those striding to take us hopefully into the future and enjoyed by so many throughout the seasons, with massive employment cycles.

CORNISH FARMING: DAIRY-BEEF-ARABLE-CHICKENS-PIGS-SHEEP-VEGETABLES 

(Dairy) - Employment to make - Cornish Cream Teas (clotted cream) = Tourism
(Dairy) - Employment to make - Cornish Ice Cream = Tourism
(Dairy) - Employment to make - Milk Shakes = Tourism
(Dairy) - Employment to make - Cornish Cheeses - Ploughmans Lunch = Tourism

(Beef & Growers) - Employment to make - Cornish Pasties = Tourism

(Arable & Growers) - Employment to make - Bread - Beer - Cider - Wine = Tourism
(Arable & Growers) - Employment - Fish + Chips - Sunday Roast = Tourism

(Chicken & Pigs) - Employment - Fried Breakfast - Cornish Bacon & Cornish Eggs

(Sheep) - Employment - Sunday Roast - Kebabs - Shape natural habitats = Tourism

Farming in it's nature recycles

Grain - Grass - Milk - Meat - Farm Yard Manure - Leather - Petfood - Wild Bird Fat Balls Food.  Progressive knowledge - Electricity.

Farming recycles nearly everything they use, including plastic which is made into garden furniture = Employment cycles are massive.

Team GB farmers, growers and food producers work together to produce the most traceable, freshest, healthiest, green products and need to be paid fairly to financially survive for the future, as home grown food and produce at the standards Great Britian produces, is key to employment, a healthy population and the next gereation, which is what Government, Defra and the heads in charge of the supermarkets should be promoting as this in turn helps the NHS, mental health and wellbing. YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT.

Great Britian has the Climate
Great Britian has the Knowledge and the Entrepreneurs in Crops and Livestock
Great Britian has the Farmers, Growers and Food Producers
Great Britian has the Machinery and Expertise
Great Britian has the Markets, Traders, Slaughterhouses, Fresh Produce Warehouses
KEEP GB FARMING
FEEDING OUR NATION
FEEDING GB EMPLOYMENT and the HEALTH of our NATION

Hopefully together, Government, DEFRA and the supermarkets will quickly find a fair plan to financially reward food production and the future of farming, growers and food producers of Great Britian before it's too late and the wheels fall off the employment cycle, which would be devastating to ALL those employed directly or indirectly to feeding our nation.

February 20 2024: A message from The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP

"It is farmers who feed us and proudly steward the land. You do it not for praise, or for high reward but to put food on our tables and to maintain a tradition and a way of life that matters.  We don't celebrate that enough."

My response is: "That is true, but please now, going forward our country needs to pay farmers, growers and food producers fairly, for our survival to secure employment, the strength of us as a country and our security."

Nicola Alford
Bodmin, Cornwall