BY PHILIP WALLING What the Lynx UK Trust couldn’t achieve by straightforward means it is now trying to get by lawfare. It is applying for judicial review of Natural England’s refusal to grant any licence, now or in the future, for the release of lynx into the wild in Britain. I’ve written about this organisation and its aims before under the heading ‘This insane move … Continue reading Lynx Fanatics Won’t Take No For An Answer
BY DOMINIC WIGHTMAN We walk on concrete, but we live on bread. The modern world hums with the illusion of self-sufficiency – our smartphones deliver groceries with a tap, restaurants materialise meals on demand, and supermarkets present endless abundance as if by nature’s own hand. Yet this is a collective delusion. The truth is simpler, starker: every society rests upon the bowed backs of farmers. … Continue reading Why We Should All Respect Farmers
BY ED ANDERSON Teruellian Tractors and Aragonese Agriculture show the best of Spain, its politicians show the worst With all eyes on the USA, it would have been easy to miss the unfolding and continuing tragedy taking place in Spain and more specifically in Valencia from the DANA. Over 200 have died from the flash floods caused by the cold air heading over the warm … Continue reading Teruellian Tractors
BY THEODORE BRUN A tax raid on farmers is raising more trouble than revenue “Better red than expert.” That was one of the slogans touted through the national propaganda channels in the early days of the People’s Republic of China shortly after Chairman Mao came to power. In other words, professionalism should be subordinated to politics. It seems a pretty accurate description of the current … Continue reading Raiding the Fields, Lessons from History
CSM STAFFER Today at the Welsh Labour Conference in in Llandudno, Conwy, the hundreds of gathered farmers, protesting against the Labour Government’s recent and dangerous inheritance tax rule changes for farms, were expecting Keir Starmer to come and meet them so they could get their points across. Starmer did not have the guts. He left without meeting them. This was in stark contrast to Rishi … Continue reading Chicken Starmer Dodges Meeting Welsh Farmers
CSM EDITORIAL As readers of this magazine will know very well by now, there is a farmer protest organised for Tuesday 19th November in London. The organisers are claiming, soundly, that the planned rally will “help deliver a strong and clear message to the government while in the heart of London, that family farms and the rural community stand united against the government’s catastrophic Budget.” … Continue reading Met Police Farmer Protest Strategy Backfiring
BY ROBIN JOHNSTON Introducing inheritance tax on farms in the UK would be disastrous for the agricultural sector and the wider rural economy. Farming is not just a business; it is a way of life for many families, passed down through generations. The imposition of inheritance tax on farmland would not only threaten the viability of family farms, but it would also undermine the broader … Continue reading Inheritance Tax on Farms – You Want to Starve?
BY EILEEN STUART Warning: Graphic images Following an appeal by the high-profile farmer Gareth Wyn Jones, sheep farmers across Britain have amassed hundreds of images and reports of bird attacks on lambs during this year’s lambing season. Pest birds, such as carrion crows, magpies and jackdaws, are spreading in their millions and face only one enemy: farmers with their shotguns. The problem is, farmers with … Continue reading Corvid Lamb Persecution Now Out of Control
Gareth Wyn Jones is the nation’s favourite farmer. Born in the beautiful Carneddau mountains in North Wales, he has lived all his life at Ty’n Llwyfan, the windswept slopes where his family have farmed for 350 years. Today he lives there with his wife and three kids. Gareth’s YouTube videos are well known – he has 2.1 million followers on the channel. This year Gareth … Continue reading The Gareth Wyn Jones Interview
Flavian, originally from Kenya, stumbled into the world of farming serendipitously. Upon relocating to the UK at the age of 15 from his childhood in Kenya, he initially aimed to pursue a degree in veterinary medicine at university. However, falling short of the required grades, he decided to take a gap year to bolster his qualifications. During this time, he engaged in work experience within … Continue reading Flavian Obiero – Hampshire’s Kenyan Pig Farmer
BY JIM WEBSTER In the UK both major parties have been promising that there will be more money spent on environmental regeneration. Also politicians are now starting to pay lip service to food security. Sir Keir Starmer promised that “the next Labour government will commit to this – 50% of all food purchased by the public sector will be food produced locally and sustainably”. He … Continue reading The Money Available for Agricultural & Environmental Schemes
CSM EDITORIAL Farmers play a pivotal role in the United Kingdom, contributing significantly to the nation’s economy, food security, and environmental sustainability. Their tireless efforts and expertise in cultivating crops, raising livestock, and managing agricultural operations are essential for the wellbeing and progress of the nation. Farmers make indispensable contributions to the nation’s social fabric: through their dedication and expertise, they ensure a constant supply … Continue reading Furious British Farmers Now Ready to March
BY ALEX STORY We live into the epoch of Utopia. We have left reality firmly behind. Seeking Utopia in this life, as the good book says, is to will “Hell on earth”. Nothing demonstrates our descent into extremist folly more than Net Zero. Few believe but many submit to this craze for fear of denunciation. The concept is hazy, which is the basis of its … Continue reading Belief or Submission?
BY DANIEL JUPP Energy and food. These are things we just can’t do without. The vast majority of rebellions throughout history have been about food. ‘Every society is three meals away from chaos’. It doesn’t matter that Lenin said this or that an earlier version was invented by Dumas. The Russian experience has proven that on this he was right. Most of history’s greatest atrocities … Continue reading Fart Control
BY A FARMER’S CHILD Most of us know a farmer. Some of us may even be blessed to be one or be the child of one. For those who live on farms, or live in town and drive out to work for someone who owns a farming business, I wanted to say this: Some people seem to forget to take the five seconds needed to … Continue reading Farmer
BY GARY MCGHEE The 2nd series of this brilliant show aired recently. Like the first series it exposes the ridiculous bureaucracy that is blighting British farming, but with added insights into the appalling petty-minded jobsworthery and nimbyism of local West Oxfordshire officialdom. The bone of contention is a modest restaurant building plan concocted by Jeremy Clarkson on his land to provide a market for his … Continue reading Diddly Squat II Soon to be III
BY JIM WEBSTER Another supermarket caught up in a scandal. But it says a lot for the reputation Booths has built up that everybody seems to agree they were being cheated by their suppliers. Still it might be interesting to see who else those suppliers were supplying. Now the National Food Crime Unit is investigating just how it happened that Booths were supplied with products … Continue reading Buying British Beef
BY JIM WEBSTER There is a shortage of salad vegetables in the UK at the moment. Given it is now early March I suspect my Grandmother would not have been particularly surprised by this. But a modern, environmentally conscious, and wealthy population expect to get everything, all the time. The problem is that the consumer expects it to be cheap. And this is why we … Continue reading Salad at this Time of Year?
BY SUFFOLK & NORFOLK RAT PACK Before the first sunrise of 2023 the pack had assembled. Although some had bleary eyes everyone was rearing to get to work. We received a call from a farmer telling us he needed to clear some bales that he knew were full of rats. He was about to poison them, however he was delighted we could attend at short … Continue reading Exploding with Rats
BY JIM WEBSTER It was back in the 1990s, and I knew several farmers who decided to give up their agricultural tenancies and get out of the industry. At the time they were somewhat nervous as to how they were going to make a living. After all, this wasn’t retirement. I’m not sure if any of them got out of the industry with enough to … Continue reading What Will Be Your Next Job?
