The height of summer is a time when we can enjoy the fruits of our labour and start selling our lambs. Sheep prices have been at an all-time high during the last year, so we are hoping the better prices compensate us for the horrid, wet spring we had. Our lamb numbers are down this year, but a strong trade will hopefully make up for it.
I am writing this just before the general election and I expect we will have a new Prime Minister and a Labour government by the time you read this. There will be plenty of challenges for whoever wins, in all sectors of our public services, but I am of course immediately concerned with how agricultural policy will be affected. We have been in a state of transition for the past five years with support to farming businesses being reformed. Despite lots of promises, the support for our industry, especially in the hill and uplands, has fallen way short and is being delivered too late. The balance toward environment and away from producing food has left many smaller farms facing very real hardship, in turn leaving them vulnerable to land owners and other potential land users. There were always going to be winners and losers in a period of overhaul like we have had, but driving cost down and efficiencies up is making it much more difficult for smaller farms to survive and, more importantly, for new, younger farmers to get a foothold in a very competitive market. Let’s hope the new team in DEFRA is willing to listen and give us the right tools to allow us to thrive.
It is at times like these that I am so proud of the efforts Dartmoor Farmers have made in bringing over 100 farmers together to give us a much bigger voice and a branded market presence in a very congested arena. We continue to sell beef and lamb through our partners at Goosemoor and Educatering and in Morrisons stores across the south of England. We are also running projects to get school children onto farms across Dartmoor and to help deliver environmental audits with the support of the Hill Farm Project team. They are all small steps, but we are helping to build a sustainable future for farmers in our hills, allowing for thriving landscapes, environment and a thriving local economy.
Mat Cole
Greenwell Farm