Farmers march to Downing Street appealing for action over crisis in dairy and livestock farming prices.

Farmers for Action chairman David Handley was quoted in this article by Kate Langston in the Western Morning News of March24, part of which I reproduce below.  He was speaking to farmers and their supporters who took part in a protest march to Downing Street the previous day. 

Westcountry farmers bring London to standstill with march for fair pay.

Amid the sound of air horns and lively chants of “oggy oggy!”, Farmers for Action spelt out their message for the Prime Minister.

Addressing the crowd, chairman David Handley called for a fair, sustainable and transparent future for the agricultural industry.

"Currently, all we are getting from the secretary of state are sound bites and promises of what might happen over the next 25 years,” he said.

“Most farmers want leadership and a strategy which will get them through the next 12 months.

“Not only are we the food producers for this great country of ours, but also the care takers of this wonderful island.

“It is urgent we get some direction from the Government as to the way forward... we ask [David] Cameron: please lead British farming out of its current crisis – the rewards will be immense for us all.”

The demonstration comes as low prices for meat and dairy products continue to put pressure on the agricultural sector. It saw hundreds of farmers from across Devon, Cornwall and the rest of the UK walk through Trafalgar Square and down Whitehall to Downing Street, where they presented a letter to Number 10.

Whatever response the farmers expected I doubt it was that which came from Public Health England as noted in this letter in the Western Daily Press (April 6).

No wonder farmers are turning to solar.

Last month Westcountry farmers joined their allies from across the nation in London to protest directly to the Prime Minister over the ongoing crisis in dairy and livestock farming.  Whether or not Mr Cameron took heed there was certainly a quick response from Public Health England, an agency of the Government, which announced that people should halve the amount of dairy foods they eat.  I suspect protesting farmers were incredulous on hearing such a proclamation.  Such “help” from the government is hardly likely to encourage dairy and livestock farmers to stay in business. 

Little wonder that solar farms seem to be popping up all over Somerset as farmers and landowners seek an alternative income.  Who can blame those who find harvesting the sunshine more profitable than working the land?   I suspect the English weather, although sometimes unkind, will provide a more reliable form of help than any given by indifferent London centric British politicians.

S.W.
English Democrats, Somerset

As I wrote in my previous blog post on RAF Culmhead, disused airfields seem particularly good places to erect solar farms but they do appear to be springing up all over the countryside.  The photo below shows solar panels alongside the A303 in South Somerset.

Solar panels alongside the eastbound carriageway of the A303 in South Somerset.