Farm Diary

It's been a busy week, starting with a visit to Brussels to Chair the COPA (European farming Unions) meeting, attempting to get agreement between 28 countries on CAP reform (latest known as the 'Health-check'), whilst simultaneously listening to translations on my head-phones, the urgent whisperings of the nervous COPA Secretary, and ignoring the (well known) representative of a Southern country who had gone on at great length once already.

Meetings must run to time, as the translators will leave at the appointed time, whether we have finished or not; nothing sharpens the chairman's mind more than that I can tell you!

In the afternoon at the Commission, I tackled the commissioner on various agenda items we had discussed in the morning. I challenged him that the CAP is now not only more complex, but in fact less common, as greater latitude is given to national governments to take money from the 'single farm payment' and use it to assist various groups in upland areas, or less favoured areas.

Our government will of course take as much as it can, and together with Natural England and the RSPB, use it on environmental schemes, which means that England (Scotland and Wales have government on side) becomes less competitive. It is quite clear now that Benn, Defra and Natural England have no interest whatsoever in productive agriculture, and are presiding over the demise of large areas and huge number of farmers, who are set to leave the industry.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette December 10