I left school to join my father on the family farm in 1960. Though I was academic by nature and enjoyed writing in particular, father was seriously ill, and it was what only sons did in those days. My main responsibility was caring for the dairy herd, while he recovered enough to manage the sheep flock. Unfortunately my father became ill again and after a few years he died in 1976, when I was 32 yrs old. By then I was a partner in the business, which is still called TE Davies and Son, and we had given up selling milk. Our herd of 60 cows was too small, and we decided to switch to a beef and sheep enterprise (plus chickens). Around the same time, I began involvement in public affairs. But I always gave priority to the farm business from late Feb-early May to take personal charge of the lambing/calving season. Very hard work but I loved it. If it wasn't for my colostomy, I would quite like to go back to it. We had about 900 ewes and up to 125 suckler cows. And for all but about 5 yrs we lambed outside - and I always worked the night shift.
The above is all by way of context. I know what its like to look after sheep in rough weather. And it doesn't come much rougher than we've seen over the last few weeks. Except in the incredible winter of 1963, when it was much worse and much longer - but crucially the big slow and drifting was earlier in the winter. I've spent days digging sheep out of ten ft snow drifts - and having to give up on lots, just collecting the carcases after the thaw. Its whats been happening this year.
Over the last two weeks we have watched some heartbreaking scenes on our television screens. And I've talked to hill sheep farmers who are going through desperate times. Wondered what I should do - being an MP representing many farmers who have suffered great financial loss. Agriculture is devolved to the National Assembly for Wales, and theoretically nothing to do with me. And I would have rather left it at that - except that some hill farmers from Montgomeryshire feel very let down by what they describe as the attitude of the Welsh Gov't Minister, whom they tell me has seemed very dismissive of the problems they face. Not making a political point, but its what I'm being told.
I just think I want to raise the issue at Westminster, even if it is devolved. I've asked Phill on our first day back after Easter (Monday) to put a bid to the Back Bench Business Committee for a debate on the impact of recent weather conditions on upland sheep farmers. It might not make much practical difference but I sense its important to show that MPs understand the scale of the disaster in the hills. Unfortunately there is no PMQs this week. I'm sure Mr Speaker would have allowed me to raise the issue. It will have to be week after next. And I will ask the Leader of the House on Thurs morn to programme an urgent debate. All I will want to do is make sure MPs understand what's happened. I could be the only MP who has experience of digging sheep out of ten foot snow drifts. I have also arranged an opportunity for any sheep farmers who want to let me know the scale of the disaster at Welshpool Livestock Market week Monday. I think their words will carry more resonance than my 50 yr old memories. Its been a hell of a tragedy, and its important that the nation knows of its scale and the pain its caused to our farmers.
13 comments:
Too little too late. Where on earth is our assembly member, Russell George? He's not mentioned this once.
Conservative councilors mainly made up of farmers too?
Glyn, you are the only Montgomeryshire representative that has highlighted this heartbreaking issue. For that, I give you some credit.
Must say that is unfair. For example, I know that leader of the Conservative Group on Powys Council, cllr. Aled Davies has been out with his digger helping people in Dyffryn Tanat area. And I've had discussions with Russell about this issue. Its been difficult to generate publicity because Cardiff Bay and Westminster parliaments have been in Easter recess.
Glyn, forgive me. I have not heard about cllr Davies, he keeps a very low profile for someone who is supposed to be a leader. There have been many people helping others which we have not heard about.
It should be Russell's job to bring this information out into the open and if he can not do it, then he must delegate someone else in his his place to find out more.
Easter recess or not, these farmers have been working long hour days and then some! The world still turns when the Senedd takes a break.
Mr Davies I have great sympathy for the plight of farmers, I worked in agriculture for 35yrs. However the farming community always have their hands out for money, when we moved to Wales 7 years ago a local farmer told me the most used word in Welsh is "Grant" and that is not far from the truth. In past years farmers have been paid large sums of money to enable them to carry on where they are, what other industry gets such payments? Are you going to call for help to compensate other outdoor workers and companies who have been hard hit by the weather. Recent winters have enabled farmers to graze mountains that their ancestors would never have used at that time of year, this year they gambled and were caught out, is that the county's problem or people who forgot the lessons of the past. How about government money to keep slaughterhouses open and protect those jobs like those lost in the past few days, no we cart live animals across Europe and import horse meat back. There is no strategy and no national interest in keeping jobs here, just buy it cheap from abroad, so why keep farmers on the hills when that is expensive?
Anon 1 - Aled is a really good man. Lives in Tanat Valley (Llansilin) and is a farmer himself. Of course you are right in that the world moves on when politicians are not sitting - but the issue you raised was about publicity. Politicians need a platform to be heard. I had spoken with several affected farmers, but knew the key person was the Welsh Gov't Minister. I hoped the meeting with him would be ok - but I'm told (don't know how fairly) that he was dismissive of concerns and did not engage well. I discussed the issue with Russell and others and decided to hire a room at WLS and put notice in next week's local papers. I often comment on issues that concern me on this blog - and it surprised me hugely to see it quoted as a lead item on Welsh News. What I want is farmer to realise that people have an idea of what they are going through.
Anon 2 - Its true that much of farming has been 'semi-nationalised' in that the economics of the industry are based on subsidy, which is a result of successive Gov't and EU's desire to keep food cheap. I do think there will be agradual move away from this system, but no-one would benefit if it the support system ended precipitously.
Thanks for your reply to my anon message left at 2.50 PM, hope you understood that I am very much a farmer and one who was in the thick of BSE, Foot and Mouth and TB so I understand the suffering. My support is very much behind these farmers, but government just lurch from day to day on one problem after another, we need a joined up national strategy for agriculture. One that pays farmers for food, food to be consumed in Wales and beyond, humanely produced, high quality products, locally slaughtered and paid for by the consumer. The most important is the last, two generations have come to expect cheap food and that must change, people have already started to realise that cheap beef led to the horse meat scandal and have moved to local butchers, this needs to be acted upon now as the seeds are sown. Russia had 10 year plans which were unreasonable, but that 10 year idea is a good one, farmers would be able to plan their futures, consumers would be able to get used to paying for the product and government could gradually get back to providing frameworks for success instead of compensating for failures. Great that your blog got some front line attention, well done.
Note....not just Montgomeryshire !!!!!!
Anon - I realise its not just Montgomeryshire. Seen very traumatic film of North Wales. But there's a convention that MPs restrict themselves to their own constituencies as far as poss.
Dear Mr Davies, I run a retail business in Machynlleth and during the bad weather my takings were halved, do you suggest that I also get a grant or is that just for the farmers.Please remember that the caravan sites in Mid Wales were not given any grant moneies after the floods of 2012 which devestated their businesses. I welcome your comments.
Anon 2
I appreciate your concern Glyn but i strongly feel that your AM colleague for Maldwyn should be the one raising the matter and not you in London, it gives the impression that your meddling in a devolved matter.
Secondly I like many others also have a great deal of sympathy for farmers with the recent crisis with the weather, BUT there is a tendancy for farmers to continually put the begging bowl out whilst criticising others who dare to ask for a grant. I have been in business where the severe weather affected our trade severlly and resulted in a huge loss of work-but no subsidy would be available to me or others affected. Yet farmers expect us to continually bail them out. Either we have to develop a meaningful system to support all such businesses in a rural area or none. But you cant have a rule that favours some and ignores others.
The main practical issue this summer for farmers will be one of Cash Flow. Additional expenditure on concentrates and fuel are immediate bills that have to be paid. A later growing season will bring lambs later on to the market and there will be fewer of them. I heard of a Montgomeryshire farmer last week estimating no more than 540 lambs alive from over 1000 scanned. Assuming supply-demand economics I am not confident the decrease in supply will be enough to push up the price sufficiently to compensate for the losses incured. Remember there were areas of the country that had a problem free lambing. This is all before farmers having to find funds to restock farms in the autumn, if the cash deficit is significant then restocking might not occur and that would be a tragedy in the making. Its either farmers using their own resources to recover, banks extending overdraft limits or the Welsh Government making interest free loans available, an advance of the Single Payment if you like, to aid cash flow. Good that someone is engaging in the debate
Crickey, great blog post, and great to see a politician actually answering comments! most refreshing, as ministers tend to broadcast and never reply, especially to criticism, well done. I also like the fact that you stand up for other politicians.
As farmers, thanks again for standing up for us. Like you say, the subsidies are for cheap food, not grants to farmers. The hours we work are because we love the job, its not done for the money, but without a fair price for our product the farms just die. Too many are being lost, and once lost they can never be reclaimed. In my working life on an upland dairy farm I have seen around 60 family farms in my area be sold and absorbed and this has to stop before they are all lost. In our area many didn't get fodder in for the winter because of the wet summer, and had to send stock away for winter. If we don't get a good summer this year those farms won't survive. (We're North West England). Farming is a hard life, and bad years come, but good years must come soon?
Anon - its the Welsh Government you should be looking to point the finger at - if that's what you're intending to do not necesarily the local AM. Just because he's not jumping up and down trying to get media headlines doesn't mean he's not doing nothing. If Mr Davies says they have been discussing this, no doubt they have been in dialogue with the unions as well. In this case leave the unions to be vocal and let the policians get on and negotiate behind the scenes and get the deal done.
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