Will’s World: A better farming year? 2025 has its work cut out
© Richard Stanton Well, goodbye 2024. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Like most of us at New Year, I’ve spent some time reflecting on the 12 months that have just gone, and have concluded that it was, without a doubt, my toughest year in farming.
See also: New Group 4 spring wheat performs for flood-hit Lincs farmer
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I don’t say that lightly, either, as I’ve had difficult years before – whether due to low farmgate prices, persistent bad weather, poor government policy, or even a combination of all three. But this one felt different again, somehow.
I know I’m not the only one who feels like this, either. I’ve had many conversations throughout the year with friends who, for various reasons, feel they’re at breaking point and are questioning their farming futures.
Some have already made up their minds to get out. These are some of the best farmers you could find anywhere, too, and the fact that they feel so disillusioned and hopeless should be an urgent wake-up call to the powers that be and anyone who cares about food production in this country. I don’t suppose it will be, though.
Weather beaten
As I write this, the water from our latest flood has just about receded, leaving a huge area of damaged or destroyed crops in its wake, and weeks’ worth of cleaning up the mess for us.
We used to get these kinds of floods once in a decade; now they’re happening several times a year, often with very little warning.
I know that as the atmosphere warms and holds more moisture as a result, we’re going to have to get used to these sudden and severe weather occurrences.
I’m also sure that the run-off from every commercial, industrial and housing development isn’t helping, let alone the number of householders who’ve tarmacked their front gardens to park cars, and decked, paved or plastic-grassed their back gardens too.
Badly maintained and litter-filled roadside ditches and drains aren’t helping either, and at some point soon there will surely be a grown-up discussion about cleaning out lowland rivers.
I fully understand the arguments against it from a habitat point of view, and I’m all for “slowing the flow” in the uplands, but if multimillionaire environmentalists who seem to have ministers in their pockets keep on looking down from their ivory towers at the ordinary working people whose homes and livelihoods are being ruined by ever-increasing flooding, then there’s going to be trouble – if we’re not at that point already.
There’s a greater need than ever for more listening and less shouting, as well as some good old-fashioned decisive action.
High times
It’s important to say, though, that despite my downbeat assessment of 2024, it hasn’t been all bad.
On a personal note, a look through the photos I’ve taken throughout the year is a reminder of how lucky I am, and we’ve made lots of happy memories together as a family.
And although cereal prices have been woeful, beef prices have been very strong and show no sign of weakening anytime soon.
At the Christmas auction in Oswestry Market in early December, I’d even go so far as to say the atmosphere was buoyant, and both the cattle and sheep boys left for home after selling with broad grins on their faces.
So, for farmers – not to mention us long-suffering Welsh rugby fans too – let’s hope things start to look up in 2025, and in a year’s time I can write about record profits, perfect weather, sensible government policy and a Six Nations Grand Slam. I can but dream.