No farming, no food, no future

The assault on farming is real

I grew up on a farm, and have worked in agriculture for almost all of my adult life. Virtually all of my family are farming and have been for many generations. It is said that farming is ‘in the blood’; it certainly runs deep.

I am passionate about traditional family farming. Working the land, producing nutritious food from healthy livestock and soils, managing farm habitats to encourage wildlife, making a living, learning and developing skills, and training up the next generation to take on the mantle, should they wish to. This is, more or less, how farming has continued for hundreds of years in this country. ‘Sustainably’ you could say.

Over recent decades increasing amounts of regulation, intervention, coercion, influence and interference from governments, agencies, corporates and lobby groups have put unbearable pressures on farming businesses. If you have watched ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ you will have witnessed Jeremy’s incredulity at what farmers are expected to do, and his utter exasperation at how much hard work can yield no return.

The latest development, or nail in the coffin for farming, is the notion that farmers and farming are causing ‘climate change’. This is not just a completely ludicrous idea, but also a dangerous one. The drive towards ‘net-zero’ will cause great harm and has become an ideology, or even religion, with zealous followers who will stop at nothing and sacrifice anything in devotion to their gods. One such sacrifice will be farmers and traditional food production.

Farmers across Europe, who are not prepared to let their livelihoods be destroyed, have been protesting in vast numbers, largely ignored by the mainstream media. ‘No farmers, no food, no future’ has been a common slogan. It really is that simple. An attack on farming (real farming that is, not multi-national agribusiness and industrial-scale food production) is an attack on humanity itself. There is a sinister anti-human agenda at work and it is proving to be very effective.

In our latest podcast we discuss these issues in some detail, and from a Christian perspective. Please do have a listen and share it with anyone who may find it helpful.

To conclude, and there is so much more that I could say, here is a paragraph that I wrote 25 years ago. The warning was not heeded, and the situation is even more stark today:

Farming is a long-term business and the farm family gives it long-term objectives. If the short-term objectives and actions of the government, and others, force short-sighted measures onto farming, then there will inevitably be casualties. The family farm, rural communities and businesses, the countryside and environment, and the pride of UK farming will all suffer.