Policy needs to match a need for food security

It’s been much needed to bolster grass growth in many parts of Scotland and reducing the need for irrigation. Anyone hopeful of a decent second, third or whatever cut of silage needs rain! Luckily cereal crops appear to be way better than last year – sadly the same can’t be said south of the Border.

On the flip side, the cost-of-living crisis is hitting harder. Inflation is currently sitting at more than 10%, but what we farmers have to put up with, ag-flation, is more than double that.

I don’t think we need anyone to to tell us that soaring costs of production will have serious repercussions on businesses. Ag-flation will remain at elevated levels for this year and beyond due to rising energy prices which are continuing to affect the price of fuel, fertiliser, and feed costs.

These dramatic rises can only squeeze margins from profit into loss. The one that galls me the most, though, is electricity. It has gone from the sublime to the ridiculous.

How on earth can we expect anyone to afford the prices being bandied around in the last 10 days. We’re lucky! We managed to get a fixed rate for three years just before the escalation – but I dread to think what the cost will be when that contract comes up for renewal.

Every farming system depends heavily on energy – for fertiliser manufacture, food storage, drying crops, milk pasteurisation, robot milkers, parlours – the list is endless. I have no doubt these astronomical prices are at the root of potential cutbacks in output.

Isn’t it time our government stepped in with some support before the whole industry succumbs to the Daleks – ie, we will be 'exterminated'!

Robotic milking is becoming more and more common and every other person you speak to is replacing out-dated equipment with robots. Will that still be the case when the price of running them has tripled and that’s just for power. Dairy product supplies are already about 2% below last year’s output, while global demand has been growing at the same rate and that gap could widen.

Robots are, of course, replacing humans as labour recruitment is another ongoing issue, cited as another key reason for many wanting to quit the industry.

Those with no-one following behind who wants to farm or those who need to replace an outdated system will just bow out. So, this never ending cycle only has the potential for a further drop in output unless something is done to secure labour.

So what is the answer? I read Rory Christie’s idea at trying to solve the problem in last week's The SF. I can’t agree more that the shortage of competent people, with the right skills and willing to work in the sector, is at a critical point. .

He’s right. Something fundamental needs to change to make dairying an attractive career option. The question is – how do we do it?

We’re already paying higher wages, so there’s no spare cash to increase salaries. Rory is suggesting a better work/life balance for his employees and is proposing an entirely new shift model.

The problem is agricultural workers work too hard and don't get paid enough for it and the same can be said for farmers. That’s a symptom of the cheap food trap that we find ourselves in.

Successive governments have built their economic strategy around reducing the amount the public spends on food, so they'll have more for non-essentials. That means not enough money is going into the food chain to provide adequate reward to the producer and their employees.

Like all businesses, we need quality, reliable staff who aren’t afraid of hard work. So we need an incentive.

Rory suggested four days on, four days off – or possibly eight on, eight off. It would give flexibility that might just tempt people to work their butts off on their days on – but with added time to pursue other interests on their time off.

This four-day week offer has reportedly 'stirred the pot' of the wider dairy sector, as nothing like it has been tried before.

We can wait and watch to see if it works. Or we can bite the bullet and get on with it before it’s too late.

Time is of the essence. I think we need to try anything and everything to attract employees. A big part of the problem, though, is many people simply don’t want to work. They’re too well off not working ... just saying!

Fertiliser is, of course, another challenge. If it’s true that 15-20% of dairy farmers are looking to cut back, then that means lower grass growth, forage shortfalls and further pressure on yields. We need more support from processors and retailers.

Milk prices have risen, which is great, but they will need to continue rising to keep pace with input costs, or future supplies will be threatened. I’m not alone in thinking we’re heading for a food crisis unless something is done and done quickly.

I’m too young to remember but ration books spring to mind.

None of us know where all this price escalation will stop. But what we do know is that this dire situation can’t be blamed entirely on the Ukraine conflict.

Post-Brexit policies and higher input prices were already working away in the background long before this. Let’s not kid ourselves.

What the war has done is show just exactly how much we rely on food from other nations. It’s time for government to wake up and smell the proverbial and that is that the future does not lie in importing food.

Our food sector is diminishing – and in no small part because of the lack of seasonal farmworkers – and will continue to do so unless our overpaid politicians act, and act now. I always remember the words of my O-level history teacher: “I never want to hear 'but', or 'if only'!" We don’t want to hear them either!

Now, before I sign off, I offer no apology for this attack on Genus. What has happened to this once iconic company – one of the leading providers of semen and AI tech services.

Picston Shottle, remember him, took them to the giddy heights of world-renowned sires. Did they rest on their laurels after that?

If you look on their website, it said: “We partner with farmers to transform how we nourish the world – a mission that’s important to a sustainable future. We do this by breeding better cattle, so farmers can produce high-quality meat and milk more efficiently and sustainably."

Maybe they did, but not anymore. Our area of Fife is only one in the country where they have stopped their AI service, laying off two extremely capable technicians.

Their prices are also ridiculous and to boot you’re charged even more if you don’t use their semen. Why would you? I can’t speak for the commercial man, but certainly for the pedigree breeder there isn’t much on offer.

I heard of one instance where a farmer in Lanarkshire needed a technician and couldn’t get one because they were short-staffed! That’s like opening a restaurant and not having a chef! Never take your eye off the ball!