I’m sure I wasn’t the only one watching last week’s pig price demonstration outside Downing Street and thinking many of the complaints were just as valid for fruit and veg.
Farmers are said to be losing more than £20 per pig, a shocking statistic that does nothing to stoke optimism that we can improve our food self-sufficiency.
In the brassica trade, growers are in an equally precarious position, and the cauliflower faces being relegated to niche status if things don’t improve fast.
Yes, the weather takes the blame for some of the problems this season. But Mother Nature can’t shoulder all the responsibility for 20 years of declining production.
When growers are asking themselves whether they should bother with cauliflowers this season or grow arable crops instead, something is seriously wrong. Clearly, for many growers, it is simply not a financially attractive crop to produce.
If we don’t start to value these lines and pay a fair price for them, we’ll be faced either with only imported product or even empty shelves. We desperately need an end to below-production cost selling.
This issue is a particular worry in Lincolnshire of course, and the topic is certain to come up for discussion at next week’s FPJ East Midlands conference in Lincoln on 17 March. The conference sees a range of senior industry figures speaking in an interactive event that should be a fascinating and thought-provoking day.
See pages 20-23 for the full programme. We very much hope to see you there!
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