manx maid Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I hear that the Minister for Agriculture has had another 'pop' at the Farmers for Productive Farming today... Mr Gawne believes that his department will get approximately 479 claimants asking for an average of £11,000 each. What the Minister does not tell us is how many claimants his deparment will hear from claiming much much more than that. It seems that our Taxes are now going to be spent on Farmers NOT farming.... !!! where on earth is the sense in that. I thought that was what farming was all about, buying stock, feeding stock, selling stock... feeding us with top quality manx meat and produce. The Manx Government seem ready to agree to hand over millions of pounds to keep the grass green and the hedges tidy....why would they rip the heart out of the local farming community like this. What will we say when we have no manx beef to eat....? What will we say when the kids ask us where all the animals went .... ? What is going on..... We can't just sit here and do nothing ..... can we ??? Will we ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hboy Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I hear that the Minister for Agriculture has had another 'pop' at the Farmers for Productive Farming today... Mr Gawne believes that his department will get approximately 479 claimants asking for an average of £11,000 each. What the Minister does not tell us is how many claimants his deparment will hear from claiming much much more than that. It seems that our Taxes are now going to be spent on Farmers NOT farming.... !!! where on earth is the sense in that. I thought that was what farming was all about, buying stock, feeding stock, selling stock... feeding us with top quality manx meat and produce. The Manx Government seem ready to agree to hand over millions of pounds to keep the grass green and the hedges tidy....why would they rip the heart out of the local farming community like this. What will we say when we have no manx beef to eat....? What will we say when the kids ask us where all the animals went .... ? What is going on..... We can't just sit here and do nothing ..... can we ??? Will we ?? If I lose my job in the credit crunch I'll be queuing up for the same eleven grand just to keep my grass cut and the hedge tidy. Nice (non) work if you can get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manxy Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Am I reading this right, the farmers are being paid for NOT farming? If thats the case, why would that be? Is it to prevent supplies of Manx goods to our stores, so that there's more imports? Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hyperion Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I hear that the Minister for Agriculture has had another 'pop' at the Farmers for Productive Farming today... Mr Gawne believes that his department will get approximately 479 claimants asking for an average of £11,000 each. What the Minister does not tell us is how many claimants his deparment will hear from claiming much much more than that. It seems that our Taxes are now going to be spent on Farmers NOT farming.... !!! where on earth is the sense in that. I thought that was what farming was all about, buying stock, feeding stock, selling stock... feeding us with top quality manx meat and produce. The Manx Government seem ready to agree to hand over millions of pounds to keep the grass green and the hedges tidy....why would they rip the heart out of the local farming community like this. What will we say when we have no manx beef to eat....? What will we say when the kids ask us where all the animals went .... ? What is going on..... We can't just sit here and do nothing ..... can we ??? Will we ?? If I lose my job in the credit crunch I'll be queuing up for the same eleven grand just to keep my grass cut and the hedge tidy. Nice (non) work if you can get it. I hope Mr Gawne is also going to pay the fishermen not to go and fish for the "prime fish" we have in abundance(not) in Manx waters. Then we can just leave the foreign fleet to fish here. Whe did the 475K of annual government assistance allocated to the fishermen ever go?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triskelion Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 No, it is nothing like 'farmers getting paid for not farming.' Subsidies are moving away from a production basis, a strategy that is far from unique to the Island. The idea is to try and move towards a more sustainable agricultural structure, one that is somewhat more self-sustaining than the current one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hboy Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Subsidies are moving away from a production basis, You mean, therefore, moving away from being subsidised for not producing anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fergie Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 I hear that the Minister for Agriculture has had another 'pop' at the Farmers for Productive Farming today... Mr Gawne believes that his department will get approximately 479 claimants asking for an average of £11,000 each. What the Minister does not tell us is how many claimants his deparment will hear from claiming much much more than that. It seems that our Taxes are now going to be spent on Farmers NOT farming.... !!! where on earth is the sense in that. I thought that was what farming was all about, buying stock, feeding stock, selling stock... feeding us with top quality manx meat and produce. The Manx Government seem ready to agree to hand over millions of pounds to keep the grass green and the hedges tidy....why would they rip the heart out of the local farming community like this. What will we say when we have no manx beef to eat....? What will we say when the kids ask us where all the animals went .... ? What is going on..... We can't just sit here and do nothing ..... can we ??? Will we ?? It is not surprising that many farmers and the Farmers Union are in favour of decoupling if they are going to receive our taxes and not have to work at producing food. We would all like to be paid for doing less work only our employers would go bust. With farming it will be the industry that will be the casualty. The farmers for productive farming are not looking for extra money but want our taxes to continue to be paid to farmers ONLY if they work to produce food. In times of limited government funds and likely food shortages,surely it makes sense that our farmers continue to produce food for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinahand Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 The future of farming is quite simply fewer farmers - larger farms, where equipment, overheads etc have larger more diversified businesses to support them. The subsidies just perpetuate the current system. Compared to the UK and elsewhere manx farms are small, and hence less efficient - the contribution of the various business units are too small to cover depreciation and overheads. The result is older equipment which is less efficient and just perpetuates the problem. Cash from the government just papers over these cracks. Madness. The idea that the Isle of Man would become a wilderness if there was a major consolidation of the farming industry is simply a myth - let the good farmers grow and become even more efficient and let the others move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manx maid Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 If I lose my job in the credit crunch I'll be queuing up for the same eleven grand just to keep my grass cut and the hedge tidy. Nice (non) work if you can get it. I would rather work for my money - doing something that I enjoy. Most of the Farmers I know love to farm, it's in their blood but if they are encouraged by the Government, to produce less, you and I will lose out in the long run. I personally don't want to have my freedom of choice removed and only be able to buy imported meat, which is what will happen eventually. I personally like to see the animals in the fields, I like that countryside 'smell' ( and I am a Towny) Out of interest this Policy has been tried elsewhere and has not been as successful as you might think - and what happens if it goes pear-shaped.... could the government 'put in right again' - Somehow I think not, once you take the pride out of the people, they may not thank you for trying to 'stuff it back' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manx maid Posted December 4, 2008 Author Share Posted December 4, 2008 Am I reading this right, the farmers are being paid for NOT farming? If thats the case, why would that be? Is it to prevent supplies of Manx goods to our stores, so that there's more imports? Why? You are reading this right..... The farmers will be paid NOT to farm - the less they produce, the more the government will pay (Your tax and mine) they do have to keep the countryside cared for though Why indeed would that be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 o joy the subs quastion again, here go again, let the bashing start, manx maid, are u part of the group that is putting the signs up round the island Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gazza Posted December 4, 2008 Share Posted December 4, 2008 Am I reading this right, the farmers are being paid for NOT farming? If thats the case, why would that be? Is it to prevent supplies of Manx goods to our stores, so that there's more imports? Why? You are reading this right..... The farmers will be paid NOT to farm - the less they produce, the more the government will pay (Your tax and mine) they do have to keep the countryside cared for though Why indeed would that be? well not really true is it, there not told if u farm 100 sheep we give u £1000, if u farm 10 sheep will give you £10000, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheeky boy Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I know precious little about farming but I understand enough to know that it would be impossible for Manx farmers to compete on price with the rest of Europe. Soil types, topography and the ruinous transport costs seem to be the main obstacles to this However, there is no reason they could not compete on quality. Our restaurant is the end-user in the agriculture business in that we buy & cook Manx produce to sell to the public and in doing that we compete against hundreds of other cafes & restaurants selling similar food. Our core product is made using Manx beef, Manx cheese, Manx bread & Manx eggs The response from the customers has been overwhelmingly positive with many of them claiming that our food is better than anything available in the UK. So as farmers currently produce many top class foods I would conclude that it is perfectly feasible for them to produce plenty more of the same and be able to sell them at a profit. Something I'm sure they would rather do than be paid to sit and watch the weeds grow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_scrote Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I didn't realise that were that many farmers on the island to claim the £11.000..or will that include all the gentlemen farmers who've sold land to the islands largest builder at a GINORMOUSE profit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snaipyr Posted December 5, 2008 Share Posted December 5, 2008 I know precious little about farming but I understand enough to know that it would be impossible for Manx farmers to compete on price with the rest of Europe. Soil types, topography and the ruinous transport costs seem to be the main obstacles to this However, there is no reason they could not compete on quality. Our restaurant is the end-user in the agriculture business in that we buy & cook Manx produce to sell to the public and in doing that we compete against hundreds of other cafes & restaurants selling similar food. Our core product is made using Manx beef, Manx cheese, Manx bread & Manx eggs The response from the customers has been overwhelmingly positive with many of them claiming that our food is better than anything available in the UK. So as farmers currently produce many top class foods I would conclude that it is perfectly feasible for them to produce plenty more of the same and be able to sell them at a profit. Something I'm sure they would rather do than be paid to sit and watch the weeds grow I completely agree. I still don't know where your restaurant is though - can you PM me please because I'm sick of the unidentifiable crap dished up in a lot of places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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