I agree that farming has been very severEly affected by factors
largely outside its control, in some ways more so this way than by
the "industrialisation" of UK farming - and that some areas, like
Devon, are much less "industrialised" this way than say Lincs or E
Anglia ( on a much more trivial note, the industrialisation of farming
around where I live, Scunthorpe/Lincs, has reached the point where
perfectly good country walks are now closed -  pre F & M -  to
preserve the disease free natuire of these factory farms).
Globalisation is a key issue - not only has that tended to produce
larger farms, also larger supermarkets with greater power to force
down farm prices, it has also reduced govt's power to tax large
co'ys, so the burden of tax has shifted to indirect taxes, like fuel
and VAT - hence the double squeeze on even the least
industrialised farmers, lower food prices AND higher fuel costs. In
fact small farmers fare worst, lacking the econs of scale of the
large farms. Perhaps they could show the way by pioneering a
return to higher value, lower bulk organic farming, which the puiblic
may well ever more support, as one factory food crisis after another
hits the UK. And globn- has meant better road networks, so more
commuters invading villages and 2nd homers too, it has meant
lower inflation but then a comparative rise in the cost of
labour/service intensive jobs like vets - so again farmers face rising
vet fees but static or more likely falling food prices.
Also globn has, thru supermarkets, more cars etc meant less rural
shops, decline in facilities, the countryside is i agree in a crisis
much due to outside economic forces. Increasing scale of
entertprises has meant the centralisation of abbatoirs, so causing
the more rapid spread of F & M.
I agree none of this is due to industrialisation of farming. However
some in the farming industry - those who have "globalised", ie
increased the scale of farm operations, to "prarie-ise" much of E
England, have spoilt it for the rest of the farmers. To go back to my
bus company analogy, it's as if say Stagecoach were the dodgy
bus company (ONLY an analogy, I am sure Stagecoach is highly
reputable and safe) and so due to accidents here, the public were
put off travelling on all buses - then the small bus companies would
suffer, even though running a safe service.
Part of my PhD studies involve the loss of retail facilities in rural
areas, and i have seen what the various aspects of it do to the
countryside, rob it of shops, of affordable housing, turn it into a rich
exurban suburb. I do not support this at all, and would like to see a
way of reversing this. Therefore I very much sympathise with the
small Devon farmers and villagers who are suffering becuase of
global big industries, including sadly some big eastern Eng.
farmers. I still think these big farming practises need reining in, as
much as for other big industry such as the supermarkets.
On 28 Feb 01, at 21:13, Noel Jenkins wrote:

> I'm sorry Hillary, but since I don't know you I can't discern whether your posting is merely provocative, or a gleeful attack on a horrifically beleagured community. I may only be a secondary school teacher and therefore not up to mixing it with anyone here on an academic level, so I'll make
just a couple of brief (and personal remarks)
>
> I come from a tiny Devon village. There are five farming families in the parish; two have recently lost the heads of household through suicide - that's what happens when farmers go bust.
>
> Successive crises have placed almost intolerable burdens on my local community. Families have seen incomes in the village drop by 80% over the past 5 years. Costs of production - feed / fuel / vets etc. have risen inexorably while market prices sink lower and fluctuate. The successive crises in
farming have caught up with every small farmer. Maybe you would make the trek down from Leeds to meet the farmers in my village and tell them exactly what methods they should not be engaging in? (Oh sorry I forgot, our village is almost closed off - every farm is barricaded and stocks of
disinfectant are running low.) Alternatively, take your message into the Dales where the "delicate chemical stessed flocks" are awaiting the message that the rural parts of Britain are in a very artificial state.
>
> I agree that many villages are inhabited by comparitively wealthy people and the result is that young and retired farmers increasingly live away from the farm because they cannot afford local housing, and planners tend to turn down most applications for new building around existing farmhouses.
Just one more pressure on the community. Hang on, if we ban hunting we could really get the message across to the rural community that they are unworthy of their place in the modern urban society!
>
> One of the differences between the current and previous outbreaks of F and M is that animals are now transported a lot further to be slaughtered. This is due to the decline of local abbatoirs. The costs involved in meeting ever stricter EU requirements has meant that only the largest abbatoirs
can survive (indeed livestock from my village may be slaughtered in Newcastle) I believe that this factor may be one of the most important in explaining the occurence of the disease in the more isolated parts of the UK.
>
> Most of my farming friends have small dairy herds of around 100 animals.They know each cow by name. They are fearing tomorrow morning. No doubt Hillary you will find it somewhat easier to sleep tonight.
>
> Noel Jenkins
>
>
>


Hillary Shaw, P/G Geography, University of Leeds