THOSE who are saying there is a good future for farming and imply that the milk crisis is temporary and will pass are ignoring reality.

Banks and leasing companies scrambled to lend to farming, because they could see intervention and the MMB, gave product price stability and profits. They could also see they could get a big share of the huge giants that were paid by development schemes. And a share of subsidies.

Now except for the single payment all that has gone.

The very rapid crash in milk price can and likely will happen to other product prices, because there is no protection now.

All political parties have done a U turn and are ‘anti farming’ now. They all think greening and wild life are more important than food and that farming is irrelevant.

They must know that all most all farmers are dependent on the single payment.

And that many are in very serious difficulties. But they deliberately made the situation far worse by making big cuts in the payment – and say they are going to end it in five years time – abandon farming completely in fact.

This will cause the price of land to fall so most farmers main asset value will have gone.

Banks and the companies can see that farming is being deliberately made into a very bad risk to lend too, and will surely decide to take their money out, before the crash comes.

This and or the loss of the single payment will obviously finish off most farmers.

There are also apparently ‘secret talks’ going on about having free trade with the USA – their huge production will destroy prices here as we will be left without any protection – but they will find ways to protect their farmers – they always do.

The price of land is reported to be rapidly increasing because very wealthy people are buying to get agricultural business asset relief from Inheritance Tax and some are openly boasting about how they are avoiding tax by doing this.

When they were in power many Labour wanted to end relief then.

Now all political parties have started a smear against legal tax avoidance. If Labour win the election or are in co with the Lib Dems. It is almost certain they will end the relief, then land value will crash and the banks will take their money out very fast.

All politicians/officials seem to have the irresponsible attitude that everything can be imported and it does not matter if industries go.

They ignore, or are too stupid to understand, that when home production ends. Food prices will rocket up as foreign suppliers will know they can charge anything they like.

C V CATEAUX

Goodwick