The floods are hitting farmers really hard...

[WendyWeber]

...I hadn't even thought of that before. Crops badly affected, livestock drowned, no feed for the rest...BBC report

Very

Have just seen. Well done LOL

I know I asked before but it would be great to know where you can buy milk from that the supermarket doesn't end up the fat cat. Don't have access to a milkman

SueBaroo and Monkeybar, I agree completely. I think goods imported from countries where there are little or no environmental controls, health & safety legislation and decent minimum wage should be taxed so that the cost puts goods produced here and subject to all the above on a level playing field.

Btw, a farmer down the road from me pasteurizes his own organic milk and sells it (and his cheese) through his own shop and the local milkman, so it can be done.

www.countryliving.co.uk/index.php/v1/milk

Look here for good places to buy milk and info on fair trade for farmers.

Also try below to find a milkman

www.findmeamilkman.net/default.aspx

lostkeys - I have to say that my DH is one of those who go on about 'whingeing farmers' all the time. It drives me mad. One of his blind spots for some reason. He is very anti-hunting as well and uses that as another stick to beat them with. Londoner born and (partly) bred but moved to Somerset as a child - I think his anti-farmer stance is part of his 'I'm not really a wurzel' stance.

I have every sympathy for farmers.

Right, I need to shufty about abit for Sainsburys 'farm promise' milk, thanks peeps. It claims that sainsburys help farmers converting over to organic. What happens when they get organic stautus is another queston

I'm heartened to see this thread.As we speak,my cousin is out trying to harvest what remains of his rape crop in the field behind us.He was half way through it at 4pm & is still out there now,trying to salvage what he can.

We have over 1000 sheep,which thankfully,were spared the floods.Normally we'd have finished haymaking by now & have their fodder ready stacked for the winter.As it is,we have nothing & neither does any other farmer locally.It is all lying sodden in the fields.God only knows when of if we'll be able to mow it & bale it.Things are looking very grim.

There are 10 farms within walking distance of me,but I can't buy milk directly from any of them.20 years ago nearly all of them produced milk,now only one does.

This goverment truly does not care about the countryside,food producers or farmers.All they want to see is houses & the countryside as a nice clean sanitised theme park.

Oh, yes, the Sambo thread.

It must suck having TB. Makes people miserable. I can only imagine what it does to a poor animal who can't tell you how it is suffering.

Reading "Shopped" really opened my eyes to the supermarkets hold over farmers and other producers.

Living on a farm for a year did it for me!

I'm not a farmer, but I have lots of friends who farm, and living in a tourist area, I often see the clash of cultures first hand. For example:

some friends who have a smallholding with chickens, sheep, goats, horses and some dexter cows got complaints from the folk renting the holiday cottage next door about the noise the animals make, especially the cockerel - they apparently expected the countryside to be silent...

a farmer's wife who also works in a hotel got an earful from a rampant vegan about how it is cruel to kill animals to eat them. My friend did point out that if people didn't eat meat or drink milk then there would be no sheep, cows etc in the fields because farmers wouldn't keep them for decoration...

as a rider, I hate riding on the lanes round here in summer, because spotless 4x4s that has never been off road in their lives will go howling past without slowing down or moving over, and occasionally hooting at me to get my horse off the road . And at some point, my horse will get chased by a dog that should be on a lead - fortunately, she's too polite to kick, even when something is snapping at her fetlocks.

a general lack of awareness that our countryside looks so nice because farmers look after it

I can't say how much I feel for those of you who have lost your livelihoods because of the atrocious weather this 'summer'.

Any more news on the situation for livestock, farmers and animal rescue?

Where are all the funds and help for Britain's food producers?

This is absolutely devestating!

And as you pointed out, Roskva, ramifications for horse-owners, stables and stable managers and all small-pet owners whose animals are hay eaters.

It can be so hard to evac livestock, too, particularly prey animals whose instinct is to spook.

Usually at this time of year I help the owners of the farm where my horse lives to bring in the hay, and a neighbouring farmer comes over with his equipment to bag the haylage. Neither have happened yet, because although we've been spared the worst of the rain, nothing has dried out enough. My hardy icelandic who gets fat looking at anything green is doing fine in her field, fortunately, but it's an absolute nightmare for folk with more highly bred horses. Also, mine lives out over the winter, and only has haylage if it is really cold/snowing. I think haylage is going to be in short supply and really expensive this winter, as will hard feed, I suspect.

I imagine a lot of livery yards and riding schools in the worst of the flooded areas are going to be facing bankruptcy: they will have sodden grazing, probably damaged fencing (and don't forget that fencing timber was already in short supply this year), damaged/washed away maneges and equipment including tack rooms and contents, and quite possibly damaged/washed away feed supplies. Also, if they've had to move the horses to safety, just where do you take them if everywhere is flooded? And this is going to push the cost of insurance up even more.

My heart really goes out to people whose businesses have been severely damaged by the floods. Life is tough for many businesses as it is - to have your business destroyed at the time of year that should be the busiest for a lot of folk is just devastating.