MONICA AKEHURST AT THE KITCHEN TABLE
‘LET’S GO SCOUTING FOR BULLS’ WALKABOUT
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Unpredictable weather has us on tenterhooks, checking forecasts, searching for a long enough slot to cut some grass. Ideally we need to crack on with making hay, but alas the ‘sun’ is proving elusive. Potential hay is being snatched as silage. Grumbling won’t help; no doubt the Canadians would be glad of our weather. Enduring high temperatures under the heat dome of 49 degrees plus can’t be much fun. At least you can’t blame the weather on Brexit or Covid-19, which makes a change. All these factors have financial implications for farmers, but in particular the weather. This was well highlighted in the Clarkson’s Farm programmes, which I surprisingly enjoyed watching. I’m not a Clarkson fan but welcome any publicity that gives consumers a better understanding of the challenges faced by food producers. The combination of Brexit and Covid-19 is causing problems at both ends of the food chain.
Fruit and vegetable growers are having difficulties sourcing people for harvesting. Food distributors are encountering problems due to a lack of HGV drivers. Not being able to move food to the right place at the right time increases food wastage, as well as creating unhappy shoppers, retailers and producers. All links in the chain need to function smoothly to provide an efficient service. Youngest daughter tells me that getting food delivered out to the supermarkets is a major problem. She blames me for voting Brexit. I’m unrepentant: ‘buy local’. Shrek (ATV) is poorly. He must have got hungry because he ate up a substantial belt; this is becoming an expensive habit, as it’s only two months since he ate the last one. Meanwhile my Fitbit is ecstatic, awarding me all sorts of stupid badges. Getting fitter wasn’t on my wish list, but stock need checking so it’s back to Shanks’s pony, it’s too wet to use my convertible as a stand in. We can’t even swap Shrek in for a new one, as I’m
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informed that if I order one now, with luck it might turn up in a year’s time. Secondhand cars and machinery have shot up in price. You can order spare parts, but no one has a clue when they will turn up, it’s causing chaos. It’s looking like a long wait for a pressure washer part. Meanwhile we’ve raided an old defunct one and, hey presto, it kind of works. Such times call for improvisational action. The B and C words are convenient excuses to cover a multitude of sins. Annoyingly the promise of less red tape appears to be a figment of our politicians’ imagination. Those of us who have to live and work in the real world will just have to get on with it as best we can. Good thing farmers are generally an adaptable breed. Last night our family adapted into a removal team. The pickup truck and livestock trailer were spruced up before being loaded to capacity with furniture. Eldest daughter was moving into a second floor flat in Shoreham with a balcony overlooking the river Adur estuary. Many hands
