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Are We at War Dumfries and
Galloway Standard February 2008
Are we at war? Anyone who had stumbled onto the scene in Glenluce village hall, last week, might have been forgiven for thinking that we were. The meeting held there by the Scottish Executive and organised by SAC to provide information to the rural community about the impending Scottish Rural Development Program had the appearance of recruitment meeting from the First World War. Waves of people poured in, until every seat in the community hall was filled. Scores more were forced to stand round the sides and in every corner to peer anxiously at a screen which at one point showed an image of Lord Kitchener in his iconic pose, pointing and declaring - your country needs you. The huge attendance had obviously caught the organizers of the event off-guard, as they, one after another, apologised for the lack of seats. However, if we can forgive them for underestimating the size of the crowd they had no excuse for getting the tone of the meeting and the message completely wrong. The turnout was a sure enough indication that there are serious concerns within the farming community about their future prospects and just where they fit in with the Scottish Executives plans for future rural development. But, as the presentation unfolded, the slide of Lord Kitchener, coupled with a quote from John F Kennedy’s famous speech - ask not what your country can do for you - did nothing to relieve the tension for those present. These references to troubled times and making sacrifices for your country was not what livestock farmers needed to hear. That’s particularly so at this time, when we are just emerging after being besieged by the latest, government induced, foot and mouth fiasco. As the presentation went on, it became clear that the information that everyone had come to find out about was not to be forthcoming. That was because the final program had not yet been approved in Brussels so none of the information regarding the ranges of options or the payment rates could be divulged. The presentation team did their very best to try and get over to us the flavour of what the SRDP will be like and how it will be administered. But, in reality, it was like having a two-hour sales pitch from a television salesman and at the end we never got to see the picture. A postponement of the meetings, until the plan had been finalised, might have been a better option. Near the end of the meeting, a well-known and respected farmer standing at the front of the room asked the Executive’s representative to tell everyone in the room just exactly what it was that they wanted from us. Do you want us to produce food or do you want us to look after the environment? Just tell us? He pleaded. The spontaneous applause that this heartfelt plea invoked reflected the sense of frustration and lack of direction that the farming community is labouring under at the present time. For most farmers, the change in culture that is wanted by government, from tacit resistance to environmental measures to one of willing acceptance, is still some way off. The culture that has been created over the last decade by our paymasters is one of suspicion, fear, compliance and penalties. Some would wish that they had adopted such a strict approach to the regulatory process surrounding the Pirbright disease facility, in Kent, which loosed upon us a totally unnecessary outbreak of foot-and-mouth. Perhaps if the Scottish Executive had used the time at their meeting to explain to us why they think this country needs us, using more plain language and fewer acronyms. Then we would have went home with a sense of being valued and, subsequently, might have been that wee bit closer to answering their call to arms. Neale McQuistin January 2008
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