By Matt Donald, pig & poultry farmer, north Yorkshire
Consistency of people on farm generally paves the way for good results, whether experienced or not it generally takes six months for someone to know their way around a farm, and the way we work as a business with our breeders. With a great team at the moment we are achieving some fantastic results. Poultry like routine and part of this routine relies on consistent team members on farm.
If it is the case for our business and running a small poultry site, then scale upwards massively and it is surely the case for Defra. With the third Minister of state for food security and rural affairs in only three years, how can this department be run efficiently and well, especially so when he is coming in with zero farm experience? I’d assume it takes more than six months to get to grips with the job in hand, especially given the scale of the department.
The optimistic side of me hopes Stephen Morgan may bring fresh, new ideas to aid farming in providing for food security, the cynical side thinks by the time he learns enough to make a positive difference there will be another change in the role. Now imagine working in this environment, a new boss more than once a year. No wonder the department is leaking cash that should be going to the farms out there who are producing food and doing good for the environment.
I guess my point is, the inconsistencies with people making decisions for the government are half the reason farming is where it is today, with a country falling in food self sufficiency and struggling to produce the nutritious food than can help save the health system. Four prime ministers in the last five years is a whole other column, but if you had had four managers running a farm in five years, would that site really be producing at full potential?