By Charles Bourns, broiler grower, chair NFSCo
I’ve been thinking about the problems that activists cause our industry. Although the number of farms targeted is relatively small compared with the total number producing poultry and eggs, when incidents do occur, they’re often blown out of proportion.
While I was away last month, a friend of mine demonstrated a security system that alerted him if anyone was on his property, even though he was 6,000 miles away. The system wasn’t just about viewing CCTV footage on a phone; the company actually called him if there was suspicious activity, and if he confirmed it was a problem, they contacted the police. There are companies offering exactly this kind of service.
It made me think, most of us already have CCTV on our farms. Why couldn’t we, as an industry, go a step further and have our cameras monitored? If someone is caught trying to break in, a call could be made to the farmer and, if necessary, the police. If activists knew they were likely to be caught red-handed, they might think twice before carrying out these intrusions.
Of course, that doesn’t solve the issue of rogue employees. Perhaps it’s time to consider licensing farm workers, similar to how drivers can lose their licence. If someone is found mistreating animals, their licence could be suspended, and they’d have to attend a training or awareness course before being allowed to return to work. It would take time and money to set up, but the damage these incidents cause our industry is so great that it would likely be worth the cost, and perhaps the customer should help bear some of that burden.
We’re told not to be political, but this time of year I usually start planning ahead, and this year it feels impossible. Everyone is waiting for the budget to see what further damage the Government might do. As most of you know, I have a small farm, but even so, I’ll still be hit by inheritance tax unless the Chancellor raises the threshold, as some have suggested she might. I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see, as my advisers were wrong about it last year!
At home, the builders have started work on my son’s house. Due to various complications, the foundations need to be 2.8 metres deep, and because we’re in a radon area (3–5%), a floating floor is also required. None of that was expected when we built my own house. And of course, it started raining the day the builders began!
On the farm, we’ve had our last delivery of ABN feed, as we’re switching to 2Agriculture following their change of ownership. Apart from that, everything continues as usual. The farm is performing well, though I can’t take any credit. My son has fully taken over, and I now keep myself busy with NFSCo.
I hope to catch up with many of you at one of the upcoming events between now and Christmas. These gatherings are always valuable for me, there’s always something new to learn.