So, I remember posting on this last year, at least I think so.
So peeved was I that I started every sentence with so.
So as to make a point, and so I did.
So much for people’s memories, wouldn’t you say so?
So there it is, I already told you so.
So, wouldn’t it be so much better if we stopped using so so often? There are so many ways of doing so.
So can we give it a go? I so hope we can!
So, in conclusion, and so as not to end up seeming to be a silly old so-and-so, whose posts are so so-so, I 'll sign off with a cheery “So long!”
Had a great evening yesterday, my partner (guitar), friend ( singer) and me met up with another guitar player (bass) and his partner who also sings really well.
This was amongst the songs we played, the music just flowed from one song to the next, lots of fun and laughter.
Finally got back at 3 am this morning with music ringing in our ears
If the farmers were paid at a correct price, then we would not have to ask for a handout from the government France is given 48% of the European agricultural budget. PACA where I am receives just 2% of the 48% and the biggest earner is Prince Albert of Monaco who has lots of land in the Camargue for rice and in England its Prince Charles who gets the most out of Europe. The other thing is that if you are entitled to a subsidie, you have to fill in a book of papers wait over a year just to tell you that there is no more money in the envelope because the big farmers were first in line and there is nothing left for you .We are farmers who want to live of the land & not subsidies by pride
Your gripe shouldn’t be with the government or other farmers but with consumers who won’t pay a decent price for food.
I am from coastal paca myself and we can’t really compare with eg the plaine de la Beauce. The subsidies are there, it probably is a pain to fill in papers but you should, it is just redistribution of your taxes etc after all.
“We are farmers who want to live of the land & not subsidies by pride”
Unfortunately that is tantamount to cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Sorry John but you’re wrong about who receives the most subsidies in the UK, ironically that title goes to Sir James Dyson who’s one of the high profile Brexiteers.
As Vero says you’d be daft not to apply for a subsidy.
She also makes the basic but crucial point that as consumers we are the ones that put farmers out of business by demanding low food prices, this same demand is also the reason why French manufacturers can’t compete with cheap Chinese imports across a huge range of products.
The blame lies less with the consumer and more with the large supermarkets which have the buying power to fix the price they will pay the farmers so that they can out-price their competitors. Who then just do the exact same thing so there is a race to offer the lowest prices. It is fueled by consumers to the extent that we willingly go along with it and buy the lowest priced goods.
Apart from the fact that the quality suffers this is not necessarily a bad thing. The low price is an illusion given that we just have to raise taxes to pay for subsidies to the farmers so that they are not driven out of business by the supermarkets but the result is that the middle and upper classes1 effectively subsidise low food prices which the less well off can take advantage of.
1] The tax burden mostly falls on the better off - the middle class like to think that the truly wealthy avoid paying tax which is not entirely true - they can get the percentages down with various schemes but the rich still pay most of the tax in society.
Regulations and paperwork are part and parcel of being a farmer and have been for generations. Going back 30 / 40 years one of my uncles was a dairy farmer in Wales. Breeding cows was his passion in life. He was highly regarded, he won lots of best of breed prizes and kept being featured in farming magazines and there were photos of cows all round his living room. He would have loved nothing better than to devote all his working hours to his cows and their welfare but in reality an awful lot of his time was spent on paperwork and form filling, because he had a family to feed so he had to run it as a business. It’s like any job, if it’s your livelihood you have to do what you have to do what you have to do. If you pick out the bits you like and leave the rest it’s a hobby not a job.
I’m the guy responsible for keeping the IT infrastructure of a medium sized company up and running - I also freelance as a security consultant, and get paid to talk at conferences. Sorry, I’m not sucking on the government teat just yet.
Pride goeth before destruction John. If you’re a farmer, you’re running a business. You need to treat it as such, so if you need to fill out reams of paperwork, then just do it. You’re given every chance to be on a level playingfield with other farmers (even the big boys) by doing so.
After all, how would you know there’s no more money left because the big boys already came and claimed it if you’ve never actually tried? Is it personal experience, or did you hear it from a fellow who heard it from the best friend of his second cousin twice removed?
Seriously, the thickness of that plate in front of your head is amazingly impressive. You’d fit right in with the extreme wingnuts over the ocean who’s mantra of “the gummint be takin mah stuff” can be heard far and wide.
I can’t seem to come up with a good analogy that describes you without turning it into something I’ll get slapped on the wrist for so I won’t, but suffice to say… you, good Sir, are an idiot. I’m done talking to you (rejoice)
The EU farming subsidies are crackers when you think about, landowners all over Europe are given eye watering amounts to effectively just manage their own land. However, it is what is so there’s no real reason (apart from pride) for our resident strawberry grower not to apply for a subsidy.
Last year we did set aside so no income from any crop, only income was the subsidies which were a total of €4800 but the minimum payment in cotisations to the MSA was €3800 then after paying to all the agricultural services who hold there hand out every year we were left with about €450, good job that I am a gentleman farmer.
That’s nasty. You know what John - I’m bored - bored with you and what you think you stand for. That will be the way things go - before too long people will be saying 'Jilly who ? ahhhh yes those people in the pretty little yellow vests - very camp ’
