Use us or lose us!

Obviously at the moment we are all disappointed at the price of milk, and more in my line of work - we are still disappointed with the major retailers and processors in the red meat industry. As I have said before we are the lowest price in Europe and unless the meat industry gives us a signal that prices will go up gradually, they will have to look at themselves and really ask the question - "do we want to use British meat?" Because farmers will either export their product as soon as it is possible or they will stop doing suckler beef.

There is an initiative here in the south west to drive the red meat industry forward using traditional methods. I myself have been working with English Nature and RSPB to look at ways to get more money back into the industry because suckler cows are expensive to keep as a business.

We are looking at ways to get the message across to the government and to the consumer - use us or lose us!

Reading the Mole Valley newsletter I am disappointed over the information supplied on their livestock page. I think the person who wrote the article on OTMS should be ashamed of himself or herself for suggesting that it will be 2007 before the date-based export scheme is lifted. If that is what they are suggesting and putting it in print, they are allowing the government off the hook to get the job done and all the hard work that some of us have already done has been wasted.

The finger wants to be pointed clearly at the meat industry to get their testing sorted out and hopefully the trials in July and August by the European commission will be completed successfully. I am pleased to have led the team in Brussels and got the five UK Farmers' Unions working together over this to get the three-year unwind of the pre '96 OTMS. There is more to do on that yet on pricing and costings but we are getting there, and don't forget we got the amnesty on passports that had been forgotten to be returned to BCMS. That amnesty has just finished, so we have done a lot of work.

I get a little fed up of the critics out there, who instead of helping stand grissling on the sidelines, so be warned we can see light at the end of the tunnel and I've got a terrier by my side!

On a positive note, Cornwall has led the way with the Carol Trewin Gourmet book, and those of you who have seen it are probably like myself, and live to eat, are really impressed. The photos make you hungry, and the book covers all aspects of food production in Cornwall and the Scillies, farming, fishing, baking, wine making.

Now I'm challenging all you food producers in Devon to help sponsor a book for Devon, Cornwall had the advantage of Objective 1 funding, so we will have to try a bit harder.

I am putting £100 in from the farm, my wife is putting in £100 from the bed and breakfast. So we want farmers, bed and breakfasts, shellfishermen, vegetable growers, chefs, vineyards, smallholders and anyone who produces food from the land or sea to dig deep and promote their county. It doesn't matter how big or small your donation is, I have already said how much we are putting in. This is something that the people that live and work here in Devon can do something to promote their way of life. Please send donations c/o Richard Haddock, Food Book, NFU, Pynes Hill, Exeter,EX2 5ST. Please make cheque or postal order out to Devon Food. If we don't do it, no one else will, so let's get on with it.