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Not all bad news this week

GOOD NEWS WEEK

There are two pieces of good news which have an impact on farming. The first concerns woodland, and the second birds. And the economy might not be as bad as some say.

FORESTS PROTECTED As the Coalition drives it's way through the UK economy, with bits of Nimrods, Harriers and other hardware littering the verge, the Beeb finally blown, the NHS machine being given perhaps the makeover which is long overdue - as quango's bite the dust... it's good to hear on the news that there is a grain of sense still around, and the Forset of Dean, and other major woods, are to be protected.

The assumption that all who buy up woodland are desperate to exploit, defile, destroy is wide of the mark. Look at private woodland, that is, woodland not owned by the Forestry Commission. Do you see destruction and desecration? Many farmers and others own woodland because they have neighbouring land. Others because they actually want to preserve a bit of the countryside, and allow it to stay as it is (see the FarmWorld article in the the Feb - May 2011 issue, Vol 19-4).

But there's always a danger that something untoward might occur. That a George Soros might decide to buy it all up and make one huge theme park, or corner the firewood market, or any other thing he fancies.

So having a 'hands off' approach on the Forest of Dean and other ancient places, where people have toiled as woodsmen since the beginning of time, is not a bad policy, even for a government which is trying to straighten an economy which came with the note from Liam Byrne, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, saying ''Dear Chief Secretary, I'm afraid to tell you there's no money left" - a joke which now looks oh so true.

SELECTED PREDATOR CULLING The Times this morning reports that there is to be a cull of predatory birds in some selected locations - the purpose is to see if the population of small songbirds, sparrows and others will increase if there are fewer crows, magpies, sparrowhawks and others around to eat them up.
http://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/media/files/SBSNewsletterSummer2010.pdf
This is great news for farming. For years we've been blamed for declining song bird numbers, yet we see annual evidence of nests being raided by predators.
The countryside is losing the skills and appetite for wildlife management, which is so much part of our 19th and early 20th century heritage, and substituting it with a policy of winner takes all.
There's little doubt that the £100,000 culling programme, if properly measured, will show that fewer sparrowhawks mean more sparrows; fewer magpies mean more bluetits, and so on. Moving this to a national policy could prove difficult, but it's essential if the populations of these small vulnerable birds is not to drop to non-viable numbers in some places. Averages are one measurement, but in some places predators are reaching saturation.

So not all is gloom.

DECEMBER HAD REAL SNOW I don't even think the economic figures are all that ghastly. London based opposition economists say the December snow was like leaves on rail lines - a convenient excuse for failure - but during the month many parts of the country were paralysed.

In addition a significant number of people were confined to bed with flu-like-symptoms. Not good conditions for doing any kind of business, in the shops or elsewhere. The real fear is that business and consumers take the downturn figures as some kind of warning not to buy, invest or be economically active - that they take the publicity around them as a reason to shut the purse and retreat back to bed, even without flu symptoms.

Provided that doesn't happen, I can't help thinking the economy will be on an upward course. The £Sterling exchange rate makes it good value, helping all exports and the financial sector. Small business is growing fast, and some will thrive. I don't, however, see economic recovery leading to a vast increase in employment, as Whitehall seems content to pile on additional rules and regulations over staff enheadlinements such as maternity and paternity, age, sex and retirement. They are all a huge disincentive to taking on permanent staff.

Even better news is the new issue of Practical Farm Ideas, with an amazing amount of material in it.
http://www.farmideas.co.uk/online_shop_p.php?product=147