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What they say about us...

Hi Mike

Just received the latest issue of Farm Ideas.--- another great issue keep up the good work !!

A good caption for the photo on page 37 would be

Three Wise Monkeys--Hear no evil--see no evil--speak no evil !!

Jack Smith

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The 2007 Budget - a disaster for farmers

Disastrous Budget for farmers

Has farming been hoisted on its own petard by showing the nation how green we want to be? Regular 'production' farmers unable to get into bio-fuels have little to smile about. Their Land Rover tax disc goes up from £210-230 to £300 this year and to a whopping £400 in 2008. We're paying far more than a van (£165), and an inappropriate amount in comparison to the heaviest artics, at £1,850.
    Red diesel, the fuel everyone uses for machinery and corn drying is lifted 2p a litre, 5%, in October - at least we're spared the increase this harvest.
    Company tax goes from 19p to 22p, a 15% increase. Here's a regressive tax which hits businesses that are the least profligate, the least able to afford additional tax burdens, and are also the ones that make up the seed corn of the future.
    Income tax, too, impinges on farm budgets. Small farm businesses, classed as self employed, are likely to find themselves paying more in tax, due to the scrapping of the the 10p layer, and the same will be true for farm workers, whether employed or self employed. They are just not earning enough, so the famed 2p reduction will have little impact. The tax credits for families are increased, which is great if you're not the average aged farmer (57) whose got grandchildren on his knee!
    Then there's National Insurance.....

NFU wrong footed
This catalogue of cost increases was greeted by the NFU in a surprising way. When I first read the statement from President Peter Kendall I thought he was quoting the Chancellor when he said “This budget aims to prepare the country for the environmental challenges that lie ahead. Farmers and growers are ready and able to offer solutions to these problems. I agree with the Chancellor that these solutions need to be delivered through good information and incentives if they are going to be effective.”
    This was not the most intelligent response the NFU has ever made. Maybe the Union's focus on improving the environmental record of farming has made the Chancellor think that farmers can live on birds and bees and beetle-banks, and that nasty tractor driven agriculture can be penalised. Well, it can't. The majority of farmers in Britain need income, however strongly they support and are active in environmental schemes.