Last week, I looked at the cost of living crisis and it is important to recognise that the cost on the shelf is determined by a range of sometimes interconnecting factors, one of which is the land where our farmers produce our meat, grains, milk, fruit and vegetables.
The simple view on land – we either build on it or use it for livestock and growing crops. Of course, in Cumbria, it also includes the more than 50 per cent which is forest, open land or water where you find only the hardiest Herdwick sheep, ramblers and climbers – oh, and those brave members of the mountain rescue teams!
However, the simplistic view doesn’t really capture the intricacy of land use and its value to the nation. Government figures on land use divide land into ‘developed use’ and ‘undeveloped use’. This is then subdivided into several subcategories which are in turn subdivided. All of which shows what the land is currently used for not what it might be used for in the future.
The land we currently use for agriculture, the ‘natural capital’, relies on a complex ecosystem which takes into account the obvious – weather, water availability and the topography of the land – and the not so obvious – soil types, land compaction and human exploitation where the monetary or social value is such that agricultural land may be turned over to less or non food productive uses.
Farmers, large and small, are increasingly using the bottom line as the driver for their food production. This includes the price they pay for equipment, fuel and fertiliser and the price they receive for the products of their labour.
Other factors at play
Of course, there are other factors at play. The loss of the wheat and sunflower fields in Ukraine has led to the rise in price of bread and cooking oil and the breakdown in food trade between the UK and the EC, post-Brexit has affected food prices and, as a consequence, land use. The other post-Brexit headache is how do we recognise and support farmers when EC rural payments are removed? Indeed, should we?
In 2021, the Government estimated that 54 per cent of the food on our plates came from within the UK. That means 46 per cent is imported with four fifths of that coming from our old EC partners, mainly France, Holland, Germany and, of course, the Republic of Ireland. How these trading relationships are changing, post Brexit we are yet to see.
However, one such change will be the availability of food from other markets. The UK is currently finalising a trade deal with Trans-Pacific countries which will include New Zealand and Australia which will ease imports of food stuffs, particularly meat products even where animal welfare is less than in the UK.
How will these trade deals will affect our food production? On the one hand, cheap imports of lamb may adversely affect the hill farmers of Cumbria who’s costs of production are high. On the other hand, unless fuel and shipping costs come down, will there be a discernible increase in these imports?
Climate change?
That begs another question, where does this sit with mitigating the effects of climate change? While this cat isn’t a vegetable eater, my servants quite like cabbage, carrots and potatoes, all locally grown – the new potatoes from the Bootle area are particularly well liked, cooked with garden grown mint and served with local, handmade butter. Not for them outrageously expensively imported fruit and vegetables, preferring in-season, local crops and less of the food miles.
So, how do we manage this complex issue? How do we balance competing land use desires? How do we measure the value of each to our communities and to the public good?
The answer, not unsurprisingly, is also complex. We must avoid the simplistic answers favoured by political leaders who are driven by dogma. At the same time, we need to ensure that any proposals do not become too complex to implement.
The country needs to be fed and we need the security to know it will be fed in the years to come regardless of a changing political landscape, climate change driven extreme weather events, and short-term challenges such as wars, energy prices and exploitation of our natural capital.
And, of course, we need to maintain the hedgerows where I can supplement my diet of Melting Heart and Dreamies with real meat.
About Cumbria Cat
Born in Cumberland and, from 2023, will be back living in Cumberland, having spent most of the past 50 years in some place called Cumbria, this cat has used up all nine lives as well as a few others.
Always happy to curl up on a friendly lap, the preference is for a local lap and not a lap that wants to descend on the county to change it into something it isn’t. After all, you might think Cumbria/Cumberland/Westmorland is a land forged by nature – the glaciers, the rivers, breaking down the volcanic rocks or the sedimentary layers – but, in reality, the Cumbria we know today was forged by generations of local people, farmers, miners, quarriers, and foresters.
This cat is a local moggy, not a Burmese, Ocicat or Persian, and although I have been around the block a few times, whenever I jump, I end up on my feet back in my home county. I am passionate about the area, its people, past, present and future, and those who come to admire what we hold dear, be it lakes and mountains, wild sea shores, vibrant communities or the history as rich and diverse as anywhere in the world.
