Farm Diary June 17 2009

Our garden is growing weeds faster than Lorayne can deal with them, but my (small) vegetable patch is thriving.

Magpie fledglings perching on the gate waiting for food from their busy parents, large fox cubs prowling around for easy pickings in broad daylight, rabbits galore (James shot 83 the other night), and very smart pheasants who smugly preen themselves, are all part of daily life.

The maize is leaping out of the ground, a very healthy green, as we spray the weeds when conditions allow. There won't be anything else to do to the maize fields once the spraying is complete, and it looks as if it has a reasonable chance of developing into a good crop if weather allows.

Plenty of sunshine is what's needed, and I'm sure that most people are looking forward to the Met Office's 'BBQ Summer' as promised.

Our grazing programme has been severely curtailed this year by lack of access through the building site earlier in the season and the need for slurry now that we have started filling the first 'Bio-digester' tank. I hope to get things sorted very soon after second cut silage next week.

The German workers are back, but the backup from the German factory was missing as they were on holiday last Friday and Monday as they found something else to celebrate! The 'Control room' is on its concrete plinth, and the feeders are being craned on to the various plinths which James has expertly poured last week.

The plumbing is under way, and James is pouring the 'Pump room' plinth this week. The electricians will arrive next, followed by the team that fit the inflatable roofs on to the towers. We are getting there, and the end is in sight (just). The engine and generator delivery has been delayed, but that does not hold up any of the work in progress.

After all the maneuvering, crisis meetings, resignations, re-shuffle, and so on, Hilary Benn remains as Secretary of State for the Environment; I can hardly believe it possible. Sadly, we have lost Jane Kennedy as Minister for farming and the environment, as she resigned her position.

We have seen many resignations of late, ranging from forced, to opportunist, desertion, cringingly embarrassing and pointless. This government seems to be finished, and to watch Labour MP's turn on their leader as if it was his fault that they were caught 'maximising' their expenses, to the disgust of the general public, was another nail in their coffin.

Last week gave us the European Election results, which quite frankly were a disgrace for this country.

Unfortunately, local and European elections are used to show how dissatisfied the population is with current government, and at the moment all three major political parties are hugely unpopular due to the 'expenses' scandal, which has brought to a head the total dissatisfaction and disaffection the public have with politicians in general, which ranges from irrelevant to corrupt.

Given the way some politicians have behaved in recent weeks, selfishly, disgracefully, stupidly, arrogantly, (you can finish this long list), it is little wonder that the general public were keen to give them a bloody nose.

Unfortunately, the result is that many local Councilors, who might well have been doing a very good job, working hard on behalf of their local communities, were unceremoniously thrown out through no fault of their own.

That is bad enough, but what we have collectively done in the European elections, is to not only elect far right extremists as MEP's, which gives our country a shameful impression to other European countries, but our voice in the European Parliament is now minute and largely ineffectual.

Out of around 75 MEP's elected, only 22 have any real influence in European matters. The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) do nothing other than vote '˜NO' whether the policy is in this country's interest or not; they are there to protest against our membership of Europe.

Quite how the logic of standing for election to be part of something you fundamentally object to defeats me! I also discount the Conservative MEP's as having influence in Europe, due to David Cameron's misjudgment of pandering to the right wing of his party and pulling out of the EPP, which is the biggest and most important group; choosing a dangerous liaison with far right groups instead, which will have no influence. What a collective poor return for taxpayer's money we will now have as our European representatives.

If elected, how will the Conservatives handle Europe? Let's remember that their vote has fallen too, and the prospect of William Haig as Foreign Secretary in conflict with major European governments is not something to look forward to.

It will be difficult for British interests, British businesses and British agriculture to advance their collective interests in Europe now that our representation by MEP's is largely ineffectual, our current government on life support, and the alternative government outside the tent as it were. Maybe we will have an '˜European' result at the next election; a coalition government?