It’s hardly surprising that your response to the release of information giving details of the recipients of CAP subsidy payments published in this column in June has been one of both shock and surprise.  “How on earth can a Swedish accordion club get €60,000?” You asked. But as you may recall, the list – that was acquired under a 2008 EU ruling – was far from comprehensive and was much longer and even less credible as sums reached well into the many millions. One name missing from the list was Tate and Lyle, the Thames-side sugar refinery set up by Henry Tate in 1878 but sold last month to American Sugar Refining. Would it be too cynical to wonder whether the promise of EU subsidies was an added attraction to the sale?

The release of such information is likely to be abolished in the autumn when the European Court of Justice will question the legality of the rules.  It has been suggested that the exposure breaches farmers’ privacy. But is it the privacy of the farmer – whose claims are legitimate – that needs to be protected or that of other clearly ‘questionable’ recipients? I know what I think!   As UKIP MEP and Norfolk farmer Stuart Agnew told the European Parliament  last month during a debate on a ‘climate obsessed’ report obliging farmers to pump tractor exhaust underground, increasing fuel consumption and spoiling seed beds as a consequence – “If the CAP fits, we should wear it – if the CAP doesn’t fit we should take it off.”

Back to ‘Drinka pinta milka day’ with EU Help

I see the EU is backing the milk promotion scheme Make Mine Milk by paying a third of the £7.5m cost with the support of Dairy UK and The Dairy Council.   The three year campaign is now boosted promotionally by the stars of the ‘A Team’ television series that will, in the words of Sandy Wilkie, chairman of The Milk Marketing Forum, “aim to re-ignite the public’s love for low fat milk.” The Make Mine Milk scheme is also supported by Arla Foods UK, Dairy Crest Ltd., First Milk, Milk Link and Robert Wiseman Dairies.  So can we rest assured that dairy farmers will now receive a fair price for their milk?  I note the words of RABDF chairman David Cotton who said in May – “Processors have been posting some healthy profits in the past couple of weeks; however those trends are not yet apparent at the farm gate. If producer prices don’t improve soon then some major questions will be asked over whether processors actually want to retain the remaining suppliers.”

So the question you may just be asking is who will benefit from increased milk sales resulting from this promotion and does the EU intend to support farmers,  movie stars or processors?

Farmers battling the driest spell in over 80 years 

Official figures released by the Met Office show that just 356.8mm of rain fell in the first six months of this year compared to a long term average of 511.7mm.  These figures confirm the first six months of 2010 to be the second driest for a century, beaten only by the drought of 1929 when just 275.7mm of rain fell between January and June.  Farmers across the country now have to deal with the consequences.  Compared with last year, reductions of between 25–40 percent in silage yields are reported and in many areas crops are ripening too quickly with concern being expressed regarding the quality of wheat, barley and oilseed rape. So no record yields this year.

Beet prices fixed for 2011/12

As the deadline approaches, beet growers are busy completing their offer forms that have to be returned to British Sugar by Friday August 13th 2010. The 2011/12 beet price for permanent contracted tonnage is fixed at £23.60t and will not be subject to further change.  British Sugar’s Outgoers Scheme runs parallel with the contracting process with the same deadline – August 13th. More detailed information in this month’s Cropchat.

So this is where some of our money goes

A little off subject but of interest – I was visiting a friend in hospital last month and while negotiating my way along the winding corridors I had a most interesting conversation with a lady from the NHS Counter Fraud Service. Noting my interest she told me the story of the UK’s first ‘health tourist’ that I now share with Farmers Guide readers.  Mr Albert Girgis, an Egyptian businessman has been coming to London for NHS care since 1992, falsely claiming to be a UK resident.  As an Egyptian national, he would have been expected to pay for the treatment he received from the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, the Hammersmith Hospital, the Royal Brompton Hospital, the Royal Marsden Hospital plus several thousand pounds in prescription drugs.  The NHS is claiming a total of £55,000 from Albert Girgis who has now surrendered his passport, is prohibited from leaving the UK and is prevented from disposing of any assets worldwide up to the value of the NHS’s claim until the case is resolved. Jim Gee, Head of the Fraud Service says “it is unacceptable for wealthy health tourists to exploit the NHS.”  Frankly I cannot understand how he got away with it for so long and how many more cases are there?

And finally

A fireman was working on the fire engine outside the station when he noticed a little girl nearby in a little red wagon with little ladders hung from the sides and a tightly coiled garden hose in the middle. The girl was wearing a fireman’s helmet and the wagon was being pulled by her dog and cat.

The fireman walked over to take a closer look. “That sure is a nice fire engine,” the fireman said with admiration.  “Thanks,” the little girl replied. The fireman looked a little closer and noticed that the girl had tied the wagon to her dog’s collar and to the cat’s testicles.

“Little partner,” said the fireman “I don’t want to tell you how to run your rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat’s collar, I think you could go faster.”

The little girl replied thoughtfully, “You’re probably right, but then I wouldn’t have a siren.”