Starmer's vision quest

[briantrumpet]

The specific item that comes to mind was tomatoes, but there was a shortage of other foodstuffs.

Whatevs, people panic the moment that they think that something they think of 'essential' is going to be in shortage. Which is rather an indicator of how normalised abundance has become. Relatively, that's only a fairly recent phenomenon.

 

[Pblakeney]

Whatevs, people panic the moment that they think that something they think of 'essential' is going to be in shortage. Which is rather an indicator of how normalised abundance has become. Relatively, that's only a fairly recent phenomenon.

I was trying to keep it relevant to farming. 😉

 

[Shortfall]

I can just about understand Pasta Panic, as at least it's a concentrated belly-filler. Maybe they need to invent toilet paper that is similarly efficient, along the lines of those things you get in Indian restaurants. As long as one doesn't get the two things confused and end up with uncooked spaghetti up your arse.

We've all done it. 😘

 

[BoldonLad]

I remember empty shelves during Covid. It was a slight piece of insight, now completely forgotten along with everything else.

I remember empty shelves before Covid, during my time in former USSR, even hotels and restaurants had scant rations (and, no bog roll) 😊

 

[BoldonLad]

Of course, but I circle back to Chesterton's Fence, not least as the stakes (steaks, fnarr fnarr) are so high: quite apart from being able to feed the nation with nutritious food (which has never been cheaper in relation to household budgets), there are profound environmental and societal impacts - for good or bad - from what the farming industry does, and any changes could have decade or lifelong impacts.

Bear in mind that three things: food, housing, and fuel, have driven the biggest changes in societies since the beginning of human history, and will continue to do so, as they are so fundamental to survival and comfort of each one of us.

Just witness 'toilet paper panic' at the slightest sign of disruption of normal routines, and then think what would happen if, for whatever reason, we couldn't be sure that our food supply would deliver what we've got used to.

Exactly. All the more reason to have a long term plan, and to work methodically and steadily toward to planned outcome.

No chance of course with the current crop of Politicians (regardless of party).

IMHO, the most significant “advance” in the “human condition” is probably clean water and a working sewerage system 😊 Not very exciting, perhaps, but, rather necessary

 

[First Aspect]

How much of education is subsidised? Or healthcare?

This isn't whataboutery, rather illustrating that society makes choices about to what degree we hand over control of essential services to the free market, and to what degree we need to be able to guarantee access for everyone, and some degree of predictability.

But it does errode the poor hard done by farmers argument.

I think it's instructive that the only outrage about the IHT change came from the people in line to pay it.

 

[briantrumpet]

But it does errode the poor hard done by farmers argument.

I think it's instructive that the only outrage about the IHT change came from the people in line to pay it.

Most of them would be better off realising their assets and doing something else, and not working 365 days a year in shit. Thankfully most of them put up with the shit, literal and metaphorical.

What would you think would be a good income from, say, a £5m business where three members of the family work from 6am to 9pm, seven days a week?

And no, that's not some exaggeration, that's the family I visited down your way a month or two ago, and has been the whole of their married life. Perhaps you'd care to visit.

As I say again, Chesterton's Fence. You need to *know* that whatever you're proposing is going to be less shit that what we've got now, and show how we get there. You can't eat unicorns if you're hungry.

 

[briantrumpet]

We've all done it. 😘

There maybe better and worse choices for which type gets stuck up yer colon. Linguini might be the most appropriate, I suppose. I'm sure they've seen it all at A&E.

 

[briantrumpet]

FWIW, those kinds of valuations aren't anything extraordinary in a moderate family farm, and for the most part, I suspect, are disregarded in business calculations, other than when assessing borrowing capacity or disposal, as they are largely inelastic and uncontrollable.

 

[briantrumpet]

The specific item that comes to mind was tomatoes, but there was a shortage of other foodstuffs.

I'd advise against tomatoes in this context, not least as they wouldn't be very absorbent, and furthermore might cause consternation to any observers of the, erm, fallout.

 

[First Aspect]

Most of them would be better off realising their assets and doing something else, and not working 365 days a year in shit. Thankfully most of them put up with the shit, literal and metaphorical.

What would you think would be a good income from, say, a £5m business where three members of the family work from 6am to 9pm, seven days a week?

And no, that's not some exaggeration, that's the family I visited down your way a month or two ago, and has been the whole of their married life. Perhaps you'd care to visit.

As I say again, Chesterton's Fence. You need to *know* that whatever you're proposing is going to be less shit that what we've got now, and show how we get there. You can't eat unicorns if you're hungry.

That's not the universal farming experience. If it's that bad, something is going badly wrong.

Some farmers just work hard. The two farms either side of us before we moved were livestock. It's not what I'd want to do, but there was certainly down time. Perhaps that's easier somehow, I don't know.

 

[briantrumpet]

That's not the universal farming experience. If it's that bad, something is going badly wrong.

Some farmers just work hard. The two farms either side of us before we moved were livestock. It's not what I'd want to do, but there was certainly down time. Perhaps that's easier somehow, I don't know.

Steady on chap!