Anger as fuel prices rise (From Gazette & Herald)

Anger as fuel prices rise

I HAVE just returned from a few days in the spectacular Sibillini Mountains in northern Italy, where we travelled around a fair bit - paying around 65p a litre for diesel.

Back in the old country, I struggled to find any pumps at much less than 85p per litre and I see the press is again full of threats to repeat the fuel protests of four years ago. I know there is genuine concern about the instability in the Middle East, and especially the disturbing news from Saudi Arabia where mindless militants seem intent on disrupting oil supplies; but to date, the oil is still flowing and the price rises smack more of opportunistic exploitation that justifiable increases.

To make matters worse in the UK, Gordon Brown has always perceived the motorist to be fair game for taxation and his last budget put another almost 2p per litre onto petrol which is due to be introduced in September.

Farm contractors are estimating that tractors will cost an extra £500 per annum and road hauliers fear that running a wagon could rise by £1,200 to £1,500 per annum.

The bitter pill is the more difficult to swallow as our European partners pay at least 30pc less for their fuel.

Is it any wonder that Willibetz and Dentressangle have a reported 1,000 wagons on our roads, full of continental diesel to enable them to spend all week in the UK without filling up!

Figures out last week show that 2,000 dairy farmers quit in 2002, taking the number down to well below 16,000 for the country.

At our livestock auctioneers meeting a fortnight ago, I was talking to the secretary, Chris Dodds, who comes from the north-west, and he says that the auctions are booked out with dairy sales, which could further make true the predictions of a further dramatic exodus.

There are suggestions that there could be fewer than 10,000 dairy farmers in the country in a couple of years.

Dairy farming is incredibly demanding and hard, seven days a week throughout the year, and the rewards need to be there to keep producers in the parlour.

Gareth Vaughan, the new president of the Welsh Farmers' Union, has no doubts about who is to blame.

In his key note presidential address, he branded the supermarket chains and dairies as "bully boys". He went on to say: "It is a national disgrace that supermarkets and milk processors can drive down prices without reference to anyone".

I was talking last evening to Graham Peacock, at his Orari Gorge Farm in New Zealand, where they are preparing for their annual sale of pedigree Hereford bulls.

It is also traditionally the season for culling cows and, remarkably, the American market is proving a real boost for funds.

Prices are 30pc up on last year and, with 40,000 cows a week to move, this is good news for the New Zealand farmer.

It isn't many years ago since the State Veterinary Service (SVS) provided a sound professional career, a good pension, but not the greatest of salaries.

My Huttons Ambo correspondent sent me an advert from The Times which just indicates the challenges and stresses of being in the public eye.

The advert is for someone to head up the SVS at Worcester and, surprisingly, a veterinary qualification is only described as an advantage and not essential! The salary is a very healthy £100,000, with a footnote to say that more may be available for an exceptional candidate.

It is silly to generalise, but whilst we were catering for ourselves in Italy, I found it difficult to purchase any food stuffs from the UK, except perhaps a packet of Kelloggs cornflakes or a bottle of whisky.

All the fresh food came from the Italian countryside and was clearly labelled as such, and our visits to the butcher revealed no other imported meat on display.

If only we could develop that ethos of national loyalty instead of allowing our supermarkets to masquerade all sorts of foreign meat under the UK banner.

The Italian menus were also fun, and in one restaurant there was a pasta dish called Strengozzi alla Norcina; and the translation into pidgin English went "noodles without egg, cream, sausage, mushroom and truffle"!

In the same restaurant had proudly listed "grilled cow steak" and the following dish made my eyes water "Castrato alla Brace", a traditional mutton mixture!

Forward on Tuesday were 81 cattle, including 44 bulls; 1,326 sheep including 700 spring lambs and 227 ewes.

Light steers to 129p from D R Jackson, Carnaby (average 114.5p); heavy steers to 116p from C Beal, Yedingham (105.02p). Light heifers to 118p from W & L Thompson, Middleton; medium heifers to 130p from G I Marwood, Harome (117.5p); heavy heifers to 136p from G I Marwood (114.5p).

Light bulls to 118p from R Holtby, Leavening; medium bulls to 116p from M Rooke, Beadlam (105.6p); heavy bulls to 118p from M Sunley, Farndale (103.2p); black and white bulls to 102p from D Flinton, Marishes (85.6p).

Standard lambs to 136.8p from M Hawkswell, Foston (122.8p); medium lambs to 129p from W Burdass & Sons, Harpham (121.7p); heavy lambs to 120p from A Harper & Son, Skiplam (117.5p). Light hoggets to 106.8p from P M Allen, Great Barugh (90.7p); standard hoggets to 110.2p from P Nicholson, Nafferton (98.05p); medium hoggets to 108.5p from P & I Beal, Settrington (96.03p); heavy hoggs to 105.4p from R Jackson, Farlington (93.7p). Ewes to £57.50 from E E Wilkinson, Langtoft (£40.40).

Updated: 11:47 Wednesday, June 02, 2004