A
research report into hill farming and farming families in
the Peak District
REPORT
EXPOSES TRAGEDY OF PEAK DISTRICT £2.50 / HOUR FARMERS
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Peak
District hill farmers are among the most deprived
in the country, earning just £7,482 per year
for a gruelling 58 hour working week.
This
equates to earning about £2.50p an hour, nearly
£2 below the legal minimum hourly wage level
and around the cost of eight pints of milk bought
from a supermarket.
The
research report, Hard Times, commissioned by
the Peak District Rural Deprivation Forum and funded
by Oxfam, looked at income levels among hill farmers
in the Peak District and the impact of government
policy on the quality of life of farming families.
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Shockingly,
the annual income includes subsidies provided by government.
Without government
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subsidy
these farmers would be in debt to the tune of £2,300
each year. The report also finds that their farm incomes
have dropped by 75% over the last 10 years with incomes
over 2002 being a quarter of what they were in 1992.
PDRDF spokesperson Carol Evans said: "It's shameful
that many of Derbyshire's food producers are living
on the breadline - earning far less than the legal
minimum wage.
A
myth still persists that all farmers are rich and
greedy - this report makes clear that nothing could
be further from the truth."
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Britain's
lowest paid workers in cleaning, catering and security jobs
can all earn significantly more than the Peak District's
poorest farmers. Many farmers can't afford to hire casual
labourers to help on their farm so are working long hours
for very little pay."
The
shocking reality is that farmers feel persecuted, isolated
and undervalued."
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Not
only are these farmers responsible for providing the
nation with food, they are also responsible for maintaining
and managing the landscape and making it accessible
to people who enjoy visiting the countryside.
Carol
Evans continued: "If hill farming dies out in
this country who will be there to manage the landscape
for us all to enjoy? The pleasant Sunday walk in the
country could become a thing of the past.
Peak District farmers want to keep farming but hardship
and poverty is forcing them to give up their jobs
and sell their land."
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The
research for 'Hard Times' was carried out between 2001 and
2003 and includes 12 qualitative case studies describing
the day-to-day experiences of farmers and data unique to
a hill farming area
| Contents
- HARD TIMES |
Pg |
|
Forward |
4 |
|
Executive
Summary |
5 |
| Chapter
1 |
Background
to Research |
8 |
| Chapter
2 |
Research
: Case Studies and Data |
|
| |
Part
1 : Farming Case Studies in the Peak District (Chris
Higgins) |
10 |
| |
Introduction
|
10 |
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Project
Framework |
10 |
| |
Interview
Focus |
11 |
| |
Parameters
of the average |
11 |
| |
A
Caricature of Peak District Farming from the Case Studies
|
13 |
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Issue
Specific Responses |
14 |
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|
1.
The principles of enjoyment and discontentment in farming
|
14 |
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2.
Perceived route to improved farm income |
15 |
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3.
Impact of increased bureaucracy |
16 |
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4.
Impact of market closures |
16 |
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5.
Impact of small abattoir closures |
17 |
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6.
Perceptions of standards application internationally |
17 |
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7.
Farm diversification |
18 |
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8.
Co-operation |
19 |
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9.
Reflections on the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease
|
20 |
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10.
The right to roam |
21 |
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11.
Farming and future generations |
22 |
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12.
Stress |
23 |
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13.
Social isolation |
24 |
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14.
Confidence in continued farming |
25 |
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15.
Routes to influence policy |
26 |
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16.
Additional observations |
28 |
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Implications
of the case study findings |
29 |
|
Part
2 : Farming Incomes in the Peak District National Park
(Martin
Seabrook) |
30 |
|
Part
3 : Conclusions of Chris Higgins and Martin Seabrook
|
36 |
| Chapter
3 |
Conclusions
and Recommendations of the Farming Working Group |
39 |
|
Appendices
|
47 |
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