dougal03

Chris.Grayling recently suggested that more produce should be grown in Britain instead of being imported.In Devon,where I have lived,they do have palm trees so I am looking forward to seeing a line of orange trees along the Torquay prom.before too long.Since many of the Footie teams in the south west could do with time off,perhaps a pitch or two could be dug up for an olive grove or even a banana plantation.Think I,ll send him an e-mail.

Moses2013

Damn right and there should be more growing in the UK. At least more people have started growing for themselves now and nothing better than fresh veg and fruit from your own garden or greenhouse. Look at the Netherlands and how much crap they produce for such a tiny country. The best tomatoes I've ever eaten come from my own garden and indeed even bananas. Pineapple is the next thing I want to try.

KieronF

Chris Grayling forgets that most of that newly-grown produce will need EU workers to harvest or pick it - and they won't be allowed in to work. Hope he doesn't think that any of the UK unemployed will get up off their benefit backsides and pick it.

scrubbedexpat142

No, no, the English peasantry will touch their forelocks & trudge off into the countryside - like they used to do in the good old days.

Moses2013

They'll still be allowed to work just like it is in most crown dependencies. You have a 5 year residency rule and some work is for locals and some work doesn't require residency. If you can't find locals it's easy to get a licence and foreigners can come for the season.

Retired in Euskadi

Brits don't seem to want to pick strawberries or cauliflowers, hence the need to import 'casual' labour.
There are about 2 generations in the UK that have grown up thinking their milk comes from Tescos rather than a cow.
And adults wishing to lose weight believe whole milk is full of fat, not realising
it contains less than 4% (unless it's Jersey).
Back to basics.

scrubbedexpat142

We don't want you to live in our Country but we do expect you to come & pick our produce because we are too lazy!

cermignano

Fruit growers are saying there is a lack of Europeans this year and it has been a problem for them which they are worried about as they believe it will get worse. It seems that a lot of the workers do not feel welcome any more and are looking elsewhere

cermignano

There is a special Landward programme on tonight at 8pm on BBC2. "Who will pick the Berries?"it is called.

Rotor

A lot of ill educated people here , there are many reasons why Brits wont/dont work at the bottom end of agriculture . In reality migrant workers get less than minimum wage , the terms they are usually employed under include living in .......caravans with 3 or 4 strangers , rent is deducted from their pay as is costs for electricity and gas at an inflated rate , on top of this they are employed on piece work , if you cant pick the required minimum you are down the road ,on top of this overtime is always required , no weekends off , sick pay is only statutory , if you have "too much time on the sick" you are fired.
No children or family allowed on site and you wont be able to afford to run a car on these wages , the farms have their own buses and run staff to and from the field .
How many of you here have worked under these conditions ? none I`d wager .
I did a year as a farm manger on this type of farm and quit as the whole set up stinks , remember what really goes on when you next buy your veg from a supermarket.

Edit: Big agri companies in Spain are exactly the same.

Rotor

Theres a light hearted view of what goes on here ...

Rowe Farming`s Cornish Invasion - Caption Generator

Moses2013

It's unfortunately the same everywhere as these jobs are low paid and nobody wants to pay a few euros for a cucumber. In Germany most of the work was done by Romanians before they were part of the EU.

Rotor

Food has never been so cheap in the U.K. and it's at the expense of the British agricultural workers, conditions are often dangerous, difficult and unpleasant yet wages are around half of what's paid in construction for doing heavy outdoor work.

Moses2013

Exactly and that's why I'm happy to pay a few Euro more if I can support good quality and fair wages. Unfortunately food has no value today and most people just want cheap. Luckily our local supermarket supports local farmers and the carrots actually taste like carrots, so I'm happy to pay a few cent more and see where it comes from. The local farmer can afford his pint and the pub owner is happy too.

bobd22

I recently had a conversation with an elderly farmer who had recently retired and sold up. He mentioned how the EU changed farming in the UK. He said it was basically his accountant who told him year by year as to what crops he should plant. Reason being it was all down to where the current subsidies were. He also mentioned that the days of employing lots of farmorkers were gone as technology takes over when farming at larger scale. Also the way it is going in England building housing estate on housing estate likely that not long after we leave the EU there will be no land left to farm.