At Lammas tide, which on
August 1st, it is traditional to take a loaf, made from the first grain
of the harvest season, to be blessed in church and to ask for God’s blessing on
the ensuing harvest. This loaf is then used to celebrate communion. Given the extremes
of weather experienced in the Spring and early Summer this year, it is unlikely
that many farmers will be in a position to harvest their crops by this date.
Early in the year while the
talk was of drought conditions and hosepipe bans, many crops started to suffer
from lack of moisture. Then we experienced unprecedented and near continuous
rainfall for several months. Week after week we have heard of new records for
high rainfall being established; for the majority of us this has simply been
inconvenient while others have suffered dreadfully through repeated flooding. For
our farmers, who toil all year long to provide us with the food we need, it can
mean disaster.
Mild and wet conditions are
ideal for the growth of fungi which attack crops and potentially devastate the
yield. This leads to a difficult and potentially poor harvest with grain prices
on the increase. Sadly good harvest weather is not in sight as yet, so this is
of little comfort.
In the meantime, high grain
prices are pushing up feed prices for livestock farmers, who are also suffering
at the hands of the weather. Thousands of stock-farmers had to bring their
animals back indoors to prevent them damaging valuable grazing land in the wet
conditions. Because of this, many are obliged to feed their animals with costly
winter forage or costly bought in feed – and with haymaking badly hampered
until the weather improves, there is little prospect of being able to replenish
those stocks before this coming winter. Without such reserves, many are very worried
about the welfare of their animals in the cold months to come.
On top of all this, we see
dairy farmers, many of whom are already trying to cope with the devastation of
bovine tuberculosis among their herds, having to contend with draconian price
cuts for their milk, bringing them to a level, which for many is totally unsustainable.
There is a very real likelihood of many dairy farmers simply going out of
business.
Farming has always been a
risky business and farmers are well used to managing those risks. This year,
however, is proving to be quite exceptional, bringing with it concerns of a
much greater magnitude than normal. When these worries are amplified by the
isolation of rural living and the sense of neglect felt by many farmers, increasing
pressures can prove too much, sometimes resulting in tragic and devastating
consequences.
So this Lammas tide, take a
moment to consider the plight of our farmers and their families. They have the
burden of helping to feed the nation while managing and caring for our countryside in
such difficult circumstances.
Farm Crisis Network is
calling for a day of prayer on Sunday, 29th July for our farming
community who everyday face the consequences of the uncertain weather and who
often pay a much higher price than the consumers of their production.
The Right Reverend Donald Allister,
Bishop of Peterborough, who is also an FCN Trustee, has composed the following
prayer for use on Sunday:
Heavenly
Father,
the earth
is yours and the harvests are your bounty.
We pray
for our arable farmers
in this
year of extreme weather.
We pray
for our dairy farmers
with
supermarkets forcing the price of milk down
and with
bovine TB in some parts of the country.
We ask
your blessing on the harvest
and on
all who work in farming.
We ask
that farmers facing difficult times
may know
your love
and our
support.
Through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen
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