The arable event of the year has come and gone again. I went on both days which was a first for me. The main reason for this double attendance was that I had been invited to join the panel on the stage in the arable conference marquee for the session on the Campaign for the Farmed Environment on the second day.
I thought it would be a good idea to see what was said during the same session on day one so that I could make notes and look really clever on day two, assuming that no one would be daft enough to go to both.
A major advantage of being on the panel was an exhibitor’s car pass allowing me to park on the site and avoid the bus ride, which seems to have gone as well as can be expected. Our car load duly arrived at around 9am and set off in different directions to look at the shiny new machinery we knew we could not afford. Most of the sprayers I saw would do all of my 400 acres of arable in one tank before breakfast time.
I wandered along two of the isles after locating the arable marquee; this process took an hour and a half due to me meeting people I knew on every second stand. Food was my priority which was provided in the arable marquee and we were graced with the presence of the new Defra Minister Jim Paice, who apparently now wishes to be called Minister and not Jim as before.
I think this is a mistake as it puts up barriers and does not endure people to him. At least he has a farm and knows a lot about our industry. To have the Minister and the Secretary of State there was a real scoop and shows a different attitude to the previous administration. I duly attended the CFE conference and made some useful notes. At 3pm the heavens began to open and the Cambridgeshire soil, which had started to dry out quickly became very wet just as fast.
Day two was a decidedly muddy affair and I made a bee line for the FWAG stand to pick up a few last minute tips for my performance. When 230pm came around four of us sat on the stage with microphones of varying quality and we were off. I found the experience very enjoyable, and although some of the questioning was robust, I think we gave a reasonable account of ourselves and at least got a round of applause from the 60 or so in the audience. We desperately need the CFE to work or we will face more regulation, more inspection and even more form filling.
As England make their way through the early stages of the World Cup, someone said to me the other day how they are a brilliant team on paper, to which I replied that they maybe but they’re pretty crap on grass!