TFA AND FCN CALL FOR BREATHING SPACE FOR TENANT FARMERS
The Tenant Farmers Association and the charity Farm Crisis Network have joined forces to highlight the plight of tenant farmers in the midst of the current Foot and Mouth Disease Crisis and to call for restraint from banks and landlords.
FCN Deputy National Co-ordinator Helen Bagwell said, “We are very concerned about the plight of tenant farmers across the country. Reports from our local FCN Co-ordinators in upland areas are particularly concerning. Every day that passes makes the situation more desperate. Some tenants that we are talking to are fearful about going to speak to their bank managers in case existing overdrafts and borrowing are called in. We are also getting reports that some landlords are taking a hard line on rental payments expecting them to be met on time despite the current circumstances. Situations where farm families are having to raid their children’s bank accounts just to survive are heartbreaking.”
TFA and FCN are asking landlords and financial institutions to give tenant farmers the necessary breathing space to get through the current crisis. The TFA and FCN would ask that they take the initiative in sending a message to their tenants and tenant clients that there is an open door if any want to talk through their current difficulties in a non threatening environment.
TFA National Chairman, Reg Haydon said, “There appears to be a general lack of appreciation of the severity of the current crisis. Many tenants rely on the movement of store lambs and calves as well as finished animals at this time of year for the bulk of their annual income. The movement restrictions mean that movement of animals away from breeding units is at a standstill and with the closure of export markets, prices for finished lambs, in particular, are spiralling downwards to unsustainable levels. The TFA has been in touch with a number of the major supermarket buyers today urging that retailers do not seek to cash in on the current crisis. But if things carry on as they are we will be looking to the Government to introduce a Livestock Welfare Disposal Scheme to ease the animal and human welfare pressures.”
“Following contact with David Fursdon, the President of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), I am pleased to report that he too will be urging his landlord members to find practical ways of resolving some of these difficult issues with their tenant farmers,” said Mr Haydon.
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Ref: MR20
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Date: 24 September 2007
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Notes for Editors:
For further information contact:
Reg Haydon OBE, TFA National Chairman, on 01903 882577
TFA Chief Executive George Dunn on 0118 930 6130 or 07721 998961.
Helen Bagwell, FCN Deputy National Coordinator on 01963 250375 or 07801 546859
The Tenant Farmers Association is the only organisation dedicated to the agricultural tenanted sector and is the authentic voice of tenant farmers. The TFA lobbies at all levels of Government and gives expert advice to members.
