With the mixed harvest, the NFU reports (on the 10th of October 2012) that "Wheat yields are down 14.1% on five year average, from 7.8 to 6.7 tonnes per hectare; Winter Barley yields are up 1.6% on five year average, from 6.3 to 6.4 tonnes per hectare; Spring Barley yields are down 7.4% on the five year average, from 5.4 to 5.0 tonnes per hectare and Oilseed Rape yields are up 5.9% on five year average, from 3.4 to 3.6 tonnes per hectare." So be prepared for a change in the supermarkets and especially the farmer's markets.
Kent’s Farmers’ Markets are feeling the pinch.
Compared to last year, the number of customers is down 10-15%; the
average spend per shopper is down from £22 to £17, and four markets have
had to close. While no one pretends that farmers’ markets are
critically important to the local agricultural sector, they provide a
valuable income to some family farms, and play a wider role in helping
to reconnect the public with where their food comes from. This can have
knock on effects in the choices they make at the supermarket in terms of
buying British. In addition, in some villages, markets have grown up
as replacements for the village shop, and provide a venue for the
community to get together.
Do
you have ideas for helping markets survive the economic pressures?
What stops you visiting a market? If you used to go, but don’t any
longer, what changed your habits? Benjamin Dent, chairman of Kent
Farmers’ Market Association, would like to hear any comments or
suggestions: benjamin.dent@dsl.pipex.com
Learn more about Kent’s markets at : www.kfma.org.uk
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