FCN is inviting churches and individuals to pray for the farming community affected by
the weather and milk price cuts on July 29th using a prayer written by the Bishop of Peterborough a Trustee of FCN.
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 any farmer will be in a
position to harvest any 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 feeding 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
July 29th for our farming community who everyday face the consequences of this
terrible 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:
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.
Thank you for your support of the farming community,
especially at this difficult time.
Farm Crisis Network is available to provide practical and
pastoral support to anyone in the farming community. FCN’s national helpline
operates from 7.00am to 11.00 pm every day of the year: 0845 367 9990
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