4 EDITOR’S INTRO
FEB/MAR 2018 • farmers-mart.co.uk
Its been an eventful
couple of months
since the last issue of
Farmers Mart. We’ve
seen two very different
twitter/social media campaigns
in the form of Veganuary and
Februdairy, both promoting different
life style choices and both gaining
a plethora of media attention.
DURING January the media
coverage was looking at the
growth in vegan food sales, the
attention gained for Februdairy
was centred around some of
the aggressive comments and
in some cases death threats
aimed at those working in the
Dairy industry. Februdairy did
a very good job at highlighting
the UK dairy industry, as well
as dispelling some of the myths
being claimed regarding the
way the industry operates. It
was a pity that the campaign
became shrouded in on-line
abuse and myths being ped-
dled as truths by some sectors
of the vegan community.
‘ Februdairy did
a very good job
at highlighting
the UK dairy
industry
’
The beginning of February
saw the UK government attend
a state visit to China where
trade was discussed including
several deals being made. One
of which included the lifting of
the 20-year beef ban and an
export deal worth £500 million.
There were also other deals
negotiated, including exporting
a wide range of dairy products
to China which is great news
for the industry.
At the end of February saw
the country covered in a blanket
of snow and battered by high
winds. The winter weather af-
fected many farmers across the
agricultural industry, with dairy
farms having to dump milk due
to tankers being unable to ac-
cess farms because of the snow,
through to sheep farmers across
the country digging out sheep
from snow drifts. The fishing
industry was also affected when
the weather caused a natural
disaster, with tens of thousands
of marine life being washed up
on the UK’s east coast. Yorkshire
Wildlife trust working alongside
local fishermen managed to
rescue the lobsters who were
still alive with the intent of
releasing them back into the
sea once the weather improves.
Lobsters were one of the few
marine animals whom were
still alive. Similar scenes have
been reported down the North
Sea coast including Norfolk and
Kent.
Editor, Jason
ISSUE 55 • FEB/MAR 2018