Milking the good life
Sunday October 1st 2006
Johnny ScottKevin and Ashley used to be dairy farmers near the village of East Coker in Somerset. They had 50 Friesian cows on 50 acres of their own, a further 100 acres that they rented locally, a two-bedroom bungalow and three small children. In Kevin?s father?s day, a farm of that size would have made a decent income, but the small family farm of 50 years ago has all but disappeared. Farming in Britain today is all about economy of scale, as farmers struggle to compete in an international market against falling prices and rising overheads. The big get bigger and the small get swallowed up.
What are the alternatives for someone like Kevin when he can?t make ends meet or for those that want to farm but are unable to afford the escalating land prices? Some become employees of a bigger unit. Others learn new trades and bail out of the industry altogether. A third option is to try again. Somewhere where land is cheaper, where a farmer can get a decent return for an honest day?s toil. Somewhere where the grass is greener.
Canada, New Zealand or Australia had been the traditional destinations for emigrant farmers but now land in the old dominions is probably beyond the reach of men such as Kevin. There are opportunities across eastern Europe, from Poland to Romania, but these are seen as too complicated and risky for small investors. The country that has the most to offer in terms of affordable land, stable markets, good climate and political support, is, in fact, France.
The French government has rural policies that seem to be the polar opposite of those in Britain. Food is central to French culture and farmers have the affectionate support of the nation. The infrastructure of country areas ? the post offices, schools and hospitals ? are maintained at any cost and in under-populated regions there are special incentives to attract young farmers. Subsidies include, among other inducements, lump sum start-up payments available to those under 40, plus preferential low interest loans. And France always fights for her farmers when it comes to grabbing a chunk of the common agricultural policy budget. A combination of these inviting prospects, worsening milk prices in Britain and the wettest winter in living memory, were enough for Kevin.
Despite having never been to France nor speaking a word of French, he applied to an agency that specialised in finding farms there, handling all the bureaucracy connected with the purchase, as well as agricultural subsidies and loan applications. Ashley took a three-week course of evening classes to learn French. Kevin sold the 50 acres and with the proceeds was able to buy a fully-equipped 260-acre dairy farm with 100 cows in the Haute Vienne district of the Limousin.
To many it seemed to be an enormous act of faith that could have gone horribly wrong. But Kevin felt he had little alternative than to take the plunge. His Somerset farm was losing money and he feared the health and safety police were going to classify his milking parlour as substandard, yet he couldn?t afford to upgrade it. He simply signed all the forms and hoped for the best. The actual move passed in a blur. One day he was milking in Somerset and the very next day he was milking in the Haute Vienne. Although he spoke no French, part of the deal of the sale was that the vendor, who had farmed there for 40 years, would help with the transition period and come in every day for a few months. But he didn?t speak English, not a word. However, when it comes to udders and teats, the language of dairymen seems to be universal and they communicated with surprising ease.
From Kevin?s perspective, he appears to have found Utopia: a viable farm in a beautiful rural area and grass that grows for 10 months of the year. His milk is bought by a cooperative at an acceptable guaranteed price and he receives all the political and moral support a farmer could want. Every few months the local farmers attend a meeting in the village of Lathus St Remy, where a bilingual representative from the agricultural chamber of commerce advises on any new subsidies and how to apply for them. Were he to become ill or Ashley, who is actively involved on the farm, to have another child, the government would provide support to keep the farm running. More importantly, the family feels content and secure.
Ashley has replaced her cramped bungalow with a slightly dilapidated 5-bedroom French farmhouse, so the three little girls all have their own rooms and plenty of space to play in. As immigrants, they have been welcomed as a very important part in the future of the community. The fact that the French she so painstakingly learnt bore no resemblance to the language spoken in the Haute Vienne hasn?t mattered a bit. Everyone has been kind and helpful. The children are happy and popular at the primary school in the village. A bus collects them from the farmhouse and they get a proper cooked meal at school. The food might have taken a bit of getting used to but it was better than the school dinners in Somerset. They feel the standard of education is infinitely superior and in the year that the family has been in France, the children have become almost bilingual.
Kevin and Ashley expected to miss their parents and Ashley?s sister, but Limoges is so accessible by Ryanair or Eurostar, that they actually see more of them than they did before. The children thought they would miss Christmas until they discovered that ?Noel, Noel,? is much more fun in France. The children are certainly beginning to feel integrated. Kevin and Ashley don?t socialise much, but then they never did. Their lives are governed by milking the cows twice a day - at 5am and 5pm - every day, summer and winter. As long as they get a decent price for it, I expect they would be happy anywhere.
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