You might not immediately connect a farm in Ticehurst with a bottle of Ribena, or a hop farm near Robertsbridge with a pint of Harvey’s. But over the last few weeks I’ve had the chance to see how both journeys begin right here in our constituency.
At Overy’s Farm in Ticehurst, Peter and Michael Reeves grow blackcurrants which go into Ribena. I visited in the middle of the harvest, which meant it wasn’t long until I was put to work! Peter and Michael put me behind the wheel of their blackcurrant harvester and, I am pleased to report, both the crop and the machinery survived!
More recently, I visited Andrew Hoad at Redlands Farm near Robertsbridge, where they grow hops. I saw how the hops are harvested and dried. They then make their way on to Harvey’s Brewery in Lewes to see the next stage of the process. I sampled the finished product at Salehurst Halt nearby!
They were two fascinating visits, but what struck me was how similar the story behind them was.
We often talk about supporting British farming, but these visits showed what that actually means. The blackcurrants grown by Peter and Michael become part of one of the most recognisable drinks in the country. The hops grown at Redlands supply a historic Sussex brewery, whose beer then makes its way into pubs across our area and further afield.
Behind both are jobs, investment, machinery, suppliers, transport and businesses spending money with other businesses. Follow the chain far enough and you quickly realise just how much economic activity can start with a crop growing in a Sussex field.
But speaking to farmers, it is very clear the challenges they are they are facing. Farming has never been an easy business. Weather, pests and fluctuating costs are nothing new. But farmers are now being asked to deal with those challenges alongside decisions being taken by this Labour Government which risk making it even harder to plan and invest for the future.
Family farms can be worth significant sums on paper because of the value of the land, buildings and machinery needed to run them. That does not mean there is a large pot of cash sitting around to meet an inheritance tax bill. That is why I have opposed Labour’s Family Farms Tax. Farming is often a generational business. People spend their working lives building up a farm in the expectation that they can hand it on to their children, who in turn invest in it for the next generation.
When farms struggle, the businesses that supply them feel it. So do the manufacturers that rely on British produce, the people they employ, and the rural communities built around them. There has been plenty of talk about economic growth nationally. Sometimes I think we make it sound more complicated than it needs to be.
Here in our part of Sussex we have people growing things, producing things, investing money and supporting jobs. We should be making it easier for them to do more of it, not putting further obstacles in their way.
Our rural economy might not always get the attention of the big economic debates in Westminster, but around here it matters enormously. Whether it is blackcurrants destined for a bottle of Ribena or hops destined for a pint of Harvey’s, there is a whole chain of local jobs and businesses behind the finished product.
Protecting our family farms is therefore about much more than farming. It is about protecting an important part of our local economy and making sure it has a future.
