11/03/2025
One day farmer Bill and his children were enjoying the beauty of the countryside, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, the hares were frolicking in the meadow, the sheep were happily grazing and the wind was making waves dance across the fields of wheat and barley.
Farmer Bill’s young daughter Poppy said, “Daddy what happens to the farm when you die?”
A little perplexed at the bluntness of his daughter's question Bill answered. “Well love it will all be passed down to your older brother John”
With a sad face, Poppy said “Why don’t we get half each”?
“Well love if we did that the farm would be split into smaller and smaller bits with each generation until each farm was too small to be viable” Bill replied.
“Oh I see,” said Poppy “so John gets everything”?
“Well yes, but the government will impose a Farm Inheritance Tax when I die and some of our farm will have to be sold to cover that” Answered Bill
Poppy looked confused “But won't that make farms get smaller with each generation so they will not be viable”?
“Suppose so, eventually,” said Bill
“Mmmm” said Poppy “But we will still be able to see the sheep grazing in the fields and the hares running in the meadow and hear all the birds singing”
In a sad quiet voice, Bill replied “Ahh well my dear probably not”
“Why Daddy Why”?
“Well my love I have signed over all those fields that you can see to be a solar farm making electricity, we will be doing our bit to reduce the carbon footprint”
With a tear in her eye, Poppy said “But where will the food we grow now come from? and when will we get our fields back”?
“Don’t know love, probably from halfway across the world, places like Canada or even a labatory. I don't think that you will see them again as fields in your lifetime Poppy”
“Does that make any sense Daddy? All the fuel needed to transport food here, won't that add to the carbon footprint?
Bill laughed and said “Well it can't fly here itself so fossil fuels will be used in the lorries and ships to bring it”
Then John piped up “What about dig for victory”?
“Sorry son, where did that come from”?
John chirped back “Well dad, at school we have been doing about the second world war. There was big push to grow food at home so we were more independent of imported food. Isn’t that still important today, less food miles, less dependence upon volatile markets and better for our countries balance of payments deficit?”
“Eee lad thas as bright as a button, pity the politicians including are not as savvy as you are” “The likes of Ed of Miliband, Labour’s Govt Minister for Energy and Net Zero are on a mission to ruin our green belt and spaces with miscalculated green policies and Net Zero fantasies.”
"Also dad will this solar farm make a lot of money for local people who have lost all of thier countryside "?
"No lad, Barron Jonathan Thompson of Whitestone (Green Nation) who puts profit before anything else and aims to invade our Green belt with a massive sea of black glass, motivated by nothing more than pure and simple greed that will destroy our precious Greenbelt and heritage forever and actual have a detrimental effect on Net Zero. The Chinese will from the sales of solar panels, then there are investors from other countries maybe Germany or Norway I don't know. The local window cleaner may get a good job cleaning the solar panels.
"And dad what about the hares, and the birds and the deer and all the other wild animals"? screamed Poppy “The fields are their home”
"I don't think they care about them at all, they call this progress love, I am sorry that our generation is leaving you such a poor legacy.”
Farmer Bill “Save Our Greenbelt Conisbrough Park are fighting this lead by Sir William our Knight in Shinning Armour” Poppy “I’d like to join the campaign Daddy”
This is OUR land. OUR food security. OUR future. Don’t let corporate greed and poor planning decisions ruin it.
