Fresh fields and pastures new

摘要

THE FIELD is in Hertfordshire, but it could be almost anywhere in lowland England. It is 6oom wide and twice as long. On its northern edge is a frail, gappy hedgerow that would not stop a car, let alone a cow. Wheat and broad beans grew in the loamy soil during the summer, but the field is now almost bare, with scarcely a weed visible. Although you can see for miles, there is little to see-just a few crows and seagulls over a brown desert. Under the EU'S Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the farmer of this field is entitled to an annual subsidy of £233 ($311) per hectare. The farm automatically receives as much support as a small sheep farm in an inhospitable hilly region or a beautiful Cotswold farm laced with footpaths. Almost nobody is prepared to argue openly that Britain ought to continue subsidising such environmental degradation. But, with the country due to leave the CAP on January 1st, it still lacks a detailed plan to replace it. And those who support the status quo are finding their voice.