A future where rural development fund pays for maypoles and clogs

摘要

With an uncanny ability to anticipate the worst that our weather and politicians have to throw at arable growers, I have ridden out the past couple of years without so much as a hiccup in my awesome farm profit. So, with New Year's Day just around the corner, I thought I should share my predictions for the year ahead with you. January: Owen Paterson's declaration that Morris Dancers would get no share of the 450m annual rural development fund (which the DEFRA secretary intends to divert from Englishfarmers' SFPs though 15% modulation from 2015) has proved very unpopular. In a humiliating government U-turn he announces that all of the fund will now be spent on knee-length breeches, wooden clogs, neckerchiefs, bellpads and maypoles.