Suffolk farmer hits out at Boris Johnson's government as he prepares to kill his 140-sow herd amid workforce crisis
Published: 05:00, 10 October 2021
A Suffolk farmer who has been forced to slaughter his 140-sow herd has hit out at Boris Johnson’s government for not stepping up to the mark to help protect his industry after Brexit.
Peter Mortimer, who owns Fir Tree Farm in Metfield, has been keeping pigs since 1964 but has said recent blows to his industry have made his job impossible.
He said he is losing money due to a lack of abattoir and butchery workers post-Brexit, haulage fees and rising overall costs, and so has made the decision to cull his herd to prevent further loss.
"The final straw for me was that I wanted some new staff to work on the farm and I couldn't find anybody," said Mr Mortimer.
"I put an advert in the local newspaper and nobody replied to it. I think the aftermath of the furlough and also Brexit certainly hasn't helped.
"We can't get over eastern European staff to boost the labour supply to work in the butchery and abattoir sector, and on top of that we've got imported meat coming into this country at about £40 to £50 per kilogram less than the high welfare red tractor meat that we are asked to produce in this country."
Mr Mortimer said the legislation surrounding European work after the UK left the EU is partially to blame for the issues pig farmers are facing.
And he said the government has not stepped up to the mark to help prevent farmers from losing their livelihoods.
"Boris and his government created this situation and they are the ones that need to sort it out as soon as possible," he said.
"The gas problems, issues with Brexit and eastern European workers is nothing to do with us farmers, but the farmers are picking up the bill.
"The government could, and we had hoped they would, come up with a solution to help clear this backlog of 100,000 pigs, but at the moment the attitude of Boris Johnson seems to be that it's the pig farmer's problem, which it isn't.
"We didn't write the legislation with regards to European work, we weren't involved in the gas supply situation and we didn't get involved in writing the paperwork for Brexit."
With over 50 years of experience in pig farming, Mr Mortimer, along with many other farmers, is worried about what the future holds for the industry.
"As an industry we've been making a lot of noise these last few weeks, but quite honestly it has been a bit like water off a duck's back. They don't want to take any interest at all.
"The industry will be decimated by this and it will fall to the hands of just a few producers that will end up being vertically integrated."
As for Fir Tree Farm, Mr Mortimer said he has several offers on the table for a 'bed and breakfast' pig service, which could see him care for other people's pigs on his land instead of keeping his own, reducing his work load.
He is also considering retiring from pig farming and keeping pedigree pigs.
"The only thing I sell is pigs, I haven't got any other income at all," he said.
"My family built the farm ourselves, so to have to go out there, knock some of the buildings down and things like that, it is a bit of a heart-wrench really."
The pigs Mr Mortimer has farmed are going into the food chain, meaning their meat won't be wasted, and will be gone by February.