Sunshine at the Three Counties
By Revd. Sherry Bloomer who had a day there as clergy training

Ah, the Summer – when the diary is filled to the brim with village and church and school fêtes…

And the English Summer is also filled  with the great County Agricultural Shows and I was lucky enough to spend a day at the 3 Counties Show at Malvern (courtesy of the Agricultural Chaplaincy – thank you Robert & the team ). Not only did I get to wander round the lines of cattle, sheep, pigs and goats – not to mention the machinery and horses and assorted stalls etc. – but I did so in the company of several farmers – some retired, some still farming whether as tenants or owners.

It was fascinating to get their perspective, not only on the show itself and the stock we were admiring, but also to learn more of the problems and opportunities facing the agricultural industry.

I now know an awful lot more about the Single Payment Scheme; Entry and Higher Level Schemes; Bovine TB and Future EU budgets – although I can’t claim to understand them fully – but neither can most farmers it seems! But it was really good to enlarge my understanding of the factors that are so important to the farming communities  and also to us, for we all depend on them. As the Regional Director of the NFU (who also spared some time to talk to we rather bemused clergy) put it –“ Farming is at a pivotal point. Either things will start to pick up from here on in, or it will be the beginning of the end. And the jury is out at present.”

We did ask what we could – as ordinary consumers – do to help our farmers and the message came back clear and strong. Buy locally whenever possible – ideally directly from the producer or from local businesses that source food locally. And if you are in a supermarket, buy British and look for the ‘little red tractor’. This is something I tend to do anyway – so I commend it to you – even if, at times, it means not always taking the cheapest option for cheap does not necessarily mean good. What price not only the food we eat, but our health and the beauty and survival of our countryside around us?

And Trade Justice is just as important at home as in the Developing World – don’t forget the MakePovertyHistory campaign although I acknowledge that this can sometimes give us some moral dilemmas… should I buy sugar produced from English Beet, or from West African or Caribbean Sugar Cane? Who really benefits and who suffers more? All things to ponder and pray about.

Ah the English Summer… three fine days and a thunderstorm as it is often said… but the sun shone on us in Malvern in the people as well as the sky!