The Link

The decision to hold the Annual General Meeting has not been taken lightly but the Board are under a statutory obligation to give at least three weeks notice to members and to hold the AGM before mid July.

We are aware of the potential risk associated with farmers gathering together, but for the past two years the attendance at the AGM has been in the low teens and it was thought that not many members would feel disenfranchised if the meeting was held at the normal time and they did not feel it sensible to attend because of the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease.

If any members have questions or comments relevant to the Ring that they would have raised at the AGM or afterwards with the current Directors, but do not think it prudent to attend the meeting in person, please contact myself or one of the Directors listed below.

Mike Blacker	Tel	01347 848305		Mike Newland	Tel	01347 838562
Joe Barrowman	Tel	01132 866060		Alastair Dinsdale	Tel	01969 663513
Rodger Hobson	Tel	01904 628670		Colin Johnson	Tel	01325 378684
Mark Palmer	Tel	01845 578965		Peter Pick	Tel	01423 358347
David Wass	Tel	01751 431345		John Rooney	Tel	01969 852012

You may rest assured that all Ring Members will be taking appropriate precautions to prevent the accidental spread of the foot and mouth virus.

When the "5b" members joined the ring part of the information that we collected was the number of people involved in the business. We now need to collect current information so that we can compare the position now with the position then. Hopefully it will not fully reflect the reduction that has occurred across the board nationally. Ray or myself will be getting in touch with you over the next few weeks to update our information.

After the traumas and setbacks of 1999 and 2000 things were just starting to improve in the opening months of 2001, when crash, the spectre of Foot and Mouth descended upon us.

It is a trying and tiring time for everyone in British Agriculture and it is difficult to see what the future holds. As in the past the British People close ranks in times of adversity and there appears to be a softening in the Town v Country rift as the media brings the awful scenes into all our homes.

In all difficult times the only way to look is forwards (During World War 2 we sang "There'll be blue birds over the white cliffs of Dover tomorrow just you wait and see") We are probably at the end of an era and out of the ashes the "PHOENIX" of the new way forward will rise.

We must be prepared to meet the challenges that this new era will bring and I am confident that together the membership of R.M.R. will rise to the occasion.

Ray Goodbold (Tel & Fax) 01751 432090

Service	2000	1999
Fuel	1	1
Labour	2	3
Straw & Hay (inter Ring)	3	2
Tractor/Trailer/Man	4	4
Straw & Hay (Yorks)	5	8
Combine/Swath/Dry	6	6
Twine/Wrap	7	5
Sugar Beet Work	8	9
Potato Work	9	7
Baling	10	13
Forage Work	11	20
Fencing / Walling	12	N/A
Tractor/Trailer Hire	13	19
Tyres etc	14	N/A
Stock Feed / Grazing	15	11
Semen	16	16
Muck & Slurry	17	14
Cultivations	18	18
Sheep Dip / Clip	19	N/A
Drilling	20	15

Although labour has moved up the list to be the number 1 core activity the actual turnover or value of the labour jobs were down and we were unable to fulfil all the requests last Autumn.

This is not only a reflection of the increasing need for temporary labour on farms but also a reflection on the fact that many if not most jobs outside agriculture are better paid and are not seasonal. If we do not look after the labour that we have it can only reduce as more join the 20,000 plus farmers and workers who left the industry last year.