| David recently attended the County Harvest Festival at St Edmundsbury Cathedral |
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| Bury St Edmunds puts on some wonderful events. We did it again recently at St Edmundsbury Cathedral’s County Harvest Festival. |
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| We show the rest of Suffolk how things should be done! |
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| “Okay”, you may say, “But farming isn’t as important as it used to be. Fewer young people are entering the industry. And existing farmers are selling up.” |
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| Well, that’s not the full story, as the Harvest Festival reminded us. |
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| Farming contributes over £7 billion to the national economy, employing over half a million farmers and farm workers. But in Suffolk agriculture still accounts for a higher proportion of economic production than in other counties in England. |
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| It is not just food production. Suffolk hauliers, food processors, machinery manufacturers and repairers all continue to earn a living through the farming of our Suffolk land. |
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| Nor can we forget countryside stewardship carried out by the farming industry. It is vital to rural tourism – which is worth millions of pounds each year to Suffolk. There has been much heartache and hardship of late in the countryside, which still endures the worst recession since the 1930s. now European CAP reform threatens to wipe out the beet industry, which is concentrated in Norfolk and Suffolk. I have met a number of farmers recently and I fully understand their fears for the future. |
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| All these thoughts were in my mind during the moving service in our beautiful Cathedral. People from all generations joined together for this celebration of county values. The Cathedral was alive with the sounds of marvellous singing by gifted choristers. And, importantly, we had presentations of long service awards to those who have worked on and cared for our countryside. |
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| As an MP I have to speak a lot! But the best engagement I’ve had in months was jointly reading, with the redoubtable Canon Sally Fogden, the intercessionary prayers. These reminded everyone that in our agricultural county there is so much unsung and unpraised commitment to the preservation of our environment. It is undertaken year in year out, in good times and in bad. |
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| Yes the Harvest Festival luncheon, Cathedral Service and procession is traditional. But that is NOT the same as old fashioned or out of date. |
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| Bury St Edmunds, and its people, should be rightly proud of where we live and remember that we are – and will remain – “The Jewel in the Crown” of a still mainly rural Suffolk. |
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| We refresh and renew our ties with our local history and our roots. Without this we will be much the poorer. |
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| So let’s embrace the future. But at the same time cherish our history. |
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| Let’s understand that the world economy is permanently changing. But never forget that agriculture and all the other industries that rely on it still remain important for Suffolk. |
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