OUTLOOK IS BLEAK DOWN ON THE FARM
 
;FRID‘AY:’E.storm is still'
blowingth chill winds
through e wreckage of
manyof Kent's farms.  ,
 Orchard growers, are
checking their trees to
‘see how rnmw have sur-
lvived - and how many
 have to ibe replaced
by  will takevup
9' fouij, yea:s_ to_ yield‘
ja.nother'crop."-_‘_'  ;_- ,
_""Cereal“""g'1-ov#ers'. 
busy _- checking the.
_'_damage to grain where»
the gala ripped the roofs.
_vofl' storage _sheds, ex-=1
posing crops already hit
by the disastrous winter
and rain-sodden summer
_to ew/en’, more _' water
d°-““8°-.-,-_.-:.- . ~ 
Dairy farmers vwho“
have planted maize to
provide fodder for the
winter months are des-
perately trying to rescue
the fallen crops flom the
mud. 
i Egg"-' farms“ are
rebuilding their batteries
and roosm while the
chickens shiver without
cover orheat. 1.: -' ~
 le growers are
looking _a:' crops
scorched an ugb“black
bythe salt/-laden winds."
,L],_ Damage to building,
»ho_ miles of fences, to
wind breaks and crops
runsdsinto milléons of
poun — an many
farmers have never been
able_ to aflord the high
premiums demanded for
storm;  1' protec-

For the‘in__the_ cost of
rebuilding alter years of
falling inoomes_ may be'

‘me outloo _
and for app
growers there B another
fear. They are now waiv
ing to see if the wind
scorch has destroyed
theirchaneesofacropat.
*4 Released --,~;=
AU the leaves an 
on’ before next season’:
buds caxr form, 
remainingtzeesnuq 1
bebm-renin1988.1 "
Canter%\:;y' -Natlonal--
Farmers’ onsecnetary
Mr Bchanzl Hoad, a man
reluctant (4; cry wolf St-
previous arming set»
backs, B now blunt and
uncomprombing in his


description of the situa-
tion. "
“I: is a total blanket“
“Farme!-s'have
had to put up
weather
?eople
8|’? WEI
Farm
u 8°
silience, an‘-
' ..' - 4,
always
E
E825;
I 3
agié
5?
bouncmback,

incomes}; gubs
fi°°“"“‘ ’°°?§$ "K;
pmessunes m
EEC, the lo Government
and some sections of the
public, theme is now very
litfle strength left in their
willtos\nvive.-
"We have Maw do
what we can and hope
someone comes to om;
lntheorcharda ofthe
_Garden of England the
battle is on to save as.
marwtreesaspossible. '_
‘ Most of the apples and
pears have already been’
picked and stored‘,
though breaks in the
Power wnph w.*
stores may mean fruit
will have to be released
on to the market months
88l’li€l'lh8l'lUSl.l8.l.* 
3At Bridge Mr 
ohnston, managmg
ectaor of Hl.ghla.nd In-
vestment Company, said:
“Quite a number of
orchards have been
seriously  with
lreesbemg nppedupand!
there has also been.
damage where trees
-planted a windbreaks
an \Ԥ 
have fallen into the
orchanla. . " _
l “Where we will have to
replant we will have to
wait three to four years
,_.__for another crop. - ;f.'"»
$1 f‘Anot.her poor year is,
goingbobehardtotake.
'I'here is going'to.be
some very hard work
ahead of us.
" AttlleSouthBarl\am
Farm, run by Mr Law-
rence "Goddard and his
son Robert, generators
provided power to milk
their 200 dairy cows and
alter a lway -was cut
through the trees, and
t.he remains ofathatched
=. barn were shovelled
away, the milk tankers
wereabletoreach them.
. “One of our biggest
problems isthe l35acres
of maize we gr-ow‘for
l'o'dder;” said Mr
 is all
flattened. if it. carries on
.~wet.we will"have real
diflflculties ingetfing into
the fields an getting it
“up because it will just
come up by the roots
lwhenwetrytocutit.”
a‘ Every section cg the
vast agricultural in uslry
has its own grave prob-
-lems, but the eventual
cost of the financial and
physical battering
sulfered by the farmers
will mice another season
tobecomemliyapparent.
-*1 Until then. the fianners
are working ~  and
‘