Guernsey farmers feel 'squeezed out' by lack of States financial support

Farmers in Guernsey are saying their future survival will be a struggle without financial help from the States, which they say is unequally distributed.

The island's cattle farmers currently receive funding from the government, but this does not extend to owners of other animals such as sheep and goats.

For more than 20 years, Peter Girard has kept a breed of goat known as 'Golden Guernseys' and says it is unfair the States subsidises dairy farmers, but not keepers of other livestock.

He said: "I think it's time the States reviewed how they distribute things. We are not hobbyists and are in it for a living, and so are a lot of people too."

Mr Girard added: "We aren't taking away from the farmers, we're just saying we should review the system as it isn't working for us and it should be."

Marcel Worley, who runs a sheep and poultry farm is considering closing down after more than 20 years because of the constant financial strain.

"You have this conflict with yourself daily about whether we carry on, or whether we just cull all the poultry and we'd have to cull the sheep as well really".

He added: "It's good to have local producers, but we're feeling squeezed out because we don't get the support".

Jim Robinson, the States of Guernsey's Director of the Natural Environment, explained that subsidies are given to dairy farmers because Guernsey cows "as well producing high-quality local milk, they also manage 80% of farmland on the island as well as roughly 800km of the field boundaries".

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