Does Mark also run plant Pat? Maybe he was referring to the changes coming in next month on the use of red diesel in the construction and infrastructure industries ie diggers, excavators, generators etc. They will have to be run on full fact diesel as he calls it from next month.Mark, the farmer next door, was telling us about the fertilizer prices. What on earth is going to happen to food prices?! What wasn't mentioned, by Harry, was that the red diesel that they all use (tax free ordinary diesel) has been cut. He now uses full fat diesel and his tractor will use 22 litres per hour on light work and 45 litres per hour on heavy work! All this has to be recovered when he sells his crop. We may all have to be growing our own at this rate
Red diesel, that is only lightly taxed, will still be available for use in agriculture.
Fertilizer prices are a high worry though for many. I do think though that we have been using it unsustainably. I pass fields on the way into town that I know have grown rape every year without fail for 30 years or more. That is only possible with a huge input of fertilizer made possible by cheap oil. Crop rotation, the way it used to be done has been confined to history on many farms.
