Anna Bowen Media

Is CCC a feasible option for UK dairy farmers?

Farmers use antibiotics. Like any other species, cows get sick, and it is in their best interests to be treated with antibiotics when necessary. The average dairy herd varies across the UK, but sizes range from 50 to over a thousand cows. If you picture a school or an office with as many people as that, at some point one of them will be ill and need antibiotic treatment. The same applies to cows- even under the best management systems some will become ill.

The more I read and the more I see, the more it becomes obvious that the general public want to know more about how their food is produced- and how animals are managed. It's very easy for those of us who exist within this milky echo chamber to be surprised when people comment on pictures of calves to say that they are cows missing their babies, or to roll around with laughter when a survey shows that children think chocolate milkshake is produced by brown cows, but the truth is that we can't expect anyone to understand our industry if they haven't been exposed to it. How many of you could recognise a coffee crop if you saw one? Or know how cotton is harvested? And those are two commodities that it's likely you are exposed to every day, that also exist in the wider agricultural industry.

You can do anything aside that you can do astride, with the exception of jousting (or so I am told). For generations of women riding side saddle in the hunting field gave them their sole opportunity to be equal to men

Around three hundred years ago three stallions made their way from the sun- baked Middle East to the grey shores of Britain. Known by the names of their owners, they were the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Arabian, and the Byerley Turk. Today every single thoroughbred alive can be traced in direct male descent to one of these stallions. You may be able to marry a place in Burke's Peerage, but the Weatherby's stud book is closed.

Tonight across the country hunting mothers will hold their children a little closer. In every pack someone will remember another rider lost to the chase. Those who are still hunting will take an extra swig of port before a big jump and reassure themselves today is not my day.

The animal rights movement needs to take a step back, look at the real issues facing livestock globally, and work with farmers to ensure that everyone benefits. And ultimately, they have got to stop spreading lies.

I can confirm that at the age of sixty, Rupert Campbell- Black is still the handsomest man in England. And in Wales. And everywhere. Even if he is a bit of a prat.Nobody reads Jilly for its great literary credentials, but be assured, R C-B is now a Shakespeare lover. No more will Helen call him and Billy (oh sorry Jilly killed him) a philistine.

Tonight across the country hunting mothers will hold their children a little closer. In every pack someone will remember another rider lost to the chase. Those who are still hunting will take an extra swig of port before a big jump and reassure themselves today is not my day.