Dear sir,

With reference to the article by the young farmer Rebekah Housden in the Eskdale and Lidddesdale Advertiser on November 2nd, 2023; “Upland Farming is like the Dodo” it is in fact becoming so.

This is so true. All that seems important in this country is tourism, forestry, and wilding Britain.

At present, there are 32 conflicts and wars taking place in the world, and likely to increase. When Lynx became extinct on this island around 1300 years ago the population was a little over a million. Now we are heading towards 68 million and on the increase. So what are we TO EAT?

Farmers all over the country are struggling financially yet so much of our food is imported much of it out of season and not up to our ethical standards. WHY?

The old-fashioned community belief was; self-sufficiency to feed your family and then support your community and excess then sold. In wartime the great message was “DIG FOR BRITAIN”, so think about it ‘powers that be’, we are in need.

The horrors of excessive house building on good land, none of which by the way present solar panels etc., when there are so many second homes and holiday lets, and the great disaster of commercial forestry needs attention NOW.

To the West side of the A7 just South of Langholm good fields last autumn were planted with Spruce trees. These fields could not only have been used for grazing or growing animal feed but maybe, vegetables for our consumption. Now according to the article “Fury at Proposals for Tree Planting” in the Annandale Observer, Friday, Nov. 3rd three farms at Claygate near Canonbie are to be swamped with commercial planting of TREES, again acidifying the land and rivers and ruining the land for future use.

On the B6357 road through Newcastleton to the A7, it has been recorded by CCTV 250 to 500 timber Lorries a day passing through full to return empty, travelling from 3 am to 10 pm, all run on fossil fuels.

Thousands of delivery vans delivering online shopping orders mob the roads; fossil fuel! Yet.

We are to abandon our petrol cars for electric!

Those with any authority or influence think outside the FASHIONABLE box and look to a healthy, well fed future and self-sufficiency. Restrict commercial forestry and tax it well. Support our farmers to feed our growing population well, healthily, and environmentally.

Get your act together.

Christine Hudson, Rowanburn, Canonbie.