Sir,

I agree with what Sandy McCreath has said in his letter.

Those that provide food to society so that they can live are treated like whipping boys, especially by the political elite!

Time and time we have to adjust to yo-yo market prices, we never get a decent price for what we produce!

It is stuffed down our throats that we get subsidies, but we never pocket this money, unless you are an urban slipper farmer.

In comparison with all the others that get paid direct from the public purse we just get sweetie money!

The killing machine of the UK has a budget of £88billion. They call it defence – who wants to attack a country in £1.8 trillion debt?

The Social Security employs more persons that all the killing machine put together, who pays them?

The Healing machine, I don’t have figure for them, but again £billions.

Every person, that is employed by Councils, Police, Scottish Water, Sepa, SGRPID, Calmac, Customs, and many more are all paid from the public purse!

Yet none of them produce any benefit for the economy. You cant export or eat what they get for wages from the public purse.

But we farmers and crofters produce food. If we have to get added benefits by joining a Union that is supposed to protect us from over administration, we have to pay. Why we do it? A form of madness.

By writing this letter, I suppose that a Gaelic proverb would explain the dilemma that land managers face: "Bith a duinie glic beo air an amadan".

My translation: "The wise shall feed off fools".

Angus A Macdonald,

Balivanich,

Benbecula