As I said before I didn't particularly want to spend £50K on a wind turbine but it makes more money than the sheep and cows put together. In the 1980's a lamb sold at market was about £30-40, now it is £40-£70 - 30 years later. Needs must I'm afraid. Housing Estate, now that's a thought!!!!

Has the market for sheep meat and wool increased in the last 30 years? It has always been global in living memory (Witney, where the PM is the MP is base on wool). How has the changes in markets made a difference.

I think a Wind Turbine or two is probably less environmentally damaging that sheep, but depends on a lot of other things about how the sheep are fed and are they for food or wool.

Bit of everything I think; lamb is less popular / fashionable in general (less demand) and is very much a global product (lots of supply) so prices don't seem to increase very much in the same way other items have done. Wool still isn't worth very much on the open market, although when you take into account what we sold the wool for, at least it didn't cost us money to shear them for once this year. That said, in a 'reasonable' year, they shouldn't cost very much to rear & finish a lamb.

Again though, another global commodity that should really be traded locally...

This is what I mean about the true cost of food production.
I produce high quality lamb on extensive natural and native grasses but my prices are dictated by international markets meaning it is of coarse cheaper for some John in New Zealand who has 14,000 ewes and one shepherd to profit (if I did what they do Animal Welfare would be knocking on my door). Similarly, it is also cheaper for some Juan in Brazil to produce beef on some downed rainforest, the land of which was given to him by the government. Doesn't make it right or environmentally sound. Don't think for one minute our international competition give a monkeys about the wildlife - yet I can't even shoot badgers. Discuss that .

On the subject of wind turbines, I just listened to the Radio 4 Costing the Earth program on Germany's energy policy from some weeks ago and the public/political alliance on their plan to go to 100% renewables. I know there are short term issues in terms of energy gap and importing energy but how how fantastic that they going for it and what a world of difference from the UK. Makes us look like a bunch of squabbling school kids in the play ground while the adults in Germany make the real decisions, really depressing!