Foot & Mouth Crisis
With farming already on its knees and the rural economy under great strain, it did not seem possible that matters could get worse. They did. The plague of foot-and-mouth disease has reached directly and indirectly into every corner of our land. At the time of writing, there have been no direct outbreaks in South Wiltshire. However, because of the very strict rules on contacts with quarantined or affected areas, there has been substantial slaughtering of sheep on welfare grounds.

Employment in tourism has been very hard hit. It has not just been the predictable impact on hotels, pubs and bed and breakfast. This has extended to less likely economic activity such as small forestry businesses, game dealing, deer stalking, trout fishing, boating and other sporting events. English Heritage closed Stonehenge, Old Wardour Castle and Old Sarum Castle - but then proposed to re-open Stonehenge at the end of March. This proposal was extremely unpopular with local farmers - there are 4,000 head of cattle and sheep within a two-mile radius of the stones. I intervened with the Chief Executive of English Heritage and agreed there would be no re-opening without a letter from the Government Chief Vet guaranteeing there would be no increased risk to local livestock.

I remain optimistic for Britain's farming community because agriculturalists always take the long view - and in the long run no economic activity is as basic as the production of food.

Over the next few months the face of agriculture may change beyond measure and it is just not possible to predict the outcome. The implications for the whole rural economy could be profound. In a departure from the normal evolutionary progress of the rural economy we are living through a cataclysmic change which may have a lasting impact on farming not just in the United Kingdom but through Europe and right across the world.

We all want our local (and national) economy to get back to 'business as usual' as quickly as possible. Tourist-related businesses and services are being hit hard. Banks and other financial institutions must be sympathetic. The Government has proposed some business tax reliefs - and the Conservatives would like to see a small business emergency loan scheme brought in. What really must come first is the eradication of foot-and-mouth disease in our livestock.

We can all help in practical ways. As well as keeping off the countryside, we can
spread the word that in South Wiltshire, as in the rest of the UK, there are plenty of holiday and tourist attractions open for business - and not located in restricted countryside. Recently I gave an interview to ABC News, networked across North America, in which I explained why Stonehenge is closed but asked people to come and see what else we have to offer, including Salisbury Cathedral, theatres, shopping, amazing museums and houses, spectacular landscapes and coastlines - and the most welcoming hotels, pubs and B&Bs in the world!

As the green shoots of Spring arrive, so will new confidence in the future.