The third broad region is the west,where it's adifferent story again.The climate is warmer than inthe north and much wetter than in the east.Theresulting rich soils in the west provide excellentpasture,and the farms there are quite large,typicallyaround 800 hectares.The main products aremilk,cheese and meat.
So,clearly,there are marked differences betweenregions.But this does not prevent quite a strongsense of solidarity amongst the farmingcommunity as a whole,right across the country.Thissolidarity comes in part from the need to present a united from in dealing with other powerfulinterest-groups,such as government or the media.It also owes something to the close co-operation between all the agricultural training colleges,through which the great majority offarmers pass at the beginning of their careers.And a third factor making for solidarity is thenational structure of the Farmers'Union,of which virtually all farmers are members.
Finally in this short talk,I would like to say a little about the challenges facing farmers in thenext...