"Millions of animals now worthless." "Prices paid to farmers plummet to all-time lows." "No cash for sheep farmers." These are not scare stories, but stark reality. Such newspaper accounts have been around for weeks. British farmers are losing badly on almost everything they breed or grow. Only wheat has escaped the general trend.

Income on the farm is said to have plunged 75 percent in the last three years. Soon hundreds of rural communities could become ghost towns and the farms transformed into caravan (trailer) sites and theme parks.

Overproduction and the cessation of substantial European Union subsidies are the main culprits. Inevitably farms will be lost to families. As Nick Read, Head of Rural Stress Information, recently reported: "The situation is catastrophic and people who have been around for a long time say that the only comparison they can make is the thirties."

The possible long-term significance of these recent developments should not be lost on us. In a future national crisis, a country may need all of her agricultural lands, particularly if the nation is subjugated and starving (The Independent, The Independent on Sunday, Daily Mail,all London).