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The dilemma faced by agriculture in its relationship with society at large is reflected in the attitude of the city of Norwich to its livestock market. As the dependance has declined, so has the interest and support. (760 words)

The collective sight of relief at the success of the first regular sale at Norwich livestock market, after a 18-month foot and mouth outbreak related closure, was undoubtedly felt across the length and breadth of the county. Norfolk, of course, does not rate as a major livestock producing area, but the significance of a properly functioning market is understood by all farmers.

But few others appear to be concerned.

The closing of the market would have signalled the end of an era, or more accurately an eon. Norwich has had a livestock market of some sort for more than a 1,000 years. But it was not until 1341 that it received its Royal Charter from Edward III. For many years, three hundred and forty-four to be precise, from 1616 to 1960, the livestock market was sited in the middle of the city under the shadow of the Norman castle. It was in reality the reason for the city.

And it was in place in all senses of the words. A location close to the market was essential for any aspiring business, whether it was a bank, insurance company, harness maker, haberdasher or hosteller.

The move from the heart of the city followed a previous foot and mouth outbreak. It was to a site on what was then the southern outskirt of the city, with better access, improved parking and away from complaints of Saturday shoppers. The old site is currently occupied by a shopping mall, multistory car park and a television studio.

The new site, however, has increasingly come under pressure for more profitable development as the city has expanded around it. And it new neighbours, car dealerships and other light industry, have little interest in it as a livestock market. In fact much of the site itself is now used for a park and ride.

The fear that history would be repeated but with the demise rather than a further move following the most recent foot and mouth outbreak, has proved for the moment unfounded. But this is more a result of the farm community's action than those of the city which has benefited so greatly in the past from the exchange of livestock and related commerce.

While few people would claim a conventional livestock auction market is an efficient means of exchange, it has no equal as a way of determining market prices. The fact that it has survived a thousand years indicates that a better solution will not be easy to find. Imaginative efforts involving all the power of communications and computer technology over more than forty years have failed.

There is, of course, no secret as to why this is. Simply, there is too much variation in livestock characteristics to allow animals to be described, in bits and bytes, with sufficient precision to allow buyers to place a value on them. Livestock need to be seen to be believed.

This is not to suggest that all livestock have to be sold through a traditional auction system. But enough have to be marketed in this way to permit reliable prices to be established on which to base other more direct and lower cost transactions.

The challenge is covering the higher costs of the auction process. In the past the urban community assisted with this as there were substantial benefits accruing from being the location of a market. In today's world those benefits are marginal if not negative.

This reality was well illustrated by the local newspaper's coverage of the reopening of Norwich Livestock Market. It rated about 24 column inches on the bottom of page 15, with two thirds of this taken up by the head of Hereford Cross - its sex, a critical determinant of value, not illustrated, with the subtitle "Smile Please." It was clearly featured as a human interest story. The article and the paper were void of any market report of prices or trade conditions.

The bottom line is the city, built on the business of farmers, is no longer interested. The very best that the market can contribute from an urban prospective is character to attract tourists.

The days when the forbears of Barclays Bank and Norwich Union were, in their infancies, nurtured on the smell of livestock have long passed. Meaningful political and economic interest in and support of agriculture, as elsewhere in the economy, is a fading memory.

September 19, 2002