This autumn, when the Norwich Livestock Market re-opened after being closed for 18 months by the foot-and-mouth outbreak, there was a collective sigh of relief from local farmers.

As Norwich is not the centre of a major livestock producing area, there were fears the market was closed for good. That 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. For over 300 years, it was the centre of the city –– and for good reason.

A location within smelling distance of the market was essential for any aspiring businessman, whether banker, haberdasher or hosteller. Times change, and in 1960, the market moved to the southern outskirts, with better access, improved parking and away from complaints of Saturday shoppers. The new site, however, has come under pressure for more profitable development as the city has expanded around it. This fuelled fears it would not re-open.

While few people would claim a conventional livestock auction market is an efficient means of exchange, it has no equal as a way of settling prices even with the advent of modern communications and computer technology.

There is, of course, no secret as to why this is. Simply, there is too much variation in livestock to permit them to be described, in bits and bytes, with sufficient precision to allow them to be valued. Livestock need to be seen to be believed –– at least, some of the time.

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 to having a market close by. In today's world, those benefits are marginal if not negative.

The bottom line is the city, built on the business of farmers, is no longer interested. From an urban prospective, the market, at best, adds a bit of character for tourists.

Norwich Livestock Market survives for the moment. But meaningful political and economic interest in, and support of, agriculture is a fading memory.

For CBC commentary, I'm David Walker, an agricultural economist, at Lodge Farm Postwick in Broadland Norfolk, England.

This site is maintained by: David Walker .
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