With the accession of Eastern European countries to the European Union, the numbers of migrant workers in Cornwall have increased. Their presence has become more widely known as a handful of damning exposés of exploitative living and working conditions have hit the headlines.

Jim commented: “They’re under the rules and regulations of our own society, where they are paid at least the minimum wage. Exploitation is almost non-existent now.”

He currently has about 30 migrant workers on his farm, increasing to 60 at flower picking time from January to March. He works closely with other farmers who need labour at different times, and the workers move on from flower picking to work such as cutting asparagus and picking strawberries.

Jim said: “We would certainly still welcome locals at flower picking time – we still get a few, but the problem with the local ones is being able to rely on them – local people have often got another job, or they go fishing, and come in their spare time when it suits them.”

Jim said Cornish farmers are 'very much beholden' to the Eastern bloc workers and that Objective One funding injected into farming could not have been exploited without them.

“We’re all slightly fearful of being inundated by Eastern European people – but the bottom line is they are a great asset to the Cornish economy. Most of us have been able to expand because we’ve had good labour – which by relying on local labour, we couldn’t have done.”

Jim reflected: “Many Cornish people 150 years ago were immigrants themselves to places like Australia, because they couldn’t get work here, and they have contributed considerably to their economies. The tables have completely turned on 150 years ago, and in a way it’s really nothing new.”