Ask AHDB – Beef and Lamb Levy Increase Proposals

[TFF]

AHDB’s Beef and Lamb Sector Council would like your questions about proposals to improve services and deliver more by increasing levy rates from the start of the 2024/25 financial year.

Sector Chair Colin Bateman will be taking part in a Q and A session, responding to questions from levy payers, at AHDB’s ‘Funding Your Future’ livestream event on 9 November.

Colin is an upland livestock producer with more than 25 years’ experience in the beef and lamb sector. His farming business runs to 340Ha and he has a particular interest in building future proof, resilient livestock systems.

You can find out details of the proposals for the Beef and Lamb Sector here: Funding Your Future 2023 – Beef & Lamb | AHDB

The Sector Council are proposing an increase in levy rates to:

• Gaining access to growing export markets
• Hosting more trade missions to promote British red meat to international buyers
• Extra consumer marketing campaigns
• Increasing education work with schools
• Highlighting the low environmental impact of production

The Beef and Lamb Live Q and A session will start at 14:00 GMT on 9 November. Any questions not responded to on the day will be answered after the event and shared in this thread.

 

[Stw88]

Can you start working with schools teaching them how to cook properly with proper meat, cooking proper meals?

 

[egbert]

Why, oh why, do you still concede the bulldust about methane from cow burps warming the atmosphere?

No other industry would self fund a body that scored such a colossal own goal.

For goodness sake, get with the plan and fight for us, or expect our utter contempt.
Currently I'd vote to dump the lot of you.

 

[roscoe erf]

why don't the AHDB cut their cloth we as farmers are always being told to make savings cut cost blah blah but we can't get a increase's in line with inflation we are just a bloody cash cow for all you hangers on. make savings cut some wages don't look on us to keep you going .

 

[Anymulewilldo]

At a time when UK agriculture is being squeezed from all sides, what makes the AHDB (an organisation which claims to work for us farmers) think it’s acceptable to increase levy payments by 25%? Surely it’s time to reassess how OUR money is spent? Telling farmers how great our product is is just preaching to the choir. It seems more sensible to stop wasting funds on that and reasign those funds to educating the public.
Where were AHDB when the deal was signed with Australia to allow them more access to our marketplace? A move that will almost certainly negatively impact profitability for sheep and beef producers.
Why do the AHDB seem to roll over and allow RT and other quango organisations to attempt to steamroller new rules onto farmers that offer a negative impact on farm profitability?
You mention all the things you wish to achieve with an increase in levy payments. These objectives are no different to what you ought to have been doing for years? Instead of milking farmers for more, try being more efficient and actually using the money you have to the maximum like we’ve all had to do.
The green lobby are years ahead of us in claiming how bad red meat production is for the environment. That falsehood should have been a prime objective for years now. Not an excuse to increase levies now.

 

[Muckmister]

Year on year beef and sheep farmers are getting shafted and working on reduced margins, why do AHDB think its justified to increase their slice of the cake on the backdrop of farmers struggling? I agree with the other comment where it can only be justified if we see concrete results in an increased sale price for the farmers which will see our margins increase by the same percentage increase as the levy, they have failed to date to secure our market prices are kept in line with inflation and most likely will fail in the future. Its more likely to be used for further bureaucracy and red tape to bow down to the false narrative that farmers are destroying the planet as they attempt to appease the vegan movement who will never be our target market anyway.

 

[Hesstondriver]

How do ADHB plan to aid the marketing of non RT Beef & Lamb ?

What measures are they putting in place to prevent WLA?

What is currently being done by ADHB to plan for a 'life after Red Tractor' ?

 

[Henarar]

Why do you need more money, why can't you just become more efficient like you keep telling us to be ?

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

If the ahdb is so concerned about rising costs, why doesn't it make better use of the farming forum which is free to use?

 

[gone up the hill]

Why are you the AHDB so keen to increase my costs by way of supporting/ Running the New LIS scheme for EID tagging in cattle when it will increase my costs/ red tape and stress levels for no gain?

Why did you the AHDB vote in favour of the RT Green module at the RT Sept board meeting without first consulting levy payers on the issue?

When is the AHDB going to do more for less like they keep on telling levy payers to do so?

Why is the AHDB levy such a complete and utter waste of money?

How do you justify your wages of £250 a day working for the AHDB?

When do we get a plain YES OR NO vote on scrapping the AHDB beef and lamb section?

 

[Tamar]

They have said to me that they are aiming to answers all questions. Either in the webinar or on here. Or both.

OK............. better ask the most obvious question then .......

Do the AHDB still endorse the RT scheme, or do they think it works against UK farmers?

 

[Mickstup]

After we have listened to this Q and A broadcast, if we feel the AHDB is unable or unwilling to support all livestock enterprises, assured and unassured in the future, will advice be given on a mechanism that will allow for a vote on the future of the AHDB.

 

[Mc115reed]

When will the AHDB realise putting adverts in the farmers weekly and farmers guardian about how wonderful our produce is might just be a massive waste of money because we already know!!!! Advertise too somebody that doesn’t already know preaching too the converted with very very expensive articles

 

[roscoe erf]

I've another question none of these will get asked
when can we have a vote like the Potatoe boys

 

[DrDunc]

AHDB website says you're spending £19 million annually on advertising

Public records show the AHDB revenue, excluding livestock information services, is around £8 million

1.)Assuming the AHDB marketing budget claimed on your website is correct, from where is the additional funding sourced?

2.)Why do you intend increasing levies upon already beleaguered primary producers, when the AHDB has access to alternative revenue streams?




Your marketing strategy centres upon cluttered, information dense, defensive, difficult to digest flyers. Many of the "messages" published have not altered for over half a decade.

3.)With a rapidly changing society media influence, why has the AHDB not invested in alternative marketing strategies that are proven to deliver more effective response and greater value for money?

4.)What evidence does the AHDB have that increasing their compulsory levy revenue will increase primary producer income?

5.)Why should livestock farmers have no choice but throw good money after bad?

 

[yellowbelly]

AHDB, you are asking for a 25% rise in our levy rates.

If you can lift the average price of beef and lamb, returned to your levy payers, over the next 12 months by 25%, we will pay you that increase.
If not, we'll stay as we are, thanks.

Don't keep banging on about us 'becoming more efficient' - we've been doing that for years, we've about exhausted all the efficiencies we can make.

 

[Grass And Grain]

P

AHDB spend a lot of effort disseminating production and efficiency advice down to farmers. That's great, but we've probably exhausted the big issues, and now it's marginal gains.

What we need is strength in numbers when we're selling.

Would AHDB consider creating contract/price negotiating groups for farmers to join.

e.g. everyone who supplies beef direct to ABP... AHDB could help get all those farm in a so glad negotiating group.

If AHDB won't do this, then why not?

^^^^ This is the kind of thing we're most desperately in need of. Readdressing the balance of power in the supply chain.

 

[Tamar]

Q. Do you think we would be worse off without you ?



Q. With the amount of money we pay in levies, would it be better spent giving it all to an advertising agent ?

 

[soapsud]

The beef and lamb board has said that EU competition rules prevent it from promoting British meat over foreign imports. Some of us levy payers don't want to support an organisation that doesn't support them. Some of us are campaigning against AHDB because of your lacklustre marketing record. Once we have enough people on side, your future will be doubtful. What will you do to keep levy payers from getting organised to vote against you and your intended levy increase?

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

What's the procedure for organising a vote on the future of ahdb?

 

[JSmith]

why don't the AHDB cut their cloth we as farmers are always being told to make savings cut cost blah blah but we can't get a increase's in line with inflation we are just a bloody cash cow for all you hangers on. make savings cut some wages don't look on us to keep you going .

Well said!! Grieves me to see their levy taken off on the bottom of my print out, when I’ve had to take what’s given by the buyers in market!! All you hear off the buyers is ‘there’s no demand, export jobs knackered, the lambs too dear’!! We as farmers have the hardest part of the system, producing and rearing a product for everyone else to sell, the system relies on us to keep producing the goods yet we’re shafted at every opportunity!! Everyone else passes on their increased costs to us that we have to stomach but our price received stays the same or less relatively! The levy wants spending on getting more of a market for our own meat products in our own country aswell as upping export opportunities that supposedly have opened up to us in other countries!! Some prime time advertising wouldn’t go a miss and some positive messages about the good environmental work we as farmers do!!