I did ask our NFU friend for a poll of nfu members that keep beefthe nfu will side with supermarkets against farmers
I did ask our NFU friend for a poll of nfu members that keep beefthe nfu will side with supermarkets against farmers
Move the clock forward 5 years, Whole Life Farm Assurance has been introduced, Red Tractor has decided that no animal that goes through a livestock market can be Assured and there is nothing you can do about it.Sorry, but I just don't think you'll get enough support. I for one probably can't risk not being assured, I can't afford to sell for less.
In five years time a buyer workng for the supply chain dominated by the supermarkets will come to your farm to tell you what to breed and what they will pay .
there has been some good reports about them to hasn't there, notIsn't this what Blade are doing already?
I've told my Nfu chap if they don't start sorting this nonsense out I wont be renewing my membership and I will be taking my insurance business elsewhere.
If enough people do the same they have to listen don't they?
I did ask our NFU friend for a poll of nfu members that keep beef
What was our NFU's friends reply??
yes he did but not about that pointDo we take that as he didn't even reply??
yes he did but not about that point
Move the clock forward 5 years, Whole Life Farm Assurance has been introduced, Red Tractor has decided that no animal that goes through a livestock market can be Assured and there is nothing you can do about it.
At the moment buyers have to compete for your calves.
In five years time a buyer workng for the supply chain dominated by the supermarkets will come to your farm to tell you what to breed and what they will pay for it.
The markets where they have to compete for calves, will be gone and there will be no way back.
You will be paid less for your calves not more because that is the way the supermarket business model works. They are determined to dictate to producers what they will pay. They do not want to compete hence their wish to use Farm Assurance as a means of destroying that competition.
If you sign up you will cut your own throat.
I for one will not be signing up. I would rather sell up because I do not wish to be a servant tugging my forelock to any buyer, that is why my stock go through the livestock markets where they have to compete.
When this happens and the markets have gone you will have no one else to blame but yourself.
Farmer's are their own worst enemies in failing to co operate with each other to improve their lot because they will have to do something to help each other. In the case of Whole life assurance you don't have to do anything to help your fellow farmers other than refusing to have anything to do with WLA.
if it ain't broke then why fix it?....are the retailers resenting that premium and effectively looking to increase the pool so the premium disappears?
there's a thread on here about irish cattle being lower priced than uk cattle....that thread also mentions scottish buyers buying irish stores...how does that work with scots wla assurance?
wla comes in your premium will go IMO
how is there less chance of failing a a cross compliance inspection?
do you support the idea of the nfu forcing wla on farmers (polls indicate 2 to1 against)? do we need ,in effect, saving from ourselves?
my concern is that wla will force alot of small or sideline cattle keepers out and in lowland areas more permanent pasture ploughed out as result...in short wla will damage the environment
fair play on coming on i welcome the chance to debate it
If you have all your eggs in order for farm assurance you are pretty much covered for a RPA inspection and if you are farm assured trading standards and animal health see you as lower risk. More should be done on this is future though. It is and always has been the farmers choice whether he/she is farm assured,no one is forcing them to be farm assured. The calf rearing scheme is going to cost approximately £100 per year,if low risk a 3 yearly inspection and much less onerous than full red tractor assurance,how is that going to force producers out of production. Everything in farm assurance is already covered by other inspections/law and is good farm practice,what do we have to be scarred about? More livestock will go into lowland areas because of the problems with black grass,tight rotations and a lack of organic matter in their soils. I see in the FG this week Britain's largest farmers is going into livestock for those very reasons.