Goweresque
Member
- Location
- North Wilts
110% the NFU co-own the RT company alongside 4/5 other farming unions,
A link to this has been posted a few times on TFF to confirm this.
Very clear if it wasn't the case then Guy Smith would correct it on TFF.
His comments are very intresting thou as he is basically saying between the lines it doesn't matter how out of touch with common sense the RT rules become farmers should just shut up accept them!
The RT ownership structure is here:
http://www.redtractor.org.uk/what-we-do/who-we-are/company-structure
As @gone up the hill says, its is partly owned by the farming unions, NFU, NFUS and UFU, plus the AHDB from the farming side, but the Dairy industry body, the British Retail Consortium and the Federation of Food and Drink are also co-owners. Actual % shares are not disclosed, which is a shame as it would tell a lot about who is calling the shots.
It seems to me that the RT is as much about the requirements of the food processing and retailing industry as it is about doing anything to help farmers. And one suspects given the general attitude of the NFU to anything is to bend over and take it, the entire thing is most likely run by the retailers and processors, and the interests of the farmers get ignored entirely. Its instructive that the Chairman has a food processing career background for example, and is a former President of the Food and Drink federation. I hardly think he's going to be going in to bat for the interests of the average farmer.