GFC disgrace: Here's what NFU, AHDB and RT have signed us up for

Luke Cropwalker said:

I fail to see why SFI income should be included in that table. The farm would already be providing something for the SFI payment, it should not be subsidising the GFC.

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Clive said:

@Levy Believer ? looks like you may have missed some ?

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Grass And Grain said:

We were responsible for stopping the £250k/annum payment from AHDB to Red Tractor imho.

Our campaigning led to the Industry Working Group looking at cereals assurance last year. Unfortunately it was a kangaroo court. We haven't been put off, and continued to lobby.

Since then we've got AHDB to take some first steps and commission a report on imported cereals standards.

Several F Weekly articles about cereals assurance/imports have happened because of our campaigning. This has imho got people to understand the issues, got people debating, and probably got farmers to pressurise the NFU top table.

A group of BFU reps met Exeter Council when the Council said they were going plant based with some meals. The BFU members explained the benefits of locally sourced, sustainable Devon produce, meat and dairy. I forget the exact details, but the BFU members are now on some sort of Exeter Council committee on the subject.

We've got a steering committee.

We're just in the process of becoming a company ltd by Guarantee, so members haven't got any personal liability. I think that's now done, but will have to check.

We've a website, joining with a debit card payment, member communication via email, private forum area. This is all working for now, but we may need to soon upgrade those systems.

We're all volunteers. No-one has been paid anything or any expenses. Quite a number have even donated extra, paid for leaflets or Facebook ads out of their own pockets, contributed to the Farmers Weekly advert, etc. I don't suppose this can continue for ever, but at moment we've worked on a shoestring budget. Meanwhile, cash reserves are building.

Have we got people to go on committees etc. Not yet. Maybe we're not far away from getting some of us to go for positions. e.g. AHDB or Red Tractor (cough, cough). Do I have the time available to do such things? I'm pretty much a one man band outfit on the farm, with livestock, so I'm not really in a position to do that sort of thing. I can use the phone, the internet, email, and my keyboard. Most of what we've achieved so far has been from use of a keyboard.

What's gratifying is seeing farmers, none of whom knew each other a short while ago, come together and work for the good of our industry and our livelihoods.

^^^ A little while back it would have been a bit sensationalist to say "working to save our livelihoods", but now we're uncovering some of the things which go on in agriculture, to control us, and for the farmers to pay up for GFC and now we've discovered the gravity of the "WWF Basket" link.... We are actually cooperating together to save our livelihoods/profits.

We are discovering more all the time. It's scandalous...

As our profile is now getting known, we're now getting people approach us with all sorts of revelations. Some of it is quite unbelievable, and we'll be working on it in coming days, weeks, months. There's been all sorts of things going on which have been kept secret from farmers.

Then we see F Weekly write articles which aren't all too complimentary to Red Tractor and NFU, etc. I don't know the details, but next day we see this....

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1728485315197710337

Everything at BFU is happening more slowly than we'd like. We also shouldn't need to exist, because NFU should be working for us, but clearly lots of people have a view that they've NOT been working for us. The mind boggles what goes on at Stoneleigh and who/what pulls the strings.

AHDB have looked us in the eye and lied. Then we showed them their our own governing rules, and they had to agree with us. They were trying to fob us off.

Really, a bunch of us should be running for new vice, deputy and Pres of NFU, but none of us are members out of principle. My family were members, but we left. Same for many others. It's sad, but what could we do other than start our own union?

BFU membership fee is set at £10. It's not enough really, but we want to get members to join with a low barrier to entry. So currently no paid positions at BFU, no gravy train, no aspirations to get a knighthood, no corruption. Just a desire to put a stop to any wrongdoings which means farmers are forced to pay for things we shouldn't do, and a desire to achieve a vibrant industry which is not put upon by supermarkets and agricultural suppliers or processors.

^^^ No paid staff will probably have to change at some point soon. We'll need paid staff. We've a backlog of jobs to do, so we could be achieving a lot more and a lot quicker.

We also need to tackle the power in the supply chain, and shift the balance back to being more even. We can't run before we can walk, but I see that as one of the next goals.

Farmers have moaned for years, and quite understandably so. The moaning has come to an end.

We are now doing things to help ourselves.

Please help and join the BFU. £10/year.

British Farming Union – …securing a better future for farmers

Do you know if AHDB are going to answer the questions in the tff Cereals section?

I wonder what the "estimated cost savings" are? I can't really think how there could be cost savings.

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tullah said:

Sugar Beet boys could pull out making it a condition that requirement for RT assurance is deleted.

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Old apprentice said:

I would be very sceptical on being able to return from 100% sfi, to 100% cropping in years to come if ne, get there teath into your business threw the areas of 're willing that are on the web of defra,, ajcc, is a point in question. I don't trust them govs, change and all that

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Grass And Grain said:

Hear, hear. I agree, NFU Sugar look to be doing exactly what they should be doing.

Minette, Tom, etal appear to be doing the opposite. Tom represents farmers on the RT main Board, thinks principle of the GFC is right, and now we see it's linked to a WWF blueprint to reduce meat consumption by 20%, and reduce UK agricultural arable crop and grass production by 50%.

^^^ Effectively NFU imho have backed something which aims to reduce the need for our output by 50%.

They need pulling to task on this.

What did the NFU know?

Who are they working for?

How do they think it's a good idea to prop up the WWF Basket?

What planet are they on?

Did they not research what the WWF Basket is?

If they didn't research it, then they're absolutely useless.

If they did know about it, then it's even worse. But surely they can't have not known about it, because that's what the GFC is all about.

Every single farmer in the land needs to join BFU before it's too late.

The current NFU hierarchy need ousting from their positions. They haven't been fit to be in those positions imho. I'm not sure what has possessed them.

It's worse than I could have ever of imagined.

Let's take back control for ourselves.

Working for the working farmer....

British Farming Union – …securing a better future for farmers

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workin f nowt said:

Every single farmer in the land needs to join BFU before it's too late.

^^^ This ^^^^^

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Luke Cropwalker said:

A lack of strong leadership will always create a vacuum. What the ag industry requires currently is strong leadership. We need to be represented by someone who represents an organisation that has teeth, and is not afraid to to show those teeth, and use use them. How ironic that these traits are currently being shown by NFU Sugar. It would appear we are being led down a path that is all roses but will probably result in the demise of more small, family farms by leaders that are very good at talking the talk but are easily swayed by the gold plated platitudes of the BRC. I think it is fair to say that some farmers might need to recognise that we are not farming in the 1950's and we need to supply what the consumer requires. However it is no use hampering UK with a raft of further costs that benefits no-one but the retailers while the supermarkets import inferior products.

Rant over, time for a beer.

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graham mc said:

good luck getting an answer on that one its highly classified

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Cereals: Funding Your Future 2023

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Flatland guy said:

Technically you miss a month once three years up when up plough the lot and do untold destruction, then start again.

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Cowcorn said:

The NFU have taken the cartels thirty pieces of silver ....
Minnie the Minx is running the show and the nfu council mice havent the gumption or balls to spike her plans ....
Yeah some parts like NFU sugar might be worth taking over but most of the rest is beyond help ..
This whole sustainability climate whitewash offload blame malarkey stinks to high heaven .
Time to get the pitchforks out and give these chancers the sharp end up the arse ..
Its them or us ...

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britishblue said:

Just watched Neil McCoy Wards video on Cop 28 discussions yesterday and it is all about controlling what the world eats and saying People need to be told what to eat! That food expert Bill Gates was there promoting vat produced meat with additives to improve the texture!
Are all officials from MP's down to councils just lame sheep who would agree with all those unelected elites,does none of them have any balls to stand up to this crap in our country?
At least Italy has banned fake meats to help protect it's Agriculture industry but why not here?

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Cowcorn said:

We appear to be increasingly governed by unelected NGO who are allowed to promote their agendas with goverments bending over backwards to support them .
When you have the likes of Bill Gates deciding what you eat its time to sound the alarm .
COP is a joke .... every tosser and leftie in the world rolling up to decide how the little people live their lives .
Climate change might be happening but the amount of hot air and shite talk that comes out of this circus complete with all clowns wont change anything ..
Next time you vote vote for somebody who shares your views not any of the current shower of charlatans .

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