- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Good work.
Is it ok to share? That wants plastering all over Facebook, Twitter, etc to drive the message home imo.
Red tractor stakeholder survey on governance
- Thread starter ajd132
- Start date
Good work.
Is it ok to share? That wants plastering all over Facebook, Twitter, etc to drive the message home imo.
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
I didn't ask - my badGood work.
Is it ok to share? That wants plastering all over Facebook, Twitter, etc to drive the message home imo.
Already on FB and on the BFF FB thread
- Location
- DD9.
Good work.
Is it ok to share? That wants plastering all over Facebook, Twitter, etc to drive the message home imo.
Please do, I think humour is a powerful tool.
gone up the hill
Member
- Location
- Devon
Very well said @DrWazzock
How the hell Minette Batters has been allowed to totally take over the NFU, install all her lap dogs like Tom Bradshaw into senior roles, install her lap dogs into the senior paid staff roles at NFU HQ , bully the NFU council members into letting her do whatever she wants to do, then to top all that she then has got so much control that she can drive thru anything like new rules at RT, commit the entire industry to net zero without even researching how that wil impact the industry, sign off without a whimper devestating support changes in the form of SFI and all payments for food production will stop and no one can do anything to stop her needs an investigation in itself!
Never mind the RT governance review, what is clearly needed is a governance review into the above at the NFU and just how it has been possible for NFU president Minette Batters to gain so much power, cause so much damage to the industry in such a short time and how she has been allowed to let her personal agenda with RT overrule everyone else!
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Before we had “Red Tractor” we simply had “Made in Britain” which correctly implied that the goods were produced in accordance with British laws and standards approved by Parliament and monitored by government agencies with real teeth. “Made in Britain” implied the goods were produced to some of the highest standards in the world.
When RT came along it sadly didnt create a higher standard worthy of a premium it simply cast doubt upon and denigrsted the “Made in Britain” brand to be something less worthy so now as we see I can’t even sell “Made in Britain” feed barley to my local feed mill. RT caused the “Made in Britain” brand to become untrusted and worthless. RT became the new “minimum standard” for no premium and so in effect no progress was made but at considerable cost to producers. I see that as largely an own goal.
There’s still absolutely nothing wrong with the “Made in Britain” brand but the very existence of RT damages it unjustifiably.
When RT came along it sadly didnt create a higher standard worthy of a premium it simply cast doubt upon and denigrsted the “Made in Britain” brand to be something less worthy so now as we see I can’t even sell “Made in Britain” feed barley to my local feed mill. RT caused the “Made in Britain” brand to become untrusted and worthless. RT became the new “minimum standard” for no premium and so in effect no progress was made but at considerable cost to producers. I see that as largely an own goal.
There’s still absolutely nothing wrong with the “Made in Britain” brand but the very existence of RT damages it unjustifiably.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
- Location
- Lincolnshire
To be fair I think NFU operators like Andrew Ward “get” it and he’s produced a few very good podcasts. I just can’t understand why the views of commercial farmers such as Mr Ward don’t gain more traction at the top of the NFU. There isn’t even the slightest acknowledgement from the top brass that there is a bit of a problem particularly with our competitive disadvantage to unassured imports/lack of premium. This baffles me TBH. Surely there are big commercial farmers pulling the strings somewhere who understand the issues and who can see that we need to keep costs down and processes streamlined if we are to remain competitive globally.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
That’s not entirely true. FA came about to reassure the public, our customers, at a time when trust in UK ag was on the floor.
Yes, we know in hindsight that the press and certain ‘scientists’ blew it up out of all proportion, but the UK public blamed us for BSE, which they were led to believe was going to kill millions.
Farm Assurance came about to reassure the public, our customers, that we were all adhering to the rules, and it served that purpose admirably imo.
As to premiums, in those early years we saw a fiver a head premium on FA lambs, which made it an absolute no brainer as we were doing everything necessary already. Aside from that early premium, FA served a valuable purpose in allaying concerns in the nineties.
However, assurance schemes have evolved since then, so that they no longer just assure that we are producing according to required uk legislation. They have clearly gone beyond the original remit, without returning sufficient/any premium for doing so, the governance having been hijacked by BRC.
Since FA came into being, uk legislation has also been tightened up considerably, so we are legally obliged to do more than the original FA ever asked for.
Time to cut it loose.
- Location
- Essex
There are some even bigger, more commercial corporations out there pulling some very big strings. This isn't about what farmers want, unfortunately.
- Location
- Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
- Location
- Lincolnshire
By setting up RT we only reinforced the public perception that there really was something we as farmers were doing wrong. It was the lowering of the temperature of the feed treatment by the government and supply trade that caused BSE. It was absolutely nothing to do whatsoever with farmers. We see the same kind of behaviour now with the proposed GFC. It implies we admit we need to be greener and there’s something wrong with what we are doing now and that there will be something wrong with the produce of any farmer who doesn’t sign up to this module. Well I call that sanctimonious NFU inspired virtue signalling bulls**t who yet again are too keen to ask “How high?” when the BRC says “Jump.”
Do you honestly think rt, ever made any real difference to the publics perception of food safty
- Location
- Lincolnshire
As a responsible producer operating in accordance with the laws of the land I see no reason to make any kind of commitment as part of a collective effort to be “greener”. I’ll be as green or as non green as suits my own business within the constraints of the law and my commercial interests. I don’t need Minette Batters and the BRC to commit me or volunteer me or otherwise coerce me into anything on the greening front thank you very much. It’s just another trap in my view.
Well done that man!
- Location
- Essex
I see the survey is now closed.
I asked my sister in law, an intelligent but confirmed townie about rt a while back, she had heard of it but had No recollection of what the logo looked like. She said she just looks for British flag when purchasing food if at all possible.
- Location
- DD9.
We got 2 bags of apples in the hols, think from Lidl. Both had Union Jack and “Christmas sparkles” on the packaging, but look closer and one was Union Jack and Christmas sparkles, other was a barstewardised NZ flag with NZ apples.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
With the benefit of hindsight I know that, and you know that but, at the time, UK (& foreign) consumers were blaming UK Ag and stopping buying our output in their droves.
Something had to be done to reassure them, and FA was undoubtedly one of the things that helped to do that.
Things have moved on now though, and FA has tried to carve out an existence by supplying certification where none was needed.
I was selling bull beef at auction when bse, became concerning the price droped about 35 to 40 penc per kg, by around 3 years later it had returned to what it was so i dont think this rt, stuff made scrap of difference same as most things confidence grows over time. it is now confidence is growing that rt, should be side stepped and scraped.
Last edited: