AHDB to launch new sector strategies on 10th November

[TFF]

Levy payers will learn about the future direction of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and how the levy will be invested over the next five years, when the new sector councils unveil their strategies next month.

Sector councils will outline the new priorities for Beef & Lamb, Cereals & Oilseeds, Dairy and Pork during the ‘Delivering the Future of Farming’ online event on 10 November 2022, with levy payers able to ask questions about each of the new key areas of work.

Reputation scored highly across livestock sectors when levy payers had their say as part of the Shape the Future campaign. That will be reflected in the new sector strategies as one the key themes, while research and market insight has been identified as a major priority for cereals and oilseeds producers.

As well as the results from the ‘Shape the Future’ campaign, and as part of the decision-making process, sector councils have also considered various financial constraints, including rising inflation, a change to AHDB’s VAT status and changes in levy income, when identifying the main areas of work.

Levy payers can register to join the livestreamed event online on the AHDB website: www.ahdb.org.uk/events/delivering-the-future-of-farming

AHDB Chief Executive Officer Tim Rycroft said: “Thousands of levy payers had a say in ‘Shape the Future’. Now we are taking the next step in delivering our promise to put levy payers at the heart of everything we do.

“This event will be a chance for levy payers to hear from their own sector council representatives on the work that will be prioritised by AHDB.”

Those who sign up for the event will be able to access sector specific breakout sessions, allowing levy payers to ask questions and understand the plans in more detail.

Book Now

When: Thursday 10 November 2022
Where: Online
Time:

• Cereals & Oilseeds – 10am
• Dairy – 12pm
• Beef & Lamb – 2pm
• Pork – 4pm

 

[JP1]

I've been to all the NPA regional meetings which also feature AHDB sector presentations

Nobody will answer a straight question why there was no existential vote ballot as per the veg and potato growers. Nobody has said how or why the levy to hard pressed pig farmers could not be reduced whilst all pig producers are suffering massive losses or even folding their businesses. Nobody can explain what and why we can't at least use OUR levy money to promote BRITISH produce as apparently levy money is still classed as "State Aid" and bound by EU / other trading bloc rules.

It seems to me that on every basic and major thing concerning promotion the farmer producer is disdainfully looked down upon that we are too simple to understand marketing.

The AHDB may have temporarily withdrawn some funding to Red Tractor but from where I stand they're still an assister to the mission creep of Red Tractor rather than being the leading edge technology proponent that we so badly need

And one final thing, it winds me up beyond belief as a beef levy payer that I PAY MY LEVY to AHDB to get some clever cloggs advising the general public, media ad Government that "smart" and environmentally friendly cattle breeding should all be about serving heifers younger (eg breed / system) and finishing at "target" ages of 24 and driving to below 22 months for extensive reared beef is the way forward. In my system it doesn't work, it would be against animal welfare, it inevitably involves creep feeding, extra cereal inclusion and harder calvings

I don't find attending a presentation to be told how we responded to a skewed survey on priorities is the solution right now. Sorry.

And please tell whichever Minister sanctioned your latest actions that these are my thoughts

 

[JP1]

http://link.ahdb.org.uk/m/1/45178595/p1-b22308-83217a19d23c484c9f19d832e72ccbf9/3/774/08a11786-b2c5-4b8d-806d-d63a433e7698

Also why are there no weaner price stats for the last year

 

[yellowbelly]

Reputation scored highly across livestock sectors when levy payers had their say as part of the Shape the Future campaign

Really??

It's a while since that survey but I don't remember giving you a great rating or you getting a 'good press' on here.
Funny how time must play tricks on the mind.

 

[JP1]

Really??

It's a while since that survey but I don't remember giving you a great rating or you getting a 'good press' on here.
Funny how time must play tricks on the mind.

To be fair to them, I think they mean that farmers placed their / their products reputation highly on priorities for promotion / representation not the AHDB's reputation .

I agree the way it's written in the OP is ambiguous

 

[yellowbelly]

To be fair to them, I think they mean that farmers placed their / their products reputation highly on priorities for promotion / representation not the AHDB's reputation .

I agree the way it's written in the OP is ambiguous

From what I recall of that survey, the questions were framed to get the responses they wanted not for us to tell them what we really wanted/thought.

 

[Chris F]

Up to this point the AHDB have been telling us how they are going to change. All that chatter has been building to this point. The only way to find out what is going to change is to listen in. Then form your questions and put them back to the AHDB in a sector specific manner.

Red Tractor has certainly been a disaster for AHDB. I am hoping they will go further than just stopping funding them, which has already been announced and start taking them to task and forcing change.

 

[JP1]

Up to this point the AHDB have been telling us how they are going to change. All that chatter has been building to this point. The only way to find out what is going to change is to listen in. Then form your questions and put them back to the AHDB in a sector specific manner.

Red Tractor has certainly been a disaster for AHDB. I am hoping they will go further than just stopping funding them, which has already been announced and start taking them to task and forcing change.

I have listened in Chris at producer meetings and they aren't listening they are just playing back what priorities "we" the industry gave them

This does nothing to stop mission creep in RT and wherever else they advise

This does nothing to assuage genuine, caring, interested , informed farmers who have tried valiantly to put over their ideas about marketing their own produce (like NE, they know best)

I bet not one sentence or uttering will cover why they didn't put to the levy payers an existential ballot (why would turkeys support voting for Christmas)

I'll let others sit through it and then give feedback later

As someone who spent two full Sundays responding to the DEFRA food labelling consultation myself , I'd be very interested to see physically the full AHDB response. If the hand wringing over "State Aid" and "behind closed doors we take it to the wire promoting British over generic" are anything to go by, I doubt it's what the industry wants or pays for. Same as the old NFU "you don't see what's quietly being done for you behind closed doors" line .

Don't forget the budgets they are playing with are £££££££££. If it was mandated (say) that 60% of levy money should go on defined marketing, will they ever let farmers decide which agency will have that work this year (will they heck)

 

[How Dairy]

I am paying about £589 in levy per year (that is the whole business of which I have a share/contract agreement). For that we get all our genetic analyses so I am pretty happy really. I'm also part of a discussion group but I rarely get time to attend. I am not sure they stand up for me on the carbon argument and could do more there but I'd say I get my moneysworth. I wrote something for the local rag about organic milk and got some good stats from them. There was a meeting about 40 mins away about calves or something but I couldn't make it there... sounded good especially as we aren't quite getting the performance there. Hopefully, I should be able to do more of that next year.

I reckon if you aren't happy, just trigger a ballot. As far as I'm aware, that is still possible and by the strength of feeling it looks like you should look at that. I'd still vote to keep the dairy side as it would cost me a lot more than my share to analyse bull genetics.

 

[JP1]

I am paying about £589 in levy per year (that is the whole business of which I have a share/contract agreement). For that we get all our genetic analyses so I am pretty happy really. I'm also part of a discussion group but I rarely get time to attend. I am not sure they stand up for me on the carbon argument and could do more there but I'd say I get my moneysworth. I wrote something for the local rag about organic milk and got some good stats from them. There was a meeting about 40 mins away about calves or something but I couldn't make it there... sounded good especially as we aren't quite getting the performance there. Hopefully, I should be able to do more of that next year.

I reckon if you aren't happy, just trigger a ballot. As far as I'm aware, that is still possible and by the strength of feeling it looks like you should look at that. I'd still vote to keep the dairy side as it would cost me a lot more than my share to analyse bull genetics.

A 250 sow herd (not that big) would be paying North of £6300 a year

300 finished cattle a year would be £1,215 a year

 

[Grass And Grain]

A 250 sow herd (not that big) would be paying North of £6300 a year

300 finished cattle a year would be £1,215 a year

That's a lot of money. Are we getting value?Seems to be a lot of employees at AHDB. Often wondered if they've got more money than they know what to do with.

Question is, could they deliver 80% of the current services/value if they only had 50% of the levy? I suspect they could.

I think they really need to up their game in marketing our produce. Think one of our biggest problems is big processors vs individual farmers. Unless I've missed it, doesn't seem to have been any AHDB work going towards solving this. They could help create the ability to rebalance negotiating power.

 

[Grass And Grain]

....and in the cereals sector we've had 15+ years where UK grains have had less market access than imports.

If that's not a total and utter failure of a marketing board, I don't know what is.

Not only have they presided over our marketing whilst this has been the case, they've also been giving £240,000 per year to Red Tractor.......the very organisation which has seemingly made sure RT has been the only route for UK growers.

So what have AHDB been doing? Seems they've been asleep on the job. Why haven't they sorted this before now? Why haven't they sorted it over past 20 months?

The policy seems to have been to ensure there isn't choice of multiple assurance schemes, but just one brand (Red Tractor). What a compete disaster of a policy.

It's like having a policy to make sure there's only one pork processor, or one fertiliser supplier, or one grain mill, or one animal feed supplier.....

If that happens, the single company has total control and dictates terms.

We aren't going to let AHDB, RT, AIC or NFU (huh, what a pathetic excuse of a farming union, one which puts RT membership over market access and choice for famers) off the hook. They're going to have to explain themselves.

They've been hiding behind pathetic excuses as to why UK grain can't have same market access methods as imports. We all know it's because they don't want RT to fail. Minette Batters hasn't replied to my messages.

If this has happened with cereals, then we've also to question how naturally the assurance market has been working for pork, beef, lamb, chicken, dairy. RT has total market dominance. Accident or contrived????

 

[How Dairy]

A 250 sow herd (not that big) would be paying North of £6300 a year

300 finished cattle a year would be £1,215 a year

£589 per year is just under 1Mil litres. I'd say that is pretty much average size (arguably a bit small) but it is early days. Perhaps that is the difference

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

£589 per year is just under 1Mil litres. I'd say that is pretty much average size (arguably a bit small) but it is early days. Perhaps that is the difference

Interesting you have to pay for access to bull genetics. Surely you are paying for the semen, and the cost of testing and proving genes ought to be included in the price?

It's the breeder (speaking from experience) who pays for all that, who then happily waves it under your nose to encourage you to buy.

Seems to me that you are paying the market price for the genetics and then someone in a suit to tell you which bulls are available.

Maybe I've missed something...

 

[How Dairy]

Interesting you have to pay for access to bull genetics. Surely you are paying for the semen, and the cost of testing and proving genes ought to be included in the price?

It's the breeder (speaking from experience) who pays for all that, who then happily waves it under your nose to encourage you to buy.

Seems to me that you are paying the market price for the genetics and then someone in a suit to tell you which bulls are available.

Maybe I've missed something...

The way I see it is I would rather an independent company tells me which bulls are best rather than a breeding company. I can't see Genus giving their data to Cogent to compare. If it isn't analysed independently, you end up getting channelled into one breeding system like Pigs and Poultry.

Bull semen has come down in price over the years. Should I pay for the evaluation through levy or should the breeding company pay? Who knows. I just wouldn't mind betting the semen companies would rather do their own evaluations and create their own indexes as then it is just down to marketing. I'd rather see it in black and white.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Fair dos and obviously you can't beat independent advice.

Isn't there a signet equivalent for dairy?

 

[Chris F]

Running Live on Youtube from 10am -

 

[Chris F]

Also for everyone who has commented on the thread - you can submit official questions:

Ask us a question!​

You will have the chance to quiz your sector councils on how your levy will be invested, over the next five years, on services that deliver for your business. You’ll also get the opportunity to speak to members of your AHDB team.

Use the QR code below to get involved and sed us your questions on the new sector plans.




If we run out of time to answer all your questions during the event, don’t worry. We’ll publish answers to all the questions asked on the day after the event on the website to make sure everyone’s voice gets heard.

 

[yellowbelly]

Running Live on Youtube from 10am -

For those of us who are unable to 'tune in' at 10 o'clock (actual farming will be getting in the way) will we be able to watch this later on YouTube or the AHDB website or somewhere else?

It would be nice to see it in full, as it happened, rather than edited highlights.

 

[How Dairy]

Fair dos and obviously you can't beat independent advice.

Isn't there a signet equivalent for dairy?

Only for some breeds. The big cattle breeds are evaluated by an Aussie company ABRI. They used to be with Signet but went out alone. We look at figures for some Angus bulls but it’s only calving ease or 200d weights I’m interested in really.