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[steveR]

Just asking the question but does anyone actually think it is possible to unite farmers in a single organization and have them represented as one to the outside world? The farming community in my view is a amalgamation of many different views, some of which are completely opposed making a single voice representative of all sound like a utopia. Yes I think there needs to be a singular voice for farming to have a seat at the table and influence decision affecting farming. But is it a realistic thing to expect, hmmm not so sure.

Do you actually mean a "single voice for Farmers and Primary farming producers"...? As opposed to just "farming"?

Like many, I have serious doubts about the levels of influence of some of the Corporate "members" of the NFU on policy decisions, that may well not be in the best interests of actual farmers, people who produce and grow foodstuffs.

 

[tullah]

My "alternative vision" is to form a union that acts in farmers interests and not in the financial interests of the hierarchy of the non farming union.

 

[warksfarmer]

What’s your agenda @warksfarmer ?
You’re coming across as a bit obsessive.

If you think TFF is going to be where DEFRA gets it’s policy from you are very misguided. Our industry needs representation at the highest possible levels, and that isn’t coming from an Internet forum.

It comes from meeting politicians and civil servants, dealing with the media, feeding back to members, being proactive, having knowledgable specialists etc etc.

Would you be prepared to represent our industry on newsnight, or question time, or in double page spreads in the Daily Mail?
What’s your alternative vision other than a good moan?

We need a union that actually acts for us not against us.

They setup Red Tractor which shafts farmers.
They did nothing about the autumn spreading ban.
They do nothing about imports coming in produced using things banned in this country.
They’ve done nothing about trade agreements.

The list is endless but if your reply is that they have done stuff about the above then clearly they aren’t very good at it are they?

Their incompetent media dept promote themselves to their members rather than the other 68 million people in this country ……. Clever that isn’t it! And why agriculture is at an all time low of popularity within the general public.

 

[kfpben]

We need a union that actually acts for us not against us.

They setup Red Tractor which shafts farmers.
They did nothing about the autumn spreading ban.
They do nothing about imports coming in produced using things banned in this country.
They’ve done nothing about trade agreements.

The list is endless but if your reply is that they have done stuff about the above then clearly they aren’t very good at it are they?

Their incompetent media dept promote themselves to their members rather than the other 68 million people in this country ……. Clever that isn’t it! And why agriculture is at an all time low of popularity within the general public.

Firstly farmers have an incredibly high approval rating when you ask the general public, up there with doctors and nurses. Don’t confuse Monbiot et al with the general public.

The Autumn spreading ban- meetings with George Eustice and DEFRA about this have been, and remain ongoing. Lobbying of local MPs as well.
Red Tractor- set up c.20 years ago. Changes are clearly afoot, especially post Brexit.
Imports- NFU have been like a broken record on standards, imports and trade deals since the Referendum in 2016.

The issue is that the government has an 80 seat majority and can pretty much do what it likes.

I’m sure we’d all like to go in and meet Boris, thump our fists down, get angry and tell him how it’s going to be. What’s happens next week though when we need something from government? They simply won’t see us. The RHA are currently shut out of government as they are suspected of causing the fuel shortage.

 

[warksfarmer]

Firstly farmers have an incredibly high approval rating when you ask the general public, up there with doctors and nurses. Don’t confuse Monbiot et al with the general public.

The Autumn spreading ban- meetings with George Eustice and DEFRA about this have been, and remain ongoing. Lobbying of local MPs as well.
Red Tractor- set up c.20 years ago. Changes are clearly afoot, especially post Brexit.
Imports- NFU have been like a broken record on standards, imports and trade deals since the Referendum in 2016.

The issue is that the government has an 80 seat majority and can pretty much do what it likes.

I’m sure we’d all like to go in and meet Boris, thump our fists down, get angry and tell him how it’s going to be. What’s happens next week though when we need something from government? They simply won’t see us. The RHA are currently shut out of government as they are suspected of causing the fuel shortage.

What’s your position in the Nfu?

 

[kfpben]

What’s your position in the Nfu?

Farmer member.
Assistant Deputy Chairman Alton & Petersfield branch.

 

[warksfarmer]

Farmer member.
Assistant Deputy Chairman Alton & Petersfield branch.

Easily guessed I’m afraid.

What’s your position on one man one vote?

 

[ewald]

The NFU cannot do anything - they are a lobbying organisation, competing with other lobbying organisations diametrically opposed to our interests.

To say that the nfu should have 'done something ' about the autumn spreading ban (or any of the other issues that currently exercise us) is startlingly naive.
Politics doesn't work like this

 

[ajd132]

Firstly farmers have an incredibly high approval rating when you ask the general public, up there with doctors and nurses. Don’t confuse Monbiot et al with the general public.

The Autumn spreading ban- meetings with George Eustice and DEFRA about this have been, and remain ongoing. Lobbying of local MPs as well.
Red Tractor- set up c.20 years ago. Changes are clearly afoot, especially post Brexit.
Imports- NFU have been like a broken record on standards, imports and trade deals since the Referendum in 2016.

The issue is that the government has an 80 seat majority and can pretty much do what it likes.

I’m sure we’d all like to go in and meet Boris, thump our fists down, get angry and tell him how it’s going to be. What’s happens next week though when we need something from government? They simply won’t see us. The RHA are currently shut out of government as they are suspected of causing the fuel shortage.

The broken record comment says a lot. They have been hopelessly lobbying for years to try and make all standards imported the same as our own highly inflated ones whilst equally refusing to listen to farmers upset with the gold plated cartel red tractor which we are forced to joint to access our markets. Sadly much of what they are doing seems to be the wrong way around and rather than benefit farmers It benefits those who buy and sell from us.

 

[warksfarmer]

The NFU cannot do anything - they are a lobbying organisation, competing with other lobbying organisations diametrically opposed to our interests.

To say that the nfu should have 'done something ' about the autumn spreading ban (or any of the other issues that currently exercise us) is startlingly naive.
Politics doesn't work like this

Which is why I’m saying the Nfu is totally pointless to farming.

Farming is up against it as well all know. This is the worst it’s been for a 100 years and we don’t have anybody fighting our corner. We need direct action coordinated by a U.K. farming representative.

 

[ewald]

Direct action is working so well for Insulate Britain isn't it?
Public opposition, participants with criminal records - no thanks

 

[delilah]

Does this mean I need to rejoin yet.......?

What progress @delilah?

I'm guessing AGM is Feb, i'd best extract my digit.

 

[delilah]

Two observations pertinent to the last few posts:

1) Pick your battles. The NFU aren't very good at this.

2) Common ground. We have to form alliances with the environmental and social justice movement on issues that matter to us all. Because, as others have pointed out, we have no voice on our own. To use my fave analogy on this, no point putting our wagons in a circle we don't have enough wagons.

 

[BrianV]

Firstly farmers have an incredibly high approval rating when you ask the general public, up there with doctors and nurses. Don’t confuse Monbiot et al with the general public.

The Autumn spreading ban- meetings with George Eustice and DEFRA about this have been, and remain ongoing. Lobbying of local MPs as well.
Red Tractor- set up c.20 years ago. Changes are clearly afoot, especially post Brexit.
Imports- NFU have been like a broken record on standards, imports and trade deals since the Referendum in 2016.

The issue is that the government has an 80 seat majority and can pretty much do what it likes.

I’m sure we’d all like to go in and meet Boris, thump our fists down, get angry and tell him how it’s going to be. What’s happens next week though when we need something from government? They simply won’t see us. The RHA are currently shut out of government as they are suspected of causing the fuel shortage.

You see this is what I fail to understand, as far as I can make out farmers voluntarily take around 90% of all sewage sludge onto their farms, this must surely give the NFU a negotiating position every other union in the country would die for.
If the NFU said to the government that without a fair deal it would instruct every farmer in the country to stop taking sewage sludge onto their farms tell me what viable alternative would there be?
Can't see the eco lot accepting dumping at sea or landfill for very long & it would really have no cost to farmers themselves at least in the short term until a deal was done!
The NFU could threaten to release the names & addresses of any farmer that failed to comply with this instruction.
As I say what other union has the enviable power to create such a stink!!

 

[delilah]

You see this is what I fail to understand, as far as I can make out farmers voluntarily take around 90% of all sewage sludge onto their farms, this must surely give the NFU a negotiating position every other union in the country would die for.
If the NFU said to the government that without a fair deal it would instruct every farmer in the country to stop taking sewage sludge onto their farms tell me what viable alternative would there be?
Can't see the eco lot accepting dumping at sea or landfill for very long & it would really have no cost to farmers themselves at least in the short term until a deal was done!
The NFU could threaten to release the names & addresses of any farmer that failed to comply with this instruction.
As I say what other union has the enviable power to create such a stink!!

I'm sure there is a case for farmers charging good money to take this stuff, but i'm not sure you can tie it to wider issues.
If you say "we will only take the sludge if we get xyz" then you have got to be absolutely certain in what xyz is, you can't keep going back every 5 minutes changing it to abc. And given that there's 1000's of farmers taking the stuff, and they will all have their version of what xyz should be, you can't do it.

 

[Two Tone]

We all know this antagonism against the NFU mostly relates back to their Red Tractor situation.
A friend from Lincs who works for NFU is really pee’d of with the antagonistic stance she is being given by its members/recently former members.
I have recently really struggled to get my RT inspection before the new rules com in on 1st November. Fortunately I will now be assessed before that deadline. However, many assessors are resigning and many of those that remain are not at all happy. Especially about the implementation of the new rules and the utter stupidity of how foreign produce automatically becomes RT by the importing merchant.
I predict many other resignations from assessors and many of those farmers who still remain with RT at present.

There is no doubt whatsoever in my mind that NFU, RT including SAI and NSF are extremely worried about the situation. But they have only themselves to blame. If and when it gets to a PPI/Banks refund situation, they will really be in the sh!te.

 

[kfpben]

Which is why I’m saying the Nfu is totally pointless to farming.

Farming is up against it as well all know. This is the worst it’s been for a 100 years and we don’t have anybody fighting our corner. We need direct action coordinated by a U.K. farming representative.

Arthur Scargill tried direct action against a government with a large majority.
There aren’t many miners left now!

As for protests- my brother works in a pub in central London and says there are protests almost every weekend for something or other. During the Brexit issues it was incessant. They are all ignored by government. For lots of folk it’s just like a football away day- train to London with your ‘tribe’, few beers, sing some songs etc. A great day out but completely ineffective.

Talking and lobbying is really the only way to get things moving, unless you want a full blown overthrow of government.

 

[BrianV]

Arthur Scargill tried direct action against a government with a large majority.
There aren’t many miners left now!

As for protests- my brother works in a pub in central London and says there are protests almost every weekend for something or other. During the Brexit issues it was incessant. They are all ignored by government. For lots of folk it’s just like a football away day- train to London with your ‘tribe’, few beers, sing some songs etc. A great day out but completely ineffective.

Talking and lobbying is really the only way to get things moving, unless you want a full blown overthrow of government.

Protests in the street seldom achieve anything where as holding something over the government that they would be powerless to negate might just wake them up to the importance of keeping on the right side of UK farming, quiet lobbying this green lot in power doesn't seem to have achieved very much so far for UK farmers as far as I can see.

 

[tepapa]

Protests in the street seldom achieve anything where as holding something over the government that they would be powerless to negate might just wake them up to the importance of keeping on the right side of UK farming, quiet lobbying this green lot in power doesn't seem to have achieved very much so far for UK farmers as far as I can see.

Look at CF. Closed the fertilizer plant and held the government to ransom as there was no CO².

Nice big hand out and increased prices later and it's all forgetten about.

 

[warksfarmer]

Arthur Scargill tried direct action against a government with a large majority.
There aren’t many miners left now!

As for protests- my brother works in a pub in central London and says there are protests almost every weekend for something or other. During the Brexit issues it was incessant. They are all ignored by government. For lots of folk it’s just like a football away day- train to London with your ‘tribe’, few beers, sing some songs etc. A great day out but completely ineffective.

Talking and lobbying is really the only way to get things moving, unless you want a full blown overthrow of government.

What’s your position on one man one vote?