Defra: Open consultation Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB) reform

TFF

Member
Location
Hammerwich

Consultation description​

We want to know what you think about proposals to reform the AHDB to end statutory levies in the horticulture and potato sectors in their current form in Great Britain.
We also want your views on proposals to improve the accountability of the AHDB to other levy paying sectors through a new regular vote on what the levy will be spent on.
In addition, we want your views on enabling the AHDB to operate in other (non-levy paying) agricultural sectors so they can manage services such as export market development where there is demand from industry for this.


This consultation closes at
11:45pm on 10 January 2022

Time to have your say.
 

Dave645

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
N Lincs
Last edited:

Chris F

Staff Member
Media
Location
Hammerwich
https://projectblue.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/About AHDB/Reports and reviews/HC411-AHDB ARA 2019-20_Web_Accessible.pdf

can anyone find the time to read this and make sense of it it’s supposed to be there accounting

do they show from what sector they pull what income from?

I did note they had 7 consultants/hired helpers, for durations of over 6 months costing more than £245 a day that is 0ver 30k for 6 mounts work taking 5 days a week for 25 weeks min.

out of a total income of £59m I think the £245 a day is nothing to be upset about. Day rates are generally higher than that. Especially for short contracts. For instance, our developer day rate for TFF is £400 - £515 a day.

generally there is not much detail in these overall reports.

Main thing that stands out to me is the mass change in the executive team. Although I’m enjoying working with Rebecca now she has joined agrimetrics.
 

Hindsight

Member
Location
Lincolnshire
https://projectblue.blob.core.windows.net/media/Default/About AHDB/Reports and reviews/HC411-AHDB ARA 2019-20_Web_Accessible.pdf

can anyone find the time to read this and make sense of it it’s supposed to be there accounting

do they show from what sector they pull what income from?

I did note they had 7 consultants/hired helpers, for durations of over 6 months costing more than £245 a day that is 0ver 30k for 6 mounts work taking 5 days a week for 25 weeks min.

out of a total income of £59m I think the £245 a day is nothing to be upset about. Day rates are generally higher than that. Especially for short contracts. For instance, our developer day rate for TFF is £400 - £515 a day.

generally there is not much detail in these overall reports.

Main thing that stands out to me is the mass change in the executive team. Although I’m enjoying working with Rebecca now she has joined agrimetrics.

Page 48 looks the page to go to - took me 60 seconds to scroll through to find it.

£245 day is a cheap rate for a non employed consultant. Of course we do not know who they were or the service. But circa £350 plus would be rates usually in DEFRA type contracts. And that doesn't pay the person much once expenses, Indemnity insurance etc taken out.
 

Dave645

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
N Lincs




This consultation closes at
11:45pm on 10 January 2022

Time to have your say.
I think it’s important that farmers vote in this consultation.
https://consult.defra.gov.uk/ahdb-relationship-team/ahdb-order/
Questions 14 and 15 will have long felt effects for uk farmers . If we lose the right to vote to stop paying levies, if we feel not represented, or helped by them. The only reason they are playing at reforming themselves is because they got booted for no doing their job for the potatoes industry. If that threat disappears you can guess it will not be long before they go back to their old ways, ignoring farmers.

3D378636-CFDA-470E-8A9F-CB457C8577A7.jpeg
739238DF-31A1-4994-9DE9-7650E3A305B2.jpeg

So take this chance and protect our industry from unaccountable government bodies.
Next vote to have a say in question 14.
At the end of the consultation ask for the right to pick who runs the AHDB while they say we will get levy payers on the board or ex levy payers, that still lets them pick for themselves who they get to run this farming funded levies board, so ask to be able to pick the representatives that make up the 50% that are levy payers.
In reality they only need one yes man in our 50% of the board to overrule the 50% that is supposed to represent farmers in this new reform.
I would also have asked for 51% plus % representation of the board as the people that are funding the thing, should always have a controlling stake. Only having 50% and no say over who actually gets to be a control board member seems to me not a true reform and all the more reason to retain the option for a vote to drop levies with question 15.

don’t sleep walk, through this consultation make your opinion known. Don’t let them spend our money while we get no real say.
 

Chris F

Staff Member
Media
Location
Hammerwich
The crazy thing about this is that AHDB have now launched their own consultation. So there are two running at the same time on the future of AHDB and how the money should be spent.

Surely these should run contiguously not together as the Defra one could make the AHDB one a pointless exercise.

@Defra Farming
 

Sid

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
South Molton
Trying to gather levy payers details as they don't actually have a list of who pays. This process closes end of march.

Perversely the election for sector board closes on 15th Jan, so they can't message everyone to see if they get any fresh blood .

Present incumbent couldn't see an issue with this as it's all on the website if you look it up....you have to be in the know you know to know.
 

Chris F

Staff Member
Media
Location
Hammerwich
Trying to gather levy payers details as they don't actually have a list of who pays. This process closes end of march.

Perversely the election for sector board closes on 15th Jan, so they can't message everyone to see if they get any fresh blood .

Present incumbent couldn't see an issue with this as it's all on the website if you look it up....you have to be in the know you know to know.

Which one - Defra consultation or AHDB consultation? Defra can't hand farmers details to AHDB based on this survey - it would breach GDPR.
 

Sid

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
South Molton

Chris F

Staff Member
Media
Location
Hammerwich

That isn't the consultation this thread is talking about @Sid which has made everything very complicated. But 100% agree with you. This is a data mining exercise for AHDB.
 

Farma Parma

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Northumberlandia
Ive sort of went thru this but by heck all that speel takes some digesting.
had to put no comments on some sections but i have mentioned can a tiny portion the levy money not be used to run a Grain Assurance scheme !!
all us Farmers get plenty taken off our produce & not once bit of control where it all ends up.
By my recconing up there taking Soz edited 56p off every ton of grain i sell for a start.
this does add up
Yes i do like all the info they provide etc etc but so i should iam paying for it anyways
 
Last edited:

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,287
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top