Devon NFU conference tomorrow

[Sid]

Nobody believes him, as he has no experience and no knowledge of the many factors that the manager has to deal with that joe bloggs hasn't a clue about.

Sounds like some/ most of the vegans and climate change mouth pieces !

 

[Guy Smith]

You did well.

Chunk chap was a very good speaker too, very natural. And cheered me up, we need more attitudes like that (in summary, he said bollox to vegans).

That’s very kind.

I thought all the speakers were interesting. Simon Bryon Edmund from Chunk Pasties is one of those gifted speakers who entertains and charms an audience to the point he can get away with saying contrary things - giving it to the vegans while explaining he sells and markets vegan pasties!

And to reiterate what Sid said - NFU membership is increasing in terms of numbers, income and acres and Devon shows the strongest performance.

 

[Bertram]

Just wondering .......what is the point of saying "bollox to the vegans " to a few farmers at a meeting ? . That's obviously going to be a crowd pleaser and go down well with the few farmers / members present .......why not say it direct to vegan crowd and do some real good !!!!

To be fair, that was my abridged version. There were some interesting facts from several speakers, which on the face of it were a bit depressing, particularly about trends for red meat consumption. Simon gave a different viewpoint, by demonstrating that it’s possible to counter argue that meat isn’t necessarily the work of the devil.

 

[Hawkes]

Guy gave a good speech, off the cuff with no notes. A very interesting talk by a pro farming professor , whose Nuffield report I mean to look up and re-read, a very useful talk from an AHDB lady giving us lots of statistics on food trends. The interesting thing is vegan is not growing dramatically but bumbling along at pretty much the same levels. The supermarkets are generating lots of noise because they make more profit from those lines, now there's a surprise. The pasty man was good at promoting his wares and entertaining but not much help in what direction we should all be aiming. The most horrifying statistic was that the UK appears to eat double the percentage of processed food than pretty much anywhere except Mexico. Obesity/diabetes etc etc
Then a very good lunch followed by the AGM and NFU housekeeping. Who says there is no such thing as a free lunch? What's not to like, a warm room out of the rain and a chance for an aged agric to be educated and fed. All good for me!

 

[Henarar]

That’s very kind.

I thought all the speakers were interesting. Simon Bryon Edmund from Chunk Pasties is one of those gifted speakers who entertains and charms an audience to the point he can get away with saying contrary things - giving it to the vegans while explaining he sells and markets vegan pasties!

And to reiterate what Sid said - NFU membership is increasing in terms of numbers, income and acres and Devon shows the strongest performance.

that's good it means more money to do something useful

 

[Sid]

that's good it means more money to do something useful

It could also mean people think they are doing a good job and want to support the union and to be part of it?

 

[Henarar]

It could also mean people think they are doing a good job and want to support the union and to be part of it?

Yep it could indeed mean both
Just sent my sub on so I hope they spend it on something useful

 

[Bury the Trash]

What is the cost of membership please, including the legal cover part..? ....genuine question.

 

[Henarar]

What is the cost of membership please, including the legal cover part..? ....genuine question.

Depends on how many acres you have

 

[Bury the Trash]

Depends on how many acres you have

I never did quite understand that, belong to any other 'union' and it would be a flat rate surely....well basic membership anyway..

Anyway, I still dont think we can afford it tbh.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Good analogy

Not really in my veiw, its just another condescending put down.

What a poor thing to say ' random people' ...as far as I know he is a hard working commited livestock farmer like plenty of other non members.

 

[gone up the hill]

You are never going to be listened to if you are not a member, unions have to listen to their members, not random people who want the benefits without the effort and expense.
You rant and rave on here but when did you last do something to help the industry? When did you give up your time to try to help others? At the moment you are like the guy in the pub saying he could manage Man U better. Nobody believes him, as he has no experience and no knowledge of the many factors that the manager has to deal with that joe bloggs hasn't a clue about. Either step up or quieten down and direct your energy somewhere that will do some good.

I have done plenty actually, the problem is the likes of the NFU/AHDB do NOT want to change!

 

[gone up the hill]

Good analogy

Only the other day on another thread you stated that there was a conflict of intrest that Minette Batters aka the NFU president also sits on the RT board, have you as a member told her this directly @An Gof?? and if you did what was her reply??

On a thread last year you stated ( quite correctly ) that if Minette decides she wants to do something/ support a particular idea she will do it regardless even if every NFU member at every meeting on the issue tells her they don't agree with her...

And as for the RT issue, the above comment above that said the NFU members at local meetings have said time and time again they don't agree with the top team/ Stoneleigh on issues like RT/ EID tagging etc yet the top team/ Stoneleigh still plough on regardless and supports these things just shows that the NFU at top level are NOT listening to grassroots members on issues like RT/ Farm assurance/ EID tagging/ etc etc.

 

[gone up the hill]

That’s very kind.

I thought all the speakers were interesting. Simon Bryon Edmund from Chunk Pasties is one of those gifted speakers who entertains and charms an audience to the point he can get away with saying contrary things - giving it to the vegans while explaining he sells and markets vegan pasties!

And to reiterate what Sid said - NFU membership is increasing in terms of numbers, income and acres and Devon shows the strongest performance.

How many members did the NFU have in 2017 and 2015 @Guy Smith ??

 

[An Gof]

Only the other day on another thread you stated that there was a conflict of intrest that Minette Batters aka the NFU president also sits on the RT board, have you as a member told her this directly @An Gof?? and if you did what was her reply??

I am adamant that there is a serious conflict of interest with Minette sitting on the main RT board as President of the NFU.
I have raised this issue at County Management Committee level so that it has been raised at Regional Board level. I have also made my views known at National level; I’m pretty sure Minette will have heard about my views on this ?

 

[homefarm]

What is the cost of membership please, including the legal cover part..? ....genuine question.

I have just received a join the NFU pack.
For farmer grower member it states £186.00 + £1.09/acre but a minimum of £211. Plus £35 for legal assistance scheme.
20 page book of freebies and discounts which could tempt me if I could get past my principles.

How many of you will vote for free broadband?

I am not saying being a NFU member is not a good deal for most of us, but that is very different to members being happy with the what they are trying to do on its members behalf.

Nobody seems willing to give the numbers at the AGM.
Some of you were there, tens, hundreds, thousands. After all it was free lunch yet another reason to join

 

[roscoe erf]

Off top of my head after a friday night out without my notes and being nearer 50 then 40......can't remember tbh.

so a mute point then ?

 

[ollie989898]

didn't do them any good though did it

Maybe they didn't say bollix to it loud enough?

 

[Bury the Trash]

I have just received a join the NFU pack.
For farmer grower member it states £186.00 + £1.09/acre but a minimum of £211. Plus £35 for legal assistance scheme.
20 page book of freebies and discounts which could tempt me if I could get past my principles.

How many of you will vote for free broadband?

I am not saying being a NFU member is not a good deal for most of us, but that is very different to members being happy with the what they are trying to do on its members behalf.

Nobody seems willing to give the numbers at the AGM.
Some of you were there, tens, hundreds, thousands. After all it was free lunch yet another reason to join

Thankyou, that's a very straight forward and useful reply.

 

[homefarm]

Thankyou, that's a very straight forward and useful reply.

I was surprised the NFU members had not been there before me, because it does seem good value if you want freebies and discounts.

any member care to comment on the cost of membership and what they have saved on discounts lots on there.

cars spares building materials legal. Do you save more than you spend?