GFC was to go ahead - now not going ahead

[delilah]

If it was a daily mail journalist I'd agree but as it's a farmers weekly journalist, a trade publication for farmers and paid by farmers to read then I don't.

You do expect a FW journalist to have a bit of loyalty to the readership however still feel emboldened to hold all people to account

I see it as the polar opposite of that.

If Abi wrote for the Daily Wail then I would expect her to have a bias, that reflected the Editors/owners views as to what the readership needs /wants to hear. FW needs to look after all of its readership and all of its commentators. If it starts to look like an anti-NFU publication then the NFU will stop talking to them.

 

[graham mc]

Shame the farming union don’t follow ur ideals

 

[SilliamWhale]

I see it as the polar opposite of that.

If Abi wrote for the Daily Wail then I would expect her to have a bias, that reflected the Editors/owners views as to what the readership needs /wants to hear. FW needs to look after all of its readership and all of its commentators. If it starts to look like an anti-NFU publication then the NFU will stop talking to them.

It's not anti NFU. I'm not anti NFU either. It's about getting to the nub of an issue and drilling down to the key issues of if decisions are being made have they been made ethically and competently

 

[Grass And Grain]

Not sure if this has already been posted, but the following is in the new farmers weekly:

Staffordshire farmer Clive Bailye has warned Red Tractor of a mass farmer withdrawal from its schemes, if it presses ahead with its Greener Farms Commitment (GFC).

Mr Bailye, who also runs The Farming Forum, has told Red Tractor chairwoman Christine Tacon that he will urge farmers on his forum to quit their farm assurance schemes if the GFC is introduced. He said: “If Red Tractor pushes ahead with the GFC on 1 April, there will be a mass co-ordination and data delete from the organisation. Such a move would be a high-stakes gamble that could kill Red Tractor completely.”

The British Farming Union (BFU) also wrote to Red Tractor chief executive Jim Moseley this week, telling him that if it launches the GFC, it will support farmers wishing to resign from its assurance schemes by pursuing “alternative market access, not excluding forming a new farmer-owned and governed assurance scheme”.

BFU chairman Steve Ridsdale said: “Farmers are sick and tired of being dictated to by supermarkets. This happens with pricing and supply chains, but now it’s happening with the GFC. Supermarkets have got to account for their Scope 3 emissions, but farmers are angry that through Red Tractor, they are trying to get their information for free through the GFC.” A Red Tractor spokesperson told Farmers Weekly there is “no possibility” the GFC will launch on 1 April and plans remain “on hold”.

Page 4 of this week's Farmers Weekly. This was a little box at bottom of the page, with main article above.

If anyone hasn't yet subscribed to Farmers Weekly, it's good stuff like this which should be your reason. They're telling the truth, they're not letting these big organisations control the narrative, their reporting will ultimately lead to Red Tractor being kept under control.

If it wasn't for FW, Red Tractor and NFU would have kept getting away with ignoring the views of farmers.

They're impartial. They're not biased. They're telling it like it is. We've previously had 20 years of NFU/AHDB/RT top people doing as they liked, whether farmers liked it or not.

Internet has meant us farmers have been able to work together, and not get trampled on by the elite who think they know what's good for us.

What they thought was good for us, was a single assurance brand. That led to us having to be members, it becoming the generic base acceptable standard, with zero price premium, but more and more added costs. A monopoly. We had to pay up to them. They increased their fees 30% the other year, and we could do nothing about it.

Well their time is up.

The truth always wins in the end.

 

[George Mitchell]

Does anyone actually know any clown that signed up for the gfc prostate exam? Our last RT inspector, a right sneaky weasel, was bragging in October about his wife (another inspector) starting inspections for it

 

[holwellcourtfarm]

Does anyone actually know any clown that signed up for the gfc prostate exam? Our last RT inspector, a right sneaky weasel, was bragging in October about his wife (another inspector) starting inspections for it

How could they? It hadn’t gone live yet? Sounds like bulls**t to me.

 

[George Mitchell]

How could they? It hadn’t gone live yet? Sounds like bulls**t to me.

He definitely said she was prepping for it, and considering it was 6 months before the supposed launch why even mention it... Maybe they had lined up NI as a guinea pig location

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

The announcement makes clear that they think the assurance industry is more important than the farmers being inspected.

 

[egbert]

I see it as the polar opposite of that.

If Abi wrote for the Daily Wail then I would expect her to have a bias, that reflected the Editors/owners views as to what the readership needs /wants to hear. FW needs to look after all of its readership and all of its commentators. If it starts to look like an anti-NFU publication then the NFU will stop talking to them.

So you think FW shouldn't allow a journo to dig into a story, exposing stuff that appeared outrageous to FW's core readership, and helped create a backlash that blew the story wide open?
Wow.
I'm not quite sure you understand the world very well.

I've thanked Abi for her integrity, and have already lauded the current editor, who's been a breath of fresh air at FW.

 

[texelburger]

Think I learnt something today.

Don't spout off to a journalist for half an hour, talking all around the subject. Otherwise there's a danger they pick out the bit which you didn't really mean to say. Just tell them the small snippet of info you want to get over.

My high flying neighbour was telling me that,years ago,he did an interview for the Daily Telegraph,I think. They edited it to such an extent the interview came across as the opposite to what he was saying.

 

[texelburger]

Was quick to start linking far right with protesting farmers.

That was shocking when he said that,went down alot in my estimation.

 

[Grass And Grain]

The announcement makes clear that they think the assurance industry is more important than the farmers being inspected.

Yep, according to them, important to make sure the RT "monopoly" continues. Funny that they own it

I think it's more important to have lots of competition in the assurance sector. RT monopoly is what's got us in this mess in the first place.

 

[Grass And Grain]

My high flying neighbour was telling me that,years ago,he did an interview for the Daily Telegraph,I think. They edited it to such an extent the interview came across as the opposite to what he was saying.

Journo did a balanced article, although did need to hunt about for the one single farmer who had something good to say about RT. She missed lots of my important points, but hey ho. The article was pretty decent. Got the story across that supermarkets want us to supply things unremunerated. Believe it or not, Joe Stanley said similar things to me.

 

[tepapa]

He definitely said she was prepping for it, and considering it was 6 months before the supposed launch why even mention it... Maybe they had lined up NI as a guinea pig location

They have trialled the GFC scheme on some farms according to something I read. I was amazed how not a single farmer that was part of the pilot mentioned it which makes you wonder who they piloted and were they members of the NFU .

 

[Rnold]

The announcement makes clear that they think the assurance industry is more important than the farmers being inspected.

RT should not be allowed to use the word industry. They have not got an industry. They don't create anything. All they do is create jobs by riding on the back of an industry that does create a source of revenue.

 

[matthew]

How could they? It hadn’t gone live yet? Sounds like bulls**t to me.

A few hnd pickled 'trial' farms. As @tepapa mentioned. Keeping their heads down now?

My high flying neighbour was telling me that,years ago,he did an interview for the Daily Telegraph,I think. They edited it to such an extent the interview came across as the opposite to what he was saying.

It happens which is why you either write your own press release, or approve a copy prior to printing.

Journo did a balanced article, although did need to hunt about for the one single farmer who had something good to say about RT. She missed lots of my important points, but hey ho. The article was pretty decent. Got the story across that supermarkets want us to supply things unremunerated. Believe it or not, Joe Stanley said similar things to me.

That was this week, and he's seen the winds of change.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

So you think FW shouldn't allow a journo to dig into a story, exposing stuff that appeared outrageous to FW's core readership, and helped create a backlash that blew the story wide open?
Wow.
I'm not quite sure you understand the world very well.

I've thanked Abi for her integrity, and have already lauded the current editor, who's been a breath of fresh air at FW.

I agree. Abi could just do lots of articles about using more inputs to keep the trade happy.

 

[Bury the Trash]

Red tractor should be shut down ASAP.

 

[Chris F]

So you think FW shouldn't allow a journo to dig into a story, exposing stuff that appeared outrageous to FW's core readership, and helped create a backlash that blew the story wide open?
Wow.
I'm not quite sure you understand the world very well.

I've thanked Abi for her integrity, and have already lauded the current editor, who's been a breath of fresh air at FW.

the changes at FW have been obvious. Whoever hired Andrew and Abi and given them the freedom to report without NFU/RT control, has breathed life back into it. we needed a stronger farming press. They have delivered.

 

[delilah]

So you think FW shouldn't allow a journo to dig into a story, exposing stuff that appeared outrageous to FW's core readership, and helped create a backlash that blew the story wide open?
Wow.
I'm not quite sure you understand the world very well.

No. I said that there is no need to thank a journalist for doing their job. Anyone who wants to do so, you crack on. Just remember to be consistent and thank them when they shine a light on your representative body of choice.

I understand the world just fine thanks .