Groundswell. Where is the press coverage?

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
One of the things I did notice.... was that when looking around for who to ask to speak for us, the public and government have a tendency to go to those who are the most visible, the loudest, the flag wavers and those with good social media profiles. The problem is, there is a tendency to end up being represented by those seeking self promotion, or who’s situation abs ideas have little relevance to the rest of us. We are often told they are doing amazing things, they are leading the charge. They are often decidedly 2d and you can see through them if you know the score. Those who are doing amazing things are usually too busy head down, ass up, grafting away to enact change with little thought to self promotion.
Some of us ARE having a go. We made submissions to the EFRA committee on ELMS, gave evidence in person and met with the senior FG journalist at Groundswell on Thursday to try to push some of these points home.

When the national organisations set up to represent us fail to, or at least fall a portion of us, then it's up to us to get off our arses and have a go.
 

yellowbelly

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
N.Lincs
Is there a way to request a Q&A from AHDB on the topic of how it's let itself be misguided?
Well, we do appear to have 'two esteemed members' here on TFF......
@AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds and his 'brother' @AHDB News perhaps either of them might be a way in.

I do notice that @AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds describes the AHDB, in his profile, thus..........

Farmer-led and farmer-driven, our Monitor Farms across the country are bringing growers and experts together to share experience, discuss the latest farming challenges and analyse their businesses.

So who are these farmers that are leading us by skimming off our levy money to come out with the cr@p that @delilah highlights in post #23 above??

They're using our money (which is supposed to be used for the promotion of our produce) to come up with hair brained schemes to drastically reduce our production.

It's just like turkeys voting for Christmas :banghead:
 
I agree, the businesses that are really successful or innovating rarely share all their secrets for obvious reasons. I must say I can think of several occasions where I've listened to someone who can clearly present, orate or market themselves extremely well but the reality behind what has been presented is often very different.

To be honest that is all the time.

Everyone presents a version of themselves they want to project. That goes for you and me too, its human nature.

I have visited plenty of "guru's" over the years and I could pick plenty of holes in what they were doing (and someone can do the same for me too) however I always learn something from them even and crucially they are usually trying to acheive something even if the vision and reality don't match up. On the flipside a consultant can never do wrong because they are not as invested but their experience is not as interesting as the person trying to get to where they want to.

So I never go hard on people who are presenting something when they have skin in the game. Farming is not an easy skill to perfect
 
Funnily enough a few folk said I should have a talk 😂 I do enough of it. 😂 but someone has to give the side of the tenant farmer / grazier. We don’t all own large estates we can use as the canvas to create all of these wonderful things. And some of us need to produce food ...... to sell ...... to it our house rent.

Well sure.

I think if you, @unlacedgecko and @Tim W did a session on sheep and a compare and contrast of you approaches I'm sure it would be of a lot of interest.

I think I'm right in thinking the 3 of you are what may have been called "Gypsy shepherds" way back?
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
One of the things I did notice.... was that when looking around for who to ask to speak for us, the public and government have a tendency to go to those who are the most visible, the loudest, the flag wavers and those with good social media profiles. The problem is, there is a tendency to end up being represented by those seeking self promotion, or who’s situation abs ideas have little relevance to the rest of us. We are often told they are doing amazing things, they are leading the charge. They are often decidedly 2d and you can see through them if you know the score. Those who are doing amazing things are usually too busy head down, ass up, grafting away to enact change with little thought to self promotion.

Very true.
 

unlacedgecko

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Fife
Well sure.

I think if you, @unlacedgecko and @Tim W did a session on sheep and a compare and contrast of you approaches I'm sure it would be of a lot of interest.

I think I'm right in thinking the 3 of you are what may have been called "Gypsy shepherds" way back?

I must respectfully decline.

No need for me to be on a panel. Lack of secure access to land is the biggest hurdle. If this can be overcome then everything else is details.

Unfortunately this won't change under current land rules. Indeed ELMS appears to be encouraging more landlords to take land, so that they may obtain max tax payer funds.
 

martian

DD Moderator
BASE UK Member
Location
N Herts
Back to the OP...there were a lot of press people there and I talked to a few of them. Most were incredibly impressed by the enthusiasm of the farmers there and the sense that this was a farmer led revolution, working out a system of farming in harmony with nature, growing good food with the minimum of bought inputs, delighting in the increased biodiversity above and below ground, making their businesses and land more resilient against future shocks. There were also urban foodies there who got really excited by the story and I daresay we'll hear from them in the coming weeks.

I listened to the Farmers Weekly podcast last night, they covered the show quite well, but, as you listen you can't quite ignore the adverts for fancy new varieties of wheat or spray nozzles or expensive kit and you realise who's paying their wages...at the end of the podcast it was all 'that was all a bit of fun, but regen ag is a fad and let's get back to screwing the farmers out of their hard earned cash so they can buy stuff that will knacker their soil and, probably, their businesses'.

I love reading stuff in the press, but you always have to follow the money. Regenerative agriculture is an existential threat to a lot of businesses who currently supply farmers with goods or information, so it won't be universally well reported. The same goes for posters on here, you can't help but wonder why some are so vitriolic about it...
 

B'o'B

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Rutland
I must respectfully decline.

No need for me to be on a panel. Lack of secure access to land is the biggest hurdle. If this can be overcome then everything else is details.

Unfortunately this won't change under current land rules. Indeed ELMS appears to be encouraging more landlords to take land, so that they may obtain max tax payer funds.
I can understand your reason, but I'm not sure it should stop you going on a panel discussion at Groundswell.
It fact, I would say the next couple of years is exactly the time you should be showing people what you do, why it is important and meets environmental/social aims, and why policy shouldn't be written in a way that excludes you from the land. Highlighting the issues you face is just as important as showing what you achieve.
Just my 2p worth.
PS. How long can current land tax rules stay as they are? How long before a cash strapped government turns its spotlight Ag land tax reliefs on land that is no longer being used for Ag? We are in a period of change in Ag and wider society not seen for several generations and it is impossible to see how the cards will eventually fall.
Many times I have done things as favours for people or gone to something (mainly non-Ag) that I was just curious about, but I have learnt something having doing that, which I can then use or apply to a completely unrelated thing (often years later).
 
Last edited:

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
I can understand your reason, but I'm not sure it should stop you going on a panel discussion at Groundswell.
It fact it I would say the next couple of years is exactly the time you should be showing people what you do, why it is important and meets environmental/social aims, and why policy shouldn't be written in a way that excludes you from the land. Highlighting the issues you face is just as important as showing what you achieve.
Just my 2p worth.
PS. How long can current land tax rules stay as they are? How long before a cash strapped government turns its spotlight Ag land tax reliefs on land that is no longer being used for Ag? We are in a period of change in Ag and wider society not seen for several generations and it is impossible to see how the cards will eventually fall.
Many times I have done things as favours for people or gone to something (mainly non-Ag) that I was just curious about, but have learnt something in doing that (years later) I can use or apply to a completely unrelated thing.
@unlacedgecko you'd make a great discussion panel member.

You have things to say that need airing and the attitude to get it said in the face of any opposition.
 

holwellcourtfarm

Member
Livestock Farmer
Back to the OP...there were a lot of press people there and I talked to a few of them. Most were incredibly impressed by the enthusiasm of the farmers there and the sense that this was a farmer led revolution, working out a system of farming in harmony with nature, growing good food with the minimum of bought inputs, delighting in the increased biodiversity above and below ground, making their businesses and land more resilient against future shocks. There were also urban foodies there who got really excited by the story and I daresay we'll hear from them in the coming weeks.

I listened to the Farmers Weekly podcast last night, they covered the show quite well, but, as you listen you can't quite ignore the adverts for fancy new varieties of wheat or spray nozzles or expensive kit and you realise who's paying their wages...at the end of the podcast it was all 'that was all a bit of fun, but regen ag is a fad and let's get back to screwing the farmers out of their hard earned cash so they can buy stuff that will knacker their soil and, probably, their businesses'.

I love reading stuff in the press, but you always have to follow the money. Regenerative agriculture is an existential threat to a lot of businesses who currently supply farmers with goods or information, so it won't be universally well reported. The same goes for posters on here, you can't help but wonder why some are so vitriolic about it...
Were there any from non-agriculural media, mainstream press and the like? If not they won't be far behind because the event profile is starting to leak out into mainstream society.
 

Ffermer Bach

Member
Livestock Farmer
I thought I recognised a TV presenter attending.

hope Ffermio are there next year

Dear Richard,



Thank you for contacting S4C.



I will be sure to pass on your e-mail and comments to the relevant people within S4C and the production company behind Ffermio.



Kind regards,



Russell Jones

Swyddog Y Wifren

Viewers' Hotline Officer

+44(0) 370 600 4141

Rydw i’n siaradwr Cymraeg rhugl.

I am a fluent Welsh speaker.
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
hope Ffermio are there next year

Dear Richard,



Thank you for contacting S4C.



I will be sure to pass on your e-mail and comments to the relevant people within S4C and the production company behind Ffermio.



Kind regards,



Russell Jones

Swyddog Y Wifren

Viewers' Hotline Officer

+44(0) 370 600 4141

Rydw i’n siaradwr Cymraeg rhugl.

I am a fluent Welsh speaker.
I really enjoy watching fermio in scotland with subtitles
We have no equivalent programme
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
How many people were involved in this event, and what proportion of the UK Ag industry does that represent?
Whilst many of you on this thread appear to be firm believers, and I would no doubt be interested in some of it myself, I would suggest that the vast majority of UK Ag isn’t particularly interested in what you have to say.
It will no doubt receive some reporting in the press, but it isn’t necessarily a cult that everyone should necessarily want to sign up to, regardless of how passionate some of the advocates appear to be.

There, I’ve said it. You may begin throwing stones now.🤐
 

cb387

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Cotswolds
Did anyone from the NFU actually attend in an official capacity?

to:

Talk to farmers (their employers, ha , ha)
Gauge opinion of an important new direction for ag
Learn something
Report back to HQ

then:

Promote this new green / carbon capturing / tree hugging / environmentally friendly to wider press / public etc

Or did I blink and miss their involvement?
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
Well sure.

I think if you, @unlacedgecko and @Tim W did a session on sheep and a compare and contrast of you approaches I'm sure it would be of a lot of interest.

I think I'm right in thinking the 3 of you are what may have been called "Gypsy shepherds" way back?

For balance, would the panel also include some sheep farmers who farm more traditional systems?
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 80 42.3%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 34.9%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 15.9%
  • 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

  • 1,293
  • 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