Guy Smiths steps down from Red Tractor

[Exfarmer]

Guy Smith has always worked very hard for farmings best interests and had bugger all praise for it from many in the industry, he believes as I do the best way to get change is from the inside and out moaning on the outside.
I very much hope his reasons are because he has decided enough is enough and that it is not his health.

 

[SilliamWhale]

Guy Smith has always worked very hard for farmings best interests and had bugger all praise for it from many in the industry, he believes as I do the best way to get change is from the inside and out moaning on the outside.
I very much hope his reasons are because he has decided enough is enough and that it is not his health.

I disagree with you about change on the inside, in fact I hate that view.

The world has changed now from 30 years ago and now everyone has a voice thanks to the internet and just the general ebbing away of social structures such as class, status from what might be considered prestige or maybe in farming's case, owning large acres may have given a viewpoint extra weight etc. Things are much more open now, dialogue is more open and so are expectations so there is definitely a flattening of hierarchies.

You only have to see how large companies can change rapidly if there reaction to their products or perceptions of their practices.

The idea that any external views are "moaning" is I think outdated.

So for those who are shining a light on things, getting to the truth of the matter via debate and very robust discussion about our industry and the way it is being co-opted by corporations - radical transparency is way way better than letting democratic views die behind closed doors.

 

[David.]

That does somewhat ignore the fact that there is always a political agenda to tighten rules and make industry pay the bill.
Politics often works by negotiating the least bad outcome, and you can’t do that if you are not at the table.

 

[SilliamWhale]

That does somewhat ignore the fact that there is always a political agenda to tighten rules and make industry pay the bill.
Politics often works by negotiating the least bad outcome, and you can’t do that if you are not at the table.

However, we are compelled to comply with any regulations presented to us. That is a code we can all generally recognise as a fair exchange even if we don't like those rules.

We are not compelled to acquiesce to extra rules created for no purpose which are actually apolitical. We are at the table now, discussing it. The behind closed doors table is where democratic viewpoints are easy to kill

 

[farenheit]

Guy Smith has always worked very hard for farmings best interests and had bugger all praise for it from many in the industry, he believes as I do the best way to get change is from the inside and out moaning on the outside.
I very much hope his reasons are because he has decided enough is enough and that it is not his health.

This is literally another way of phrasing what Andrew Blenkiron was saying about ‘backstabbers’

 

[Drillman]

Red Tractor are not the farmers' friend - Red Tractor are in it for themselves and to enrich themselves no matter how they structure their business around "promoting agriculture", everyone needs to remember that.

They have not added a bean of value to anyone's business yet. If they did then they would have our bank details not vice versa. Red Tractor in effect run a highly abusive and coercive operation - and if we haven't kicked up as much fuss as people have you can be assured the hydra is going to get a whole lot worse - with no scrutiny.

That is a very well put post. And sums red tractor up in a nutshell.

Essentially there is nothing wrong with free enterprise to make money, (yes they claim to be not for profit but it’s a fact the staff and management don’t work for nothing) But how they conduct themselves towards the people who they lean on for funding is a disgrace.

 

[Andy Nash]

A thoroughly decent man, who I believe was involved for all the right reasons.
I too hope that all is well with him and his family.

 

[bobk]

If you can't stand the heat .....

 

[DrWazzock]

He was a decent bloke au fond. I wish him well and hope he’s alright.

 

[Andy Nash]

If you can't stand the heat .....

Whatever…

 

[bobk]

Whatever…

Top post

 

[farmerfred86]

Jumping ship because he doesn’t want to be involved with the PPI of agriculture or just had enough of politics and wants to go back to farming?

The PPI? looking forward to my RT payout when they are proven not to have added any value to their members.

 

[Exfarmer]

I disagree with you about change on the inside, in fact I hate that view.

The world has changed now from 30 years ago and now everyone has a voice thanks to the internet and just the general ebbing away of social structures such as class, status from what might be considered prestige or maybe in farming's case, owning large acres may have given a viewpoint extra weight etc. Things are much more open now, dialogue is more open and so are expectations so there is definitely a flattening of hierarchies.

You only have to see how large companies can change rapidly if there reaction to their products or perceptions of their practices.

The idea that any external views are "moaning" is I think outdated.

So for those who are shining a light on things, getting to the truth of the matter via debate and very robust discussion about our industry and the way it is being co-opted by corporations - radical transparency is way way better than letting democratic views die behind closed doors.

I agree with many of the comments / moans about the NFU and especially Red Tractor.
I cannot any longer claim to be a farmer but have done and continue to press for what ever is best for farming.
I have more than once been chairman of the local NFU branch and have an insight in the why's and wherefores of the problems it faces. Firstly the challenges of representing such a diverse industry.
We see regular bitter arguments on here between the myriad of differing views regarding so many issues on agriculture alone. If there were ten different bodies replacing the NFU , you can be certain there would be calls for ten more.
However every time you set up a separate body , you divide the political power and clout in half.
We already have plenty of groups out there, RSPCA, SA, RSPB, The Greens, WWF, CIWF, PETA, The Ramblers, CFRE etc.etc.etc. Who are determined to make farming anything from difficult to down right impossible. Who claim to represent everything in the countryside and country people, and to be brutally honest in terms of pure numbers I would guess they outnumber farmers possibly 100 to one or more in terms of supporters and votes.
Farmers more than ever with their ever declining numbers need a single industry body which represents them all, whatever their views and that is not easy and involves a lot of compromise. Currently the NFU attempts to do this which means it satisfies no one really, but that has always been and always will be the case.
How does it do its job better, that is simple bit needs all members to go along and speak their views. Dont just send dad as has always been the case. I was lucky having chaired my first meeting at the age of 25 after leaving college my father told me that the NFU needed young peoples views and sent me along and rarely went again.
I certainly ruffled many feathers as various old members harrumphed and hummed about these new fangled ideas, while their sons were at home doing just that while dad was not about.
I watched as various members carried on their petty feuds in meeting after meeting which made me very angry as it continually took up time which was valuable. Meeting their sons at agronomy of dairy industry meetings who would laugh at the antics of their fathers, but it kept him out of the way while they ran the farms.
Sadly you have the NFU you have chosen by not going to meetings and supporting candidates like Guy who have worked very hard to modernise things.
I confess, I too never had the time that I would have liked to do more and perhaps go higher in the organisation but I knew also that I would never had the votes from all the old duffers to do it anyway.

 

[buttercup]

I agree with many of the comments / moans about the NFU and especially Red Tractor.
I cannot any longer claim to be a farmer but have done and continue to press for what ever is best for farming.
I have more than once been chairman of the local NFU branch and have an insight in the why's and wherefores of the problems it faces. Firstly the challenges of representing such a diverse industry.
We see regular bitter arguments on here between the myriad of differing views regarding so many issues on agriculture alone. If there were ten different bodies replacing the NFU , you can be certain there would be calls for ten more.
However every time you set up a separate body , you divide the political power and clout in half.
We already have plenty of groups out there, RSPCA, SA, RSPB, The Greens, WWF, CIWF, PETA, The Ramblers, CFRE etc.etc.etc. Who are determined to make farming anything from difficult to down right impossible. Who claim to represent everything in the countryside and country people, and to be brutally honest in terms of pure numbers I would guess they outnumber farmers possibly 100 to one or more in terms of supporters and votes.
Farmers more than ever with their ever declining numbers need a single industry body which represents them all, whatever their views and that is not easy and involves a lot of compromise. Currently the NFU attempts to do this which means it satisfies no one really, but that has always been and always will be the case.
How does it do its job better, that is simple bit needs all members to go along and speak their views. Dont just send dad as has always been the case. I was lucky having chaired my first meeting at the age of 25 after leaving college my father told me that the NFU needed young peoples views and sent me along and rarely went again.
I certainly ruffled many feathers as various old members harrumphed and hummed about these new fangled ideas, while their sons were at home doing just that while dad was not about.
I watched as various members carried on their petty feuds in meeting after meeting which made me very angry as it continually took up time which was valuable. Meeting their sons at agronomy of dairy industry meetings who would laugh at the antics of their fathers, but it kept him out of the way while they ran the farms.
Sadly you have the NFU you have chosen by not going to meetings and supporting candidates like Guy who have worked very hard to modernise things.
I confess, I too never had the time that I would have liked to do more and perhaps go higher in the organisation but I knew also that I would never had the votes from all the old duffers to do it anyway.

You have summed things up really well, have just had a red tractor come out, I now belive that is now red tractor needs to be wound up, hopes little for the farmer or consumer

 

[hally]

I agree with many of the comments / moans about the NFU and especially Red Tractor.
I cannot any longer claim to be a farmer but have done and continue to press for what ever is best for farming.
I have more than once been chairman of the local NFU branch and have an insight in the why's and wherefores of the problems it faces. Firstly the challenges of representing such a diverse industry.
We see regular bitter arguments on here between the myriad of differing views regarding so many issues on agriculture alone. If there were ten different bodies replacing the NFU , you can be certain there would be calls for ten more.
However every time you set up a separate body , you divide the political power and clout in half.
We already have plenty of groups out there, RSPCA, SA, RSPB, The Greens, WWF, CIWF, PETA, The Ramblers, CFRE etc.etc.etc. Who are determined to make farming anything from difficult to down right impossible. Who claim to represent everything in the countryside and country people, and to be brutally honest in terms of pure numbers I would guess they outnumber farmers possibly 100 to one or more in terms of supporters and votes.
Farmers more than ever with their ever declining numbers need a single industry body which represents them all, whatever their views and that is not easy and involves a lot of compromise. Currently the NFU attempts to do this which means it satisfies no one really, but that has always been and always will be the case.
How does it do its job better, that is simple bit needs all members to go along and speak their views. Dont just send dad as has always been the case. I was lucky having chaired my first meeting at the age of 25 after leaving college my father told me that the NFU needed young peoples views and sent me along and rarely went again.
I certainly ruffled many feathers as various old members harrumphed and hummed about these new fangled ideas, while their sons were at home doing just that while dad was not about.
I watched as various members carried on their petty feuds in meeting after meeting which made me very angry as it continually took up time which was valuable. Meeting their sons at agronomy of dairy industry meetings who would laugh at the antics of their fathers, but it kept him out of the way while they ran the farms.
Sadly you have the NFU you have chosen by not going to meetings and supporting candidates like Guy who have worked very hard to modernise things.
I confess, I too never had the time that I would have liked to do more and perhaps go higher in the organisation but I knew also that I would never had the votes from all the old duffers to do it anyway.

Does that not sum up why you cant change an organisation from the inside. One or two modernising guys cant out vote a whole board of blinkered old farts. Change has to be forced upon them. Making the key decisions for your own benefit behind closed doors is a route for the likes of Putin, and not the way for an organisation like the NFU, that pretends to be democratic.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

I agree with many of the comments / moans about the NFU and especially Red Tractor.
I cannot any longer claim to be a farmer but have done and continue to press for what ever is best for farming.
I have more than once been chairman of the local NFU branch and have an insight in the why's and wherefores of the problems it faces. Firstly the challenges of representing such a diverse industry.
We see regular bitter arguments on here between the myriad of differing views regarding so many issues on agriculture alone. If there were ten different bodies replacing the NFU , you can be certain there would be calls for ten more.
However every time you set up a separate body , you divide the political power and clout in half.
We already have plenty of groups out there, RSPCA, SA, RSPB, The Greens, WWF, CIWF, PETA, The Ramblers, CFRE etc.etc.etc. Who are determined to make farming anything from difficult to down right impossible. Who claim to represent everything in the countryside and country people, and to be brutally honest in terms of pure numbers I would guess they outnumber farmers possibly 100 to one or more in terms of supporters and votes.
Farmers more than ever with their ever declining numbers need a single industry body which represents them all, whatever their views and that is not easy and involves a lot of compromise. Currently the NFU attempts to do this which means it satisfies no one really, but that has always been and always will be the case.
How does it do its job better, that is simple bit needs all members to go along and speak their views. Dont just send dad as has always been the case. I was lucky having chaired my first meeting at the age of 25 after leaving college my father told me that the NFU needed young peoples views and sent me along and rarely went again.
I certainly ruffled many feathers as various old members harrumphed and hummed about these new fangled ideas, while their sons were at home doing just that while dad was not about.
I watched as various members carried on their petty feuds in meeting after meeting which made me very angry as it continually took up time which was valuable. Meeting their sons at agronomy of dairy industry meetings who would laugh at the antics of their fathers, but it kept him out of the way while they ran the farms.
Sadly you have the NFU you have chosen by not going to meetings and supporting candidates like Guy who have worked very hard to modernise things.
I confess, I too never had the time that I would have liked to do more and perhaps go higher in the organisation but I knew also that I would never had the votes from all the old duffers to do it anyway.

Excellent post.
The NFU at local and regional level, are very good.
It is all the 'old members' at the top that are not for changing minds or personnel.
They are far too cosy with vested interests and too often support them rather than the working farmer.

 

[warksfarmer]

I agree with many of the comments / moans about the NFU and especially Red Tractor.
I cannot any longer claim to be a farmer but have done and continue to press for what ever is best for farming.
I have more than once been chairman of the local NFU branch and have an insight in the why's and wherefores of the problems it faces. Firstly the challenges of representing such a diverse industry.
We see regular bitter arguments on here between the myriad of differing views regarding so many issues on agriculture alone. If there were ten different bodies replacing the NFU , you can be certain there would be calls for ten more.
However every time you set up a separate body , you divide the political power and clout in half.
We already have plenty of groups out there, RSPCA, SA, RSPB, The Greens, WWF, CIWF, PETA, The Ramblers, CFRE etc.etc.etc. Who are determined to make farming anything from difficult to down right impossible. Who claim to represent everything in the countryside and country people, and to be brutally honest in terms of pure numbers I would guess they outnumber farmers possibly 100 to one or more in terms of supporters and votes.
Farmers more than ever with their ever declining numbers need a single industry body which represents them all, whatever their views and that is not easy and involves a lot of compromise. Currently the NFU attempts to do this which means it satisfies no one really, but that has always been and always will be the case.
How does it do its job better, that is simple bit needs all members to go along and speak their views. Dont just send dad as has always been the case. I was lucky having chaired my first meeting at the age of 25 after leaving college my father told me that the NFU needed young peoples views and sent me along and rarely went again.
I certainly ruffled many feathers as various old members harrumphed and hummed about these new fangled ideas, while their sons were at home doing just that while dad was not about.
I watched as various members carried on their petty feuds in meeting after meeting which made me very angry as it continually took up time which was valuable. Meeting their sons at agronomy of dairy industry meetings who would laugh at the antics of their fathers, but it kept him out of the way while they ran the farms.
Sadly you have the NFU you have chosen by not going to meetings and supporting candidates like Guy who have worked very hard to modernise things.
I confess, I too never had the time that I would have liked to do more and perhaps go higher in the organisation but I knew also that I would never had the votes from all the old duffers to do it anyway.

Good post.

I’d rejoin the NFU if they allowed OMOV and they got rid of RT and replaced it with equal to imports scheme.

That’s it. That’s all they need to do to get rid of the discontent.

They won’t do either of the above though because OMOV would mean an end to their little cosy club and gravy train and as for RT it’s their way of controlling an unruly bunch of people. Farmers hold all the cards but we arent allowed to have our own voice because we are to dangerous.

 

[Tamar]

Ditto.

I would rejoin the NFU if they actually stood up against RT.

Don't think it's going to happen though !

 

[bobk]

Ditto.

I would rejoin the NFU if they actually stood up against RT.

Don't think it's going to happen though !

NFU is RT

 

[ollie989898]

So he can join the BFU and not be compromised ?

No, the backstabber farming union is for backstabbers only.