Janet Hughes

[warksfarmer]

Hi Janet, thank you for the reply to my question. I can’t reply as the thread is shut for some reason so I’ve started this thread. Your reply was:


‘’Hello - thanks for your question

We're not planning for Red Tractor or any other assurance scheme to police environmental schemes on our behalf.

However, we are looking at possibly having some kind of earned recognition scheme for assurance schemes like Red Tractor, LEAF and organic certification so that people in those schemes can be recognised within government schemes.

What do you think? Does that seem like a good idea to you?

warksfarmer said:
Can Janet confirm that Red Tractor will not be involved in policing the scheme?

‘’

Can I do that?
Can we have a completely independent setup policing it?
I’ll do it for minimum wage.

 

[Flat 10]

Sounds very bad to me, RT protection racket getting endorsed by government
When will they realise it’s non optional for cereal farmers due to their abuse of the marketplace (collusion with AIC).

 

[MrNoo]

If that happens, I will be putting the whole fecking farm into Stewardship or selling up.

 

[snarling bee]

Janet - PLEASE PLEASE stop telling us that we will be able to farm better/more efficiently/control pest and diseases better. We have been doing that for decades, hindered I might add, by regulation.

 

[yellowbelly]

However, we are looking at possibly having some kind of earned recognition scheme for assurance schemes like Red Tractor, LEAF and organic certification so that people in those schemes can be recognised within government schemes.

Oh, lets dream up another scheme, that will look at all the other schemes to see how that scheme fits in with all our government schemes......

Seems to be far too much scheme'in going on for my liking - still, it'll provide a job or two within the DEFRA juganaut

---

 

[Vader]

I might be negative, but she did not fill me with any confidence.
Did not really say anything apart from 'we working with farmers to make a scheme to make farmers farm better. '

How many years they been running enviro schemes and still don't know what works and need more piolets..???

Will be another f**k up, but 1 that hardly pays to be in it I predict.

 

[teslacoils]

I'm surprised the govt put so much effort into a sector of the economy that contributes so little to GDP. It would be nice to think that it was because they care so much about us. Not at all because they like the idea of a chocolate box house in a home counties village without ugly sheds and smells.

 

[Bossfarmer]

Janet - PLEASE PLEASE stop telling us that we will be able to farm better/more efficiently/control pest and diseases better. We have been doing that for decades, hindered I might add, by regulation.

Yes im sick of the patronising drivel being spouted food production needs support to make money for the masses we cant all "add value" to our produce, the niche sectors will be immediately flooded

 

[Boysground]

I'm surprised the govt put so much effort into a sector of the economy that contributes so little to GDP. It would be nice to think that it was because they care so much about us. Not at all because they like the idea of a chocolate box house in a home counties village without ugly sheds and smells.

My cows have been housed for 10 years, in all that time I was being asked why are they not outside. This year they have been let out, I have now had a complaint of too much Sh1t in the fields, from one of the people who didn't like them housed, I wonder where the world is going.

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[teslacoils]

My cows have been housed for 10 years, in all that time I was being asked why are they not outside. This year they have been let out, I have now had a complaint of too much Sh1t in the fields, from one of the people who didn't like them housed, I wonder where the world is going.

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Some people have got nothing better to do than interfere....

 

[Clive]

Hi Janet, thank you for the reply to my question. I can’t reply as the thread is shut for some reason so I’ve started this thread. Your reply was:


‘’Hello - thanks for your question

We're not planning for Red Tractor or any other assurance scheme to police environmental schemes on our behalf.

However, we are looking at possibly having some kind of earned recognition scheme for assurance schemes like Red Tractor, LEAF and organic certification so that people in those schemes can be recognised within government schemes.

What do you think? Does that seem like a good idea to you?


‘’

Can I do that?
Can we have a completely independent setup policing it?
I’ll do it for minimum wage.

the live thread was a 1 hr timed slot

DEFRA / Janet said they would do more if feedback was positive

they will try to answer unanswered questions on the live thread asap

 

[Clive]

Sounds very bad to me, RT protection racket getting endorsed by government
When will they realise it’s non optional for cereal farmers due to their abuse of the marketplace (collusion with AIC).

at least she said Red Tractor would NOT be involved

we know Jim Mosley has said they want to be

maybe there is a god ! looks like DEFRA pee’d on Jim’s chips there to me !

 

[Boysground]

Some people have got nothing better to do than interfere....

Dont get me started

Bg

 

[teslacoils]

Dont get me started

Bg

Early retired, former public servants perhaps ?

 

[Boysground]

Early retired, former public servants perhaps ?

Veggie retired head teacher, she has a thing about how can I eat beef as I look after cows. She doesn’t understand that the best beef you can get if the one you have reared yourself and it’s only ever traveled to the slaughter house.

Bg

 

[matthew]

at least she said Red Tractor would NOT be involved

we know Jim Mosley has said they want to be

maybe there is a god ! looks like DEFRA pee’d on Jim’s chips there to me !

Don't get too excited. Janet also said that membership of RT etc. would stand as 'earned recognition'.

"We're not planning for Red Tractor or any other assurance scheme to police environmental schemes on our behalf.

However, we are looking at possibly having some kind of earned recognition scheme for assurance schemes like Red Tractor, LEAF and organic certification so that people in those schemes can be recognised within government schemes."

Revolving door.

 

[Flat 10]

at least she said Red Tractor would NOT be involved

we know Jim Mosley has said they want to be

maybe there is a god ! looks like DEFRA pee’d on Jim’s chips there to me !

No it says earned recognition for being part of one, wtf has me taking grain temps and doing useless mass balances got to do with defra or anyone. I want recognition it’s a sham, not government endorsement of the BS.

 

[vantage]

Veggie retired head teacher, she has a thing about how can I eat beef as I look after cows. She doesn’t understand that the best beef you can get if the one you have reared yourself and it’s only ever traveled to the slaughter house.

Bg

Or even better, slaughtered on farm.

 

[Danllan]

Danllan said:
Q = How many of you have genuine, hands-on agricultural knowledge / experience?

To deliver a complex set of reforms like this we need a whole range of skills and knowledge.

We have farmers working in the programme, and we do a lot of work to co-design our new schemes and services with farmers. For example our tests and trials include 3,000+ farmers and other experts working on projects on the ground to see how they work in practice.

We also work with experts and membership organisations to make sure we understand the range of views and insights.

We also need people like me with no farming background but other skills and knowledge to bring to the table - my speciality is making things in government happen and making sure they work for users (in this case, farmers!).

Well, that was the reply; Janet's answer could have been a single word, or even a single numeral.

Whereas... the first line was a rather patronising statement of the bleeding obvious, and didn't answer my question.

'We have farmers working in the programme...' could mean there are two, who may or may not be full time farmers, or it could mean many who are asked for an opinion now and then - or... it could mean they talk to the NFU when they want an answer that they want. The '3,000+' obviously aren't part of her 'team' and certainly aren't working in either Government or implementation. This section also failed to answer my question.

The third section is an attempt at distracting Whitehall bullsh!t, means nothing, and is an iteration of the first line. This section doesn't answer my question either.

The last section is another reiteration of what was stated in the first line and, again, doesn't answer my question.


CONCLUSIONS: 1) Janet thinks we are stupid enough not to be able to read, analyse and understand what she wrote and, seemingly, assumed it would 'do'. 2) Janet either hasn't sufficient knowledge of the work-history of those under her, or she has this knowledge and hasn't the moral courage to share it (or, possibly, a combination of these). 3) Janet has either none or a too embarrassingly small number of actual farmers working on this.


RESULT: Janet, presumably, came on TFF to demonstrate that she and her team do and are willing to 'listen' to farmers.* So far so good. But, in not replying to a very simple question with a very simple answer and, instead, avoiding doing so by offering actual and potential platitudes, Janet has just reinforced the general opinion, garnered from long experience, that this sort of thing is mere puff.


RECOMMENDATIONS: Since most people - and especially farmers - like straightforwardness and to know who we're dealing with, it would have been good for Janet to provide a short CV / Bio' for us. Just letting us know her qual's, training, work experiences and other personal info' relevant to the job in hand, e.g. support / membership for / of any organisations, opinions and 'lifestyle choices' that might reasonably be believed to be in conflict with aspects of farming and British agriculture.

And... answering questions directly engenders trust & confidence, as opposed to the opposite.






*This has rather revolting echoes of Tony Blair's famous 'I hear what you are saying...' responses - which invariably seemed to be followed by the unuttered thought 'And I'm going to ignore it completely!'

 

[roscoe erf]

Or even better, slaughtered on farm.

on farm butchering has completely been ruined by over regulation