- Location
- North Somerset
Does anyone have insight as to how many people may attend this rally? I am keen to know how well supported it is.
NFU Rally March 25
- Thread starter Farm & Country
- Start date
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Surely it will be cancelled?
I have been told that it will go ahead, with participants being asked to sing Frank Sinatra songs.
The NFU have gone down with crooner virus.
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Well given the demographics of Farmers maybe George Eustace will encourage a many to attend as possible!
- Location
- Warwickshire
Was it ever really a good idea in the middle of lambing & hopefully spring sowing time ?
I'd like to go but have lots of field work to do.
This rally doesn't seem to have been well publicised outside the NFU. I've seen it in Farmers Weekly but that's it. I think I'd rather see it well attended or cancelled. A poor turnout gives the wrong impression IMO.
This rally doesn't seem to have been well publicised outside the NFU. I've seen it in Farmers Weekly but that's it. I think I'd rather see it well attended or cancelled. A poor turnout gives the wrong impression IMO.
- Location
- South Wales UK
Or pending Pandemic with Country people that never see city people in the good times???
This excellent article by Phillip Gibson sums up this stupid idea rather well IMO - anyone thinking of attending this PR disaster in waiting should read it and give it some thought!
www.linkedin.com
We need a new culture in agriculture...
Published on February 4, 2020
When I read about the NFU’s plans to hold a national rally of farmers in London on March 25 I have to admit my shoulders sagged. Is this really the best way to promote and protect our industry?
The idea behind the rally is to build the brand for British agriculture. Yet the NFU’s press release quotes, “This is an opportunity for hundreds of people to come together and make their views clear that the government must not sacrifice British farming on the altar of free trade.”
That doesn’t sound like brand building to me – it sounds like a protest. Londoners will simply see farmers complaining to government because they are worried about post-Brexit trade agreements.
Of course, that worry is perfectly valid. British agriculture could be fatally wounded by a poor deal. But agriculture is not the only industry concerned about post-Brexit trade agreements. UK car manufacturers and bankers, for example, could be equally harmed, but they are not marching in central London.
We operate in an industry facing increasing negativity. We are being challenged on animal welfare, climate change impact, environment and biodiversity. It feels like we are under attack. But to be defensive and confrontational in response just doesn’t work.
Like any other successful business, instead we should follow the ‘two ears, one mouth’ adage and listen to customers rather than justifying why we are right, and they are wrong. Working proactively to ensure British farming and British food can stand scrutiny, and are the best choice for consumers, is our greatest opportunity for ensuring the British public chooses us with confidence and conviction.
We are not entitled to farm and we are not entitled to receive taxpayer funding. We are not entitled to public support and recognition for putting food on the table. The ‘thank a farmer if you ate today’ rhetoric and attitude needs to change, as does the constant desire to maintain the status quo and make every interaction a fight. Perhaps the way we do things and the mindset of the agricultural industry needs to change, not everyone else.
The reason any of us can farm and produce food is because someone wants to buy what we’ve produced in the way we’ve produced it. We live in a wealthy, free country with plentiful, cheap food and people can change their food preferences at will. We are not entitled to their custom, nor their support – we have to earn it. We can debate food security all day long, but unless something dramatically changes in the world, this is the reality we face.
So, to survive, let alone flourish, we have to think and behave differently, and engage others positively. We need to build a positive brand for UK agriculture starting with a new culture and a new mindset.
Rather than marching in the streets and relying on what we believe to be our ‘world-leading standards’, we need to be addressing the public’s concerns constructively. We should be holding up a mirror to our industry and making sure we are consistently delivering best practice every single day and, where necessary, innovating our farming practices to take account of consumer concerns. To truly claim world-leading standards we need to ensure we are world-leading in all we do, every single day, on every single farm.
We know agriculture and the food chain operate on wafer-thin margins. We know farming is hard work, in difficult conditions, for minimal return. Yet we all choose to earn our living from this great industry. If we want to prosper in the future, we have to be agile, adaptable and market-focused. We must be able to do what our customers require of us at a price they will pay. This might be new thinking for agriculture, but it’s the challenge every business faces every day.
Let’s choose to be optimistic rather than pessimistic. Let’s recognise there are fantastic opportunities ahead for British agriculture, but let’s listen to our customers, anticipate changing preferences, and proactively identify and address potential reputational threats before they surface. Let’s be responsible business owners, reacting to macro challenges like climate change because it is the right thing to do, not simply because we are criticised or legislated against if we don’t. And let’s promote what we do in the most engaging and positive way we can – just like any other successful brand – to build brand value and brand loyalty.
We live in a changing world. Things won’t stay the same. The opportunities for British agriculture in the next 10-20 years will not come from the same places they’ve come from in the past. We can either choose to try keeping things as they are and get left behind, or we can spend time listening to our customers, truly innovating and driving British agriculture forward. I know where I’ll be spending my time.
We need a new culture in agriculture...
When I read about the NFU’s plans to hold a national rally of farmers in London on March 25 I have to admit my shoulders sagged. Is this really the best way to promote and protect our industry? The idea behind the rally is to build the brand for British agriculture.
www.linkedin.com
We need a new culture in agriculture...
Published on February 4, 2020
When I read about the NFU’s plans to hold a national rally of farmers in London on March 25 I have to admit my shoulders sagged. Is this really the best way to promote and protect our industry?
The idea behind the rally is to build the brand for British agriculture. Yet the NFU’s press release quotes, “This is an opportunity for hundreds of people to come together and make their views clear that the government must not sacrifice British farming on the altar of free trade.”
That doesn’t sound like brand building to me – it sounds like a protest. Londoners will simply see farmers complaining to government because they are worried about post-Brexit trade agreements.
Of course, that worry is perfectly valid. British agriculture could be fatally wounded by a poor deal. But agriculture is not the only industry concerned about post-Brexit trade agreements. UK car manufacturers and bankers, for example, could be equally harmed, but they are not marching in central London.
We operate in an industry facing increasing negativity. We are being challenged on animal welfare, climate change impact, environment and biodiversity. It feels like we are under attack. But to be defensive and confrontational in response just doesn’t work.
Like any other successful business, instead we should follow the ‘two ears, one mouth’ adage and listen to customers rather than justifying why we are right, and they are wrong. Working proactively to ensure British farming and British food can stand scrutiny, and are the best choice for consumers, is our greatest opportunity for ensuring the British public chooses us with confidence and conviction.
We are not entitled to farm and we are not entitled to receive taxpayer funding. We are not entitled to public support and recognition for putting food on the table. The ‘thank a farmer if you ate today’ rhetoric and attitude needs to change, as does the constant desire to maintain the status quo and make every interaction a fight. Perhaps the way we do things and the mindset of the agricultural industry needs to change, not everyone else.
The reason any of us can farm and produce food is because someone wants to buy what we’ve produced in the way we’ve produced it. We live in a wealthy, free country with plentiful, cheap food and people can change their food preferences at will. We are not entitled to their custom, nor their support – we have to earn it. We can debate food security all day long, but unless something dramatically changes in the world, this is the reality we face.
So, to survive, let alone flourish, we have to think and behave differently, and engage others positively. We need to build a positive brand for UK agriculture starting with a new culture and a new mindset.
Rather than marching in the streets and relying on what we believe to be our ‘world-leading standards’, we need to be addressing the public’s concerns constructively. We should be holding up a mirror to our industry and making sure we are consistently delivering best practice every single day and, where necessary, innovating our farming practices to take account of consumer concerns. To truly claim world-leading standards we need to ensure we are world-leading in all we do, every single day, on every single farm.
We know agriculture and the food chain operate on wafer-thin margins. We know farming is hard work, in difficult conditions, for minimal return. Yet we all choose to earn our living from this great industry. If we want to prosper in the future, we have to be agile, adaptable and market-focused. We must be able to do what our customers require of us at a price they will pay. This might be new thinking for agriculture, but it’s the challenge every business faces every day.
Let’s choose to be optimistic rather than pessimistic. Let’s recognise there are fantastic opportunities ahead for British agriculture, but let’s listen to our customers, anticipate changing preferences, and proactively identify and address potential reputational threats before they surface. Let’s be responsible business owners, reacting to macro challenges like climate change because it is the right thing to do, not simply because we are criticised or legislated against if we don’t. And let’s promote what we do in the most engaging and positive way we can – just like any other successful brand – to build brand value and brand loyalty.
We live in a changing world. Things won’t stay the same. The opportunities for British agriculture in the next 10-20 years will not come from the same places they’ve come from in the past. We can either choose to try keeping things as they are and get left behind, or we can spend time listening to our customers, truly innovating and driving British agriculture forward. I know where I’ll be spending my time.
- Location
- Ceredigion
If they dont Cancel they want their heads testing , the last thing the public needs too see at this time is a mob of protesting farmers
is there ever a good time ? As even my kids know, stamping your feet and shouting never ends in a good outcome
- Location
- South Wales UK
Wettest year on record ,lambing( and if dries up) spring cultivations PLUS a Country wide health Pandemic????
Do they know anything about real life and Farming???
- Location
- Ceredigion
No , but now is not a good time too educate them is it . Go too any store its like Christmas. People fearing for their lives . I know some who intend too self isolate for 6 months
I don't think its very responsible to hold it now. We should be proactive in our response to the virus and this is an un-necessary gathering in the area of the UK with the highest number of confirmed cases. It would be a textbook way to spread it to rural areas that it may take some time to get to otherwise.
I think it would be a more powerful message to say as an industry we understand the importance of biosecurity and felt it was not in the national interest to hold the rally at this time. It won't get much press coverage anyway with things as they are and the politicians (should) have more important things to deal with at the moment.
I think it would be a more powerful message to say as an industry we understand the importance of biosecurity and felt it was not in the national interest to hold the rally at this time. It won't get much press coverage anyway with things as they are and the politicians (should) have more important things to deal with at the moment.
- Location
- Ceredigion
61 cases in London
61 CONFIRMED cases in London.
- Location
- Ceredigion
Exactly
- Location
- South Wales UK
Net extinction rebellion and Greta Thunberg will hold rallies and they trying to save the planet???
Getting rid of a few people could be the best way to do that