NFU shafts Red Tractor

The NFU has fully supported the new trade agreements the government has setup as well as fully supported the removal of BPS. At the same time they have also supported the incoming ELMS scheme as well as the SFI pilot.

It’s widely acknowledged and even confirmed by some local NFU offices that the above will see at least 30% of farm business’s close down. You’d think that those businesses would be on lower grade land which will just go into ELMS and do nothing.

How’s Red Tractor going to fair with loosing these paying customers? On top of the ones already leaving now due to the underhand way the scheme is currently run?

Are members RT membership prices going up in the long term imposing further cost onto U.K. farms whilst all this newly imported goods comes in without any type of assurance scheme quality?

Views.
 
Location
Devon
not a nfu fan.....but minny didn't support new trade agreements though the lack of fight was laughable.......not sure about stance on bps :scratchhead:

end of the day though nfu is in the pocket of govt and red tractor.....nfu has plenty of money and would rather sit on that to survive than rock the boat IMO

NFU is all for the new Elms scheme and in their own words : if 30% of farmers are driven out of the industry when the BPS ends then that is an acceptable figure because the farmers that remain will have the highest standards both welfare and on the Enviroment in the entire world...

Minette has always been and is all about herself and how many high paying quangos she can get herself onto..

Sad thing is prominent NFU members/ ex office holders like @An Gof refused to listen to grass roots members a few years ago when the raised valid concerns about the way the NFU was heading and now because of this the damage the NFU is now doing to the British AG industry will all but destroy the industry!
 

Ashtree

Member
Bless my soul this fine summers evening, but I seem to recall NFU telling you guys that Brexit would drive a horse and double carriages straight through the agriculture industry. A battery of opprobrium and derision was launched by the TFF Brexit Heavy Armour Division in the specific direction of Minnie.
Now that Brexit has come to pass, Bunter and his ERG buddies, have driven the horse and carriages up your collective rectum, you have now nothing left to fire other than faulty blanks.
Careful what you wish for. You just might get it….
 

Hfd Cattle

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Hereford
NFU is all for the new Elms scheme and in their own words : if 30% of farmers are driven out of the industry when the BPS ends then that is an acceptable figure because the farmers that remain will have the highest standards both welfare and on the Enviroment in the entire world...

Minette has always been and is all about herself and how many high paying quangos she can get herself onto..

Sad thing is prominent NFU members/ ex office holders like @An Gof refused to listen to grass roots members a few years ago when the raised valid concerns about the way the NFU was heading and now because of this the damage the NFU is now doing to the British AG industry will all but destroy the industry!
Good post ....just a pity you chose to pick on @An Gof . He is not the only member/ office holder on here
 

Jackov Altraids

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Devon
Bless my soul this fine summers evening, but I seem to recall NFU telling you guys that Brexit would drive a horse and double carriages straight through the agriculture industry. A battery of opprobrium and derision was launched by the TFF Brexit Heavy Armour Division in the specific direction of Minnie.
Now that Brexit has come to pass, Bunter and his ERG buddies, have driven the horse and carriages up your collective rectum, you have now nothing left to fire other than faulty blanks.
Careful what you wish for. You just might get it….

I think you need to give those horses their blinkers back.

It is far too early to assess the outcome of brexit.
In terms of Brexit, the NFU just towed the Westminster line rather than listen to members, as it always has.
If it had listened it would have realised just how likely it was for Brexit to happen and been on the front foot with a plan for our future out of the EU rather than playing catch-up.
The NFU have the power to make a huge difference to current proceedings but have chosen to hide. As the main stakeholder of RT, they could have easily insisted that if imports are not going to meet minimum UK standards then RT would have to produce a matching standard for UK produce, maybe a 'brown tractor'.
Red tractor would then have to offer a premium to 'brown' and we would have a proper market in every respect.
There are probably better ideas than this but any action would be better than a commentary as a large section of their members are sent down the river.
There are thousands of brilliant staff in the NFU but the leaders can't see past a pension pot.
 

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
I think you need to give those horses their blinkers back.

It is far too early to assess the outcome of brexit.
In terms of Brexit, the NFU just towed the Westminster line rather than listen to members, as it always has.
If it had listened it would have realised just how likely it was for Brexit to happen and been on the front foot with a plan for our future out of the EU rather than playing catch-up.
The NFU have the power to make a huge difference to current proceedings but have chosen to hide. As the main stakeholder of RT, they could have easily insisted that if imports are not going to meet minimum UK standards then RT would have to produce a matching standard for UK produce, maybe a 'brown tractor'.
Red tractor would then have to offer a premium to 'brown' and we would have a proper market in every respect.
There are probably better ideas than this but any action would be better than a commentary as a large section of their members are sent down the river.
There are thousands of brilliant staff in the NFU but the leaders can't see past a pension pot.
Well said.

At an absolute minimum, NFU should push the brown tractor (as you call it). Equal to imports standard, then let the market decide. If RT grain commands a premium, then it will flourish. If RT didn't create a premium, then brown tractor wins out.

There is space for both RT and brown tractor.

We just need to decide exactly what brown tractor looks like. Is it a pesticide declaration, is it NRoSO membership? Those two cover most of equal to imports imho.

RT, AIC, NFU, AHDB all know we're asking for it. In public, there's currently silence from the aforementioned. I've not heard Minette even mention it. It rubs too uncomfortably against their RT baby.

We're not giving up.
 

Ashtree

Member
This “brown tractor” idea, sounds just about the most ridiculous plan I’ve ever come across on TFF. And that says something….
I‘d just call a spade a spare here and be straight up! Brown tractor is just a fig leaf for Brexit “brown trousers” reality for agriculture. Keep calm and carry on….
 

turbo

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
lincs
This “brown tractor” idea, sounds just about the most ridiculous plan I’ve ever come across on TFF. And that says something….
I‘d just call a spade a spare here and be straight up! Brown tractor is just a fig leaf for Brexit “brown trousers” reality for agriculture. Keep calm and carry on….
It won’t worry you in the future!
 

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
This “brown tractor” idea, sounds just about the most ridiculous plan I’ve ever come across on TFF. And that says something….
I‘d just call a spade a spare here and be straight up! Brown tractor is just a fig leaf for Brexit “brown trousers” reality for agriculture. Keep calm and carry on….
Should we keep quiet and just let the situation remain as it is - mandatory Red Tractor standards for us, whilst imports get purchased by the exact same mills (without the requirement for ANY farm level assurance)

We're all ears to suggestions. Any ideas?

Btw, It's absolutely nothing to do with Brexit.
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
The NFU has fully supported the new trade agreements the government has setup as well as fully supported the removal of BPS. At the same time they have also supported the incoming ELMS scheme as well as the SFI pilot.

It’s widely acknowledged and even confirmed by some local NFU offices that the above will see at least 30% of farm business’s close down. You’d think that those businesses would be on lower grade land which will just go into ELMS and do nothing.

How’s Red Tractor going to fair with loosing these paying customers? On top of the ones already leaving now due to the underhand way the scheme is currently run?

Are members RT membership prices going up in the long term imposing further cost onto U.K. farms whilst all this newly imported goods comes in without any type of assurance scheme quality?

Views.

Jim Moseley has already said they have ambitions to police ELMS !
 

Ashtree

Member
Should we keep quiet and just let the situation remain as it is - mandatory Red Tractor standards for us, whilst imports get purchased by the exact same mills (without the requirement for ANY farm level assurance)

We're all ears to suggestions. Any ideas?

Btw, It's absolutely nothing to do with Brexit.

Help me out here. Are you saying the new trade deals, which welcome floods of “low standard“, low cost beef have nothing to do with Brexit? Explain please.
 

Drillman

Member
Mixed Farmer
Help me out here. Are you saying the new trade deals, which welcome floods of “low standard“, low cost beef have nothing to do with Brexit? Explain please.
Well if brexit has altered trade deals red tractor needs to alter to match them as well.

remember being a red tractor member does NOT achieve any sort of premium over imports.

All red tractor is is another layer of cost between the producer and end user. Money that would be better spent on other things.
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
well, we were told brexit would seriously damage the livestock trade, especially the sheep job, and the exact opposite has happened, come to the conclusion, everybody is just 'winging it', and nobody really knows where it will end up. Things seem to alter by the week, but RT, if them, could be binned next week, it would leave us half a chance to compete, with the imports, that will flow in. Alas, that won't happen, but if RT keep inventing new conditions, at the rate they are, finally, there won't be enough farmers left, to pay their wages !
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 75 43.6%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 61 35.5%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 27 15.7%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 3 1.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,283
  • 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/
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