No need to speculate

[Cowabunga]

Debate is good.
As a lowly peasant farmer it is often difficult to see what these organisations actually do. From distance they appear to have too many staff producing irrelevant material to farmers on the coal face. In reality of course it's quite different because they're operating in an area of our industry that is quite alien to myself and many more. They are trying to promote our industry but I do feel there is discord, a missing link, a difference in direction or motive that separates us and them.

I strongly suspect that a good lot of them are not working for the industry's common good but mainly to justify their own existence and jobs. They are looking after their own, which is fairly predictable in any such organisation, and I include such organisations as Farm Assurance, DEFRA and so on. They all have a purpose but whether they privately believe that their purpose is the same as our purpose is not even debatable.

 

[farmer james]

Flak jacket on, but a mildly predictable initial response from farmer um 'stakeholders'.
Same comments here from time to time about the NFU which probably has the same labyrinthine staff list.
I'm not a farmer, but been in the arable trade for a decade or three and seen a lot of farmers engaging in the plots at Cereals and other projects that the HGCA ( always preferred that title ) undertake for direct and indirect benefit for our industry. Some excess for sure, but they are accountable for their output.
The alternative is what exactly? Do/fund nothing and hope for the best?

Heck, I feel almost a troll, don't be too unkind, meant in good faith.

Those who I have come across in
My experience are good people trying to do a difficult job in telling farmers how to improve things rather than just continuing to do things 'how my father did them'
Just my view, I am sure we could all do things better if we were in charge, just like we could all farm our neighbours farm better than they can.
FJ

 

[Tarw Coch]

Those who I have come across in
My experience are good people trying to do a difficult job in telling farmers how to improve things rather than just continuing to do things 'how my father did them'
Just my view, I am sure we could all do things better if we were in charge, just like we could all farm our neighbours farm better than they can.
FJ

There's more than one way to skin a cat.
Different systems will suit different farms and farmers attitudes. Sometimes father does know best from years of experience.
Of course over time things do change and as individual business we have to keep up or get left behind and eventually fail, how we do things certainly will influence profitability, but there's still not necessarily a right and wrong way of doing things.

 

[Martin Holden]

It is a fact of life that industry bodies offer positions that are usually well remunerated but funded by the very people they are representing. Ah the wonderful balance of commerce! By the way I’m not criticising them as I don’t know what impact they have but I have a notion that this country has too many advisors, bodies and not enough emphasis on the “coal face” Just look at the NHS as a good example. I’m so sure that it could be far more efficiently managed!!

 

[roscoe erf]

right ...torches and pitchforks out boys

Again round your’s after

 

[farmer james]

There's more than one way to skin a cat.
Different systems will suit different farms and farmers attitudes. Sometimes father does know best from years of experience.
Of course over time things do change and as individual business we have to keep up or get left behind and eventually fail, how we do things certainly will influence profitability, but there's still not necessarily a right and wrong way of doing things.

I agree with all of what you say, there are no right or wrong ways, as everbodies farm is different and everybody has different aspirations and expectations, but as like you say things do need to change over time and evolve,
AHDB are there to help if you want to engage with them.
FJ

 

[Gong Farmer]

It should be pointed out that most names appear on several slides, so not a case of lots of people, just lots of committees.