Red Tractor Fight, Campaign Resources

NFU person at Midland Machinary Show was adamant that NFU don’t own RT and claimed many farmers had got the wrong end of the stick on this.
I was only partly sure of my facts so when I got home I looked up on Companies House and it shows that NFU and The British Retail Consortium are the 2 parties that formed the company "Assured Food Standards", which owns Red Tractor (a dormant company). Has ownership changed over the years? I don't see why it would have.
The person I spoke to clearly didn't know they were being "misleading" and had no doubt been told what they were repeating. Which begs the question who had told them that the NFU didn't part own Red Tractor? And why?

Minette Batters had already claimed earlier in the year in the Farmers Weekly that the NFU did not own Red Tractor. A simple google proved her wrong. So she is possibly uninformed or wilfully misleading, either way it doesn't inspire confidence. Its no way to treat her members in my view.


Now you may be able to claim that the NFU is not in control of RT and I would say to a large degree they are not, RT has morphed into its own kingdom but then again they do have owners who are supposed to hold them to account - one of whom is the NFU and its affiliate unions, another the British Retail Consortium and another the AHDB which farmers pay a compulsory levy to. People talk about the "unseen work" etc but actually having seen some evidence of this "unseen" work - it is very much us vs them then I don't want them to do any of the work thanks, I don't trust them.

Fundamentally its about laziness and arse covering. No one wants to rock the boat because they are all getting paid and the status quo is easier than change. But as farmers we need to continue to stand up for what is an ethical trading position and what is not.

People don't care if Red Tractor want to exist and do their thing. If they can get the marketplace to pay a premium all well and good, they and the NFU can have a love in on it all.

But what is not ethical is acting as a market blocker and using other quango's and trade affiliations to coalesce together to act against access to the marketplace. Red Tractor is using NFU people as a sort of Stalin's useful idiot technique to lend a bit of credibility to it all but it still stinks.
 
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Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
Minette Batters had already claimed earlier in the year in the Farmers Weekly that the NFU did not own Red Tractor. A simple google proved her wrong. So she is possibly uninformed or wilfully misleading, either way it doesn't inspire confidence. Its no way to treat her members in my view.


Now you may be able to claim that the NFU is not in control of RT and I would say to a large degree they are not, RT has morphed into its own kingdom but then again they do have owners who are supposed to hold them to account - one of whom is the NFU and its affiliate unions, another the British Retail Consortium and another the AHDB which farmers pay a compulsory levy to. People talk about the "unseen work" etc but actually having seen some evidence of this "unseen" work - it is very much us vs them then I don't want them to do any of the work thanks, I don't trust them.

Fundamentally its about laziness and arse covering. No one wants to rock the boat because they are all getting paid and the status quo is easier than change. But as farmers we need to continue to stand up for what is an ethical trading position and what is not.

People don't care if Red Tractor want to exist and do their thing. If they can get the marketplace to pay a premium all well and good, they and the NFU can have a love in on it all.

But what is not ethical is acting as a market blocker and using other quango's and trade affiliations to coalesce together to act against access to the marketplace. Red Tractor is using NFU people as a sort of Stalin's useful idiot technique to lend a bit of credibility to it all but it still stinks.
If there was any truth in the suggestion that quangos and trade bodies were colluding to deliberately block our access to markets, unless we pay to join Red Tractor - then that would be scandalous.
 

Flat 10

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Fen Edge
At least the krays took your money and left you alone, didn’t insist on some senseless, valueless, moronic paperwork. I’d pay a considerable sum per year just not to have to participate in RT. And it would add more value to my business burning that money as RT costs me 1000s and earns me absolutely nothing, doesn’t improve my business and leaves me less time to run my business or do as I please.
 

Grass And Grain

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Yorks
At least the krays took your money and left you alone, didn’t insist on some senseless, valueless, moronic paperwork. I’d pay a considerable sum per year just not to have to participate in RT. And it would add more value to my business burning that money as RT costs me 1000s and earns me absolutely nothing, doesn’t improve my business and leaves me less time to run my business or do as I please.
If our people at the top used their brains, they could actually structure it so we got a genuine premium. Then farmers would he a bit happier and more accepting of RT. I've suggested changes. Will they listen? Don't know.

Wouldn't surprise me if they'd prefer to keep RT essentially mandatory, just so we're still all trapped in the system, and then we'll never get any premium.

The whole thing is a sham imho. Conning the consumer. Made to look like credible assurance, but everyone knows it's junk. Costs farmers about £20 million. And for what? Nothing. Why oh why has this been left to continue.

Farmer fails audit because sprayer was out of NSTS, farmer gets a new NSTS cert (even though crops were sprayed with out of test sprayer), farmer can now sell grain as assured. We know that's a load of rubbish, RT know, millers know, maltsters know, NFU know, AHDB know, AIC know. So why are we all forced to go along with the charade. To me, the RT sticker isn't worth the paper it's written on. It's pointless.
 

Flat 10

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Fen Edge
If our people at the top used their brains, they could actually structure it so we got a genuine premium. Then farmers would he a bit happier and more accepting of RT. I've suggested changes. Will they listen? Don't know.

Wouldn't surprise me if they'd prefer to keep RT essentially mandatory, just so we're still all trapped in the system, and then we'll never get any premium.

The whole thing is a sham imho. Conning the consumer. Made to look like credible assurance, but everyone knows it's junk. Costs farmers about £20 million. And for what? Nothing. Why oh why has this been left to continue.

Farmer fails audit because sprayer was out of NSTS, farmer gets a new NSTS cert (even though crops were sprayed with out of test sprayer), farmer can now sell grain as assured. We know that's a load of rubbish, RT know, millers know, maltsters know, NFU know, AHDB know, AIC know. So why are we all forced to go along with the charade. To me, the RT sticker isn't worth the paper it's written on. It's pointless.
The fact it’s rubbish is absolutely irrelevant. The fact U.K. grain is as safe as (most likely much safer) than imports without RT means it’s existence is pointless. I’m not interested in it’s flaws. And I personally wouldn’t mind it being a legal requirement that sprayers have MOTs and think this more than acceptable if RT could be abolished.
 

An Gof

Member
Location
Cornwall
If our people at the top used their brains, they could actually structure it so we got a genuine premium. Then farmers would he a bit happier and more accepting of RT. I've suggested changes. Will they listen? Don't know.

Wouldn't surprise me if they'd prefer to keep RT essentially mandatory, just so we're still all trapped in the system, and then we'll never get any premium.

The whole thing is a sham imho. Conning the consumer. Made to look like credible assurance, but everyone knows it's junk. Costs farmers about £20 million. And for what? Nothing. Why oh why has this been left to continue.

Farmer fails audit because sprayer was out of NSTS, farmer gets a new NSTS cert (even though crops were sprayed with out of test sprayer), farmer can now sell grain as assured. We know that's a load of rubbish, RT know, millers know, maltsters know, NFU know, AHDB know, AIC know. So why are we all forced to go along with the charade. To me, the RT sticker isn't worth the paper it's written on. It's pointless.

💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰💰
 

tullah

Member
Location
Linconshire
If our people at the top used their brains, they could actually structure it so we got a genuine premium. Then farmers would he a bit happier and more accepting of RT. I've suggested changes. Will they listen? Don't know.

Wouldn't surprise me if they'd prefer to keep RT essentially mandatory, just so we're still all trapped in the system, and then we'll never get any premium.

The whole thing is a sham imho. Conning the consumer. Made to look like credible assurance, but everyone knows it's junk. Costs farmers about £20 million. And for what? Nothing. Why oh why has this been left to continue.

Farmer fails audit because sprayer was out of NSTS, farmer gets a new NSTS cert (even though crops were sprayed with out of test sprayer), farmer can now sell grain as assured. We know that's a load of rubbish, RT know, millers know, maltsters know, NFU know, AHDB know, AIC know. So why are we all forced to go along with the charade. To me, the RT sticker isn't worth the paper it's written on. It's pointless.
Yes pointless and fraud. And we all know the owner.

When it comes down to ownership, do the Nfu members own the Nfu?
If so, then they unknowingly own Dead Tractor!!
 

Bruce Almighty

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Warwickshire
Has anyone had the chance to fire all these issues directly at Minette Batters ? (As in face to face)

I was explaining the Red Tractor ACCS Cartel to a newly qualified vet (who was helping me with dairy & beef assurance) she was shocked & couldn't believe that non assured British was penalised yet imported is waved straight through.
 

An Gof

Member
Location
Cornwall
Has anyone had the chance to fire all these issues directly at Minette Batters ? (As in face to face)

I was explaining the Red Tractor ACCS Cartel to a newly qualified vet (who was helping me with dairy & beef assurance) she was shocked & couldn't believe that non assured British was penalised yet imported is waved straight through.
Good luck with that …. “The ladies not for turning” 😡
 
Location
Devon
Good luck with that …. “The ladies not for turning” 😡
I thought the NFU presidents job was to represent their farmer members and not just their own career like Minette is doing with RT...

And to think the NFU has another 2 years of her in the top role, just how much damage to the industry are the 90 person council prepared to let her do??
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

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

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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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