Should AHDB charge a levy on imported grain?

[Grass And Grain]

Was suggested earlier today in another thread. Thoughts?

 

[An Gof]

Make more sense to charge levy on grain grown on farm and fed on farm

 

[Grass And Grain]

Make more sense to charge levy on grain grown on farm and fed on farm

That grain is possibly getting use of RL, agronomy info etc. just not the marketing.

Does imported benefit from AHDB marketing? Don't know.

 

[Flat 10]

Be better if we didn’t have to pay the RT levy.....
rather than tax them let’s remove our handicap

 

[MrNoo]

Not if it then spanks it towards RT's coffers or AIC's. It'll just create more jobs for the boys and as we've seen these "boys" almost universally turn out to be wanke*s/jobsworths/rule makers.
When is there going to be an arable vote on AHDB?????

 

[Flat 10]

Not if it then spanks it towards RT's coffers or AIC's. It'll just create more jobs for the boys and as we've seen these "boys" almost universally turn out to be wanke*s/jobsworths/rule makers.
When is there going to be an arable vote on AHDB?????

I think we have to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. I’d abolish RT tomorrow but I think Adhb has a place if it starts to work harder for growers. Eg lobbying for ctl to come back. Big plus that they have now stopped funding RT. I’m like you that I worry with extra money from foreign grain they would just end up wasting it on big offices etc.

 

[Grass And Grain]

And more levies means more cost for livestock producers.

 

[MrNoo]

I think we have to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. I’d abolish RT tomorrow but I think Adhb has a place if it starts to work harder for growers. Eg lobbying for ctl to come back. Big plus that they have now stopped funding RT. I’m like you that I worry with extra money from foreign grain they would just end up wasting it on big offices etc.

Yes and Chocolate Hobnobs. Well, they need to get off their backsides and come up with an equal to import scheme for us farmers instead of this Cartel that Dim Mosely currently runs

 

[Bogweevil]

I don't think levies on imports will be well received by the EU or WTO. Non-tariff barriers to imports such as Red Tractor fall outside the rules on import duties.

 

[Grass And Grain]

Yes and Chocolate Hobnobs. Well, they need to get off their backsides and come up with an equal to import scheme for us farmers instead of this Cartel that Dim Mosely currently runs

Ahh, equal market access for UK grain to UK markets. Seems unbelievable that anyone has let the current situation exist.

 

[l'ordinary bonville]

Dump RT and AHDB together, followed by NSTS, NROSO
Take a lump sum BPS exit payment

Then just grow and market what you want and how you want

If only...

 

[SilliamWhale]

I think we have to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bath water. I’d abolish RT tomorrow but I think Adhb has a place if it starts to work harder for growers. Eg lobbying for ctl to come back. Big plus that they have now stopped funding RT. I’m like you that I worry with extra money from foreign grain they would just end up wasting it on big offices etc.

Yes it does have a place but it must also equally earn its corn

 

[SilliamWhale]

Dump RT and AHDB together, followed by NSTS, NROSO
Take a lump sum BPS exit payment

Then just grow and market what you want and how you want

If only...

I think dump RT as it doesn't add value
AHDB has flaws but fundamentally can be helpful and does add value. A bit of a refocus wouldn't harm
Dump NROSO - its pointless and repetive. A 5 yearly refresher PA2 isn't totally unreasonable
NSTS - use it as regulated. A once every 3 year sprayer test

 

[texelburger]

No need for a levy,all we want is a level playing field.Imported grain has to be assured to the same standards that RT demands on UK growers including on farm audits.All I want is fairness in the system and currently we don't have that.

 

[Flat 10]

No need for a levy,all we want is a level playing field.Imported grain has to be assured to the same standards that RT demands on UK growers including on farm audits.All I want is fairness in the system and currently we don't have that.

I too want fairness, but it’s more than sufficient to market our grain as grown according to British legislation. It will then exceed the quality of most imported and the parasites of RT can go do one. Ps I’m not back stabbing, I’m front stabbing

 

[D14]

Was suggested earlier today in another thread. Thoughts?

If they don’t then when it’s the combinable crop vote they won’t exist anymore.

 

[farenheit]

1) They don't contribute anything to the development of imported grain, so why should they get any money?

2) How the hell would you reasonably enforce an assured crop standard for imported crops? Most countries presumably don't have such a standard so wouldn't be able to produce the evidence anyway. If your answer is "well then we will just have to rely on home grown crops", I suggest you look at what we can actually grow (and what people wish to eat). We already do DON/ZON and ergot tests etc on the ships so that is really the most you can ask for, ie: what you can physically see in the produce.
No matter how much we play it, most people will quite reasonably use the argument of "well we don't expect Chinese factory workers to be paid £8.91 an hour and for their factories to have the same H+S standards as us when we import their trainers" and we can then say "well good luck having a British food industry in future" and they'll say "well we used to have a shoe making industry but I don't remember any farmers standing up for them". Regardless of that, food is a national security issue, but so is steel, concrete, weapons, electricity production, and we export nearly all of those.

 

[Flat 10]

1) They don't contribute anything to the development of imported grain, so why should they get any money?

2) How the hell would you reasonably enforce an assured crop standard for imported crops? Most countries presumably don't have such a standard so wouldn't be able to produce the evidence anyway. If your answer is "well then we will just have to rely on home grown crops", I suggest you look at what we can actually grow (and what people wish to eat). We already do DON/ZON and ergot tests etc on the ships so that is really the most you can ask for, ie: what you can physically see in the produce.
No matter how much we play it, most people will quite reasonably use the argument of "well we don't expect Chinese factory workers to be paid £8.91 an hour and for their factories to have the same H+S standards as us when we import their trainers" and we can then say "well good luck having a British food industry in future" and they'll say "well we used to have a shoe making industry but I don't remember any farmers standing up for them". Regardless of that, food is a national security issue, but so is steel, concrete, weapons, electricity production, and we export nearly all of those.

I agree with most of this, and all I do is want to produce grain equal to imports and sack off the unnecessary burden and expense of Red Tractor. After all grain grown in this country will exceed the standards of most of the imported grain anyway.

 

[farenheit]

I agree with most of this, and all I do is want to produce grain equal to imports and sack off the unnecessary burden and expense of Red Tractor. After all grain grown in this country will exceed the standards of most of the imported grain anyway.

If Red tractor was done away with, what practical changes would you make? Would you stop having your sprayer or spinner calibrated? Would you stop mapping where your baiting points are? Would you still have soil sampling done? I don’t find there is much in the red tractor assessment that is stuff I wouldn’t already do, or at least ought to be doing anyway as a relatively professional business

 

[Grass And Grain]

If Red tractor was done away with, what practical changes would you make? Would you stop having your sprayer or spinner calibrated? Would you stop mapping where your baiting points are? Would you still have soil sampling done? I don’t find there is much in the red tractor assessment that is stuff I wouldn’t already do, or at least ought to be doing anyway as a relatively professional business

I'd continue to do sensible stuff, but dispense with unnecessary things.

Keep sprayer maintained, calibrated etc in tip top condition, but go to mandatory 3 year testing. Rodent control to best of my ability, but wouldn't see need to write it down. Wash grain trailers, but no need to write it down. No need to pay RT fee for someone to inspect that I'd written something down.

Go on holiday for a week with saved administrative cash and time I'd previously been wasting.

For the record, about should AHDB charge a levy on imported grain? I think not really, as it doesn't get the agronomy advice etc. Does foreign grain benefit from any of the AHDB marketing and promotion? Don't know, I suspect not really much.

Would I like to see AHDB help UK growers get equal market access as imported currently enjoys? Yes. If AIC, RT and NFU can't sort it out, then I think AHDB should step in and make it happen. It's fundamental to marketing our grain.

RT won't want to roll over though will they.