Should Tom Bradshaw resign from the Nfu?

[warksfarmer]

On the 9th October Tom Bradshaw tweeted picture 1.

On the 11th October the NFU released a statement pictures 2,3 and 4 and quoted Tom Bradshaw directly.

It clearly says that the NFU have been involved for 18 months and Tom himself sits on the Red Tractor board. However Tom’s personal post clearly says the NFU has not been involved. How can he be on the Red Tractor board and not know about this?

Are Red Tractor having private meetings and purposely leaving out certain board members ? Or has Tom Bradshaw been caught out ?

Whose side is the NFU on?

 

[maen]

Shame the conservatives (small c for !) threw Parris overboard he was the only ambassador for agriculture in this sorry bunch. Even our Defra minister is a Judus.

 

[graham mc]

wonder if this will be in the fw tomoorow?

 

[graham mc]

you can see the line between his thoughts then suddenly the nfu press team take over and hit the backtrack button

 

[spin cycle]

no...he clearly states that nfu representation was 'bypassed' during development

however if farmer representation can by 'bypassed" then it proves the 'governance' of red tractor is not of 'a modern type' and certainly not within the 'spirit/ethos' it claims to have

ergo the nfu should cease it's involvement/endorsement of RT because it can literally prove 'farmer engagement' can be ignored

 

[maen]

no...he clearly states that nfu representation was 'bypassed' during development

Who owns Red Tractor??

 

[Tim G]

I read it that NFU were aware of it but not involved in the development of the module.

 

[Henarar]

Yes as it will give NFU members the chance to vote someone else in, anyone fancy the job ?

 

[graham mc]

i think olly wants it as he has been very quiet on the subject and is using the old change from within line as to not upset his career path

 

[texelburger]

I think his position is untenable but he'll do what most modern politicians do and go quiet for a few weeks and hope it blows over and will be forgotten.They have big egos, after all,and think the peasant farmers will soon forget.

 

[maen]

I think it’s about time the NFU got a grip of this situation or they are in danger of seeing Rome burn.

 

[spin cycle]

Who owns Red Tractor??

First up...I hate RT...I left in 2016 after 18 yrs without a 'non compliance"..changed my farming 'system' and probably been worse off financially as a result...but I will not bow

OK....as far as I can see 'RT' is 'owned' by 'assured food standards' as a 'plc without share capital" which means,I think, it has 'guarantors" (proxy for owners)....this ,of course, is a deliberate ruse to 'muddy the waters" so no one can really find out and thus hold accountable

it is doubtless that nfu is one of these guarantors...the only other I can find is the 'British retail consortium" which does actually refer to itself as an 'owner"

I'm only amateur sleuth so happy to be corrected

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

I don't suppose he would resign voluntarily but this isn't a good look even for the hapless NFU.

 

[Lexion1000]

I don’t know about this situation, but on the whole he strikes me as an honest person trying to do his best for farming.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

I don’t know about this situation, but on the whole he strikes me as an honest person trying to do his best for farming.

While doing his best to please the big corporate sponsors of the non farmers union.

 

[Grass And Grain]

I'm just concerned (read horrified) how BRC can railroad through anything they like at RT. This is the issue.

Presumably NFU have known about this GFC since 2020, and the GFC was unanimously voted through by the RT main board (Tom is on it).

So if NFU/Tom are complaining they haven't been involved in process of developing the module, then why did they vote it through. AHDB also sit on this main board btw. As do all the sector chairs, who are mainly NFU people, so they all voted it through, even though they're saying they're not happy with it. That's bonkers logic. Why not vote against it, even if your point is to make sure you (NFU) get consulted on the module contents.

Pathetically poor from NFU, and also demonstrates how RT are out of control, but run by BRC.

Hopefully all farmers will now see RT for what it is. Yes, that's right, it's the BRC in disguise.

 

[SilliamWhale]

no...he clearly states that nfu representation was 'bypassed' during development

however if farmer representation can by 'bypassed" then it proves the 'governance' of red tractor is not of 'a modern type' and certainly not within the 'spirit/ethos' it claims to have

ergo the nfu should cease it's involvement/endorsement of RT because it can literally prove 'farmer engagement' can be ignored

My notes from the BRC reports of AFS meetings on the other thread don't seem to indicate that the NFU were bypassed during the development of the the EFC. In fact it was mentioned plenty of times during their notes of the past 3 years as an AFS Board meeting agenda item. It is possible to belive the nFU wre against it however nothing indicates that until er, the day before yesterday.

At the end of the day he is just the Presidents deputy so in effect they are both reponsible and probably the President more so.

I can't vote as I'm not an NFU member so I don't have an opinion. But what I can say is what the NFU have done (or indeed not done by not communicating that this at least may be coming down the tracks for the past 3 years) seriously seriously stinks) and the same for Red Tractor not communicating any of this to their "members" at all until last Sunday.

We all knew the AFS/ RT structure was rotten and loads of decent people have repeatedly said this because of its trajectory and yet we have still been sneered at.

Rather than an absolute character assassination (because no one really gains despite how frustrating it is) I would question how has the organisation allowed itself to be so sullied?

But it didn't have to be like this, if some people hadn't looked down their noses at farmers legitimate concerns, but things eventually go a bit nuclear when an obvious wound festers so you don't really get away with anything in the long run

 

[neilo]

I don’t know about this situation, but on the whole he strikes me as an honest person trying to do his best for farming.

Hush your mouth. You’re not allowed to say things like that on the hotbed forum!
All of UK agriculture’s ills are to be blamed squarely on the NFU, RT and AHDB. We will not tolerate dissenters in the ranks.

 

[Goweresque]

First up...I hate RT...I left in 2016 after 18 yrs without a 'non compliance"..changed my farming 'system' and probably been worse off financially as a result...but I will not bow

OK....as far as I can see 'RT' is 'owned' by 'assured food standards' as a 'plc without share capital" which means,I think, it has 'guarantors" (proxy for owners)....this ,of course, is a deliberate ruse to 'muddy the waters" so no one can really find out and thus hold accountable

it is doubtless that nfu is one of these guarantors...the only other I can find is the 'British retail consortium" which does actually refer to itself as an 'owner"

I'm only amateur sleuth so happy to be corrected

RT is the trading name of Assured Food Standards Ltd, a company limited by guarantee. (Details here: https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04913846) This means it has no shareholders, just founder members, whose liability is limited to the capital they invested initially. The founding members are the NFU, the NFU of Scotland, the UFU, the AHDB, Dairy UK and the BRC. All members effectively 'own' and control the company collectively.

The way the members control the company and what rights and powers each member has is set out in the company Articles of Association, which is basically the company rulebook. It has all the rules for appointing directors, how many there should be, how General Meetings should be run etc etc. The AoA for AFS Ltd is viewable here:

ASSURED FOOD STANDARDS filing history - Find and update company information - GOV.UK

ASSURED FOOD STANDARDS - Free company information from Companies House including registered office address, filing history, accounts, annual return, officers, charges, business activity

find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk

Filter the results by the 'Incorporation' box, and you can then view a pdf of the most recent set of AoA which was filed in November 2019. Some winter bedtime reading for you all.

You will see clauses 6.2 and 6.3 define the voting rights as one member one vote (which is highly ironic given the involvement of the NFU).

Ergo RT is ultimately controlled by the 6 bodies mentioned above, 3 of which are farming bodies. In the event of a tied vote the Chairman has the casting vote.
So in order for them to effect any fundamental changes the 3 farming members would have to have the support of one of the other bodies, UK Dairy (largely representing the milk processing industry rather than milk producers), the BRC (definitely representing food retailers) and the AHDB (who have a foot in both producer and processor camps), because a 3-3 vote would be split by the Chairman's vote, who would undoubtedly side with the status quo. I therefore conclude it is functionally impossible for the farmer members to change RT from within. It can't be done, even if they wanted to. I guess it is possible that the AHDB could eventually be abolished (as all the sectors voted to abolish their levies) and its membership of AFS Ltd could then lapse, leaving the farmer members in a 3-2 majority. But realistically that ain't happening, and no time soon either.

There's only one way of reforming RT, and thats all producers leaving en masse. There's no other way out.

 

[Humble Village Farmer]

Hush your mouth. You’re not allowed to say things like that on the hotbed forum!
All of UK agriculture’s are to be blamed squarely on the NFU, RT and AHDB. We will not tolerate dissenters in the ranks.

Things going well for you then?

Happy with the path to prosperity before you and our current industry leaders?

Are they working hard for you?

Are you confident they have your best interests at heart, honestly?