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Farm Business
Agricultural Matters
Should Tom Bradshaw resign from the Nfu?
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<blockquote data-quote="Goweresque" data-source="post: 8970883" data-attributes="member: 818"><p>RT is the trading name of Assured Food Standards Ltd, a company limited by guarantee. (Details here: <a href="https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04913846" target="_blank">https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04913846</a>) 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.</p><p></p><p>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:</p><p></p><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04913846/filing-history[/URL]</p><p></p><p>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. </p><p></p><p>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).</p><p></p><p>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.</p><p>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.</p><p></p><p>There's only one way of reforming RT, and thats all producers leaving en masse. There's no other way out.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Goweresque, post: 8970883, member: 818"] RT is the trading name of Assured Food Standards Ltd, a company limited by guarantee. (Details here: [URL]https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04913846[/URL]) 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: [URL unfurl="true"]https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04913846/filing-history[/URL] 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. [/QUOTE]
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Should Tom Bradshaw resign from the Nfu?
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