SOP AGM.

Howard150

Member
Location
Yorkshire
Having read the above posts, I wonder whether enough common ground can be found in order to sustain a new organisation.

There is Alan. It’s just finding it.

As in all things there is a middle ground just slightly off centre which ought to be acceptable to most. That is not so with the SOP - as their recent actions clearly demonstrate.

The million dollar question is not “whether or not it exists” rather “whether or not the pursuit of it is worth the effort”

Don’t forget the fact that for years a good number of the best ploughmen in the country were serially abused by the SOP, their system of qualifiers and their administration of the national match. Most of us said nothing at the time, ever conscious of retribution or not wanting to seem bad losers.

Whilst retribution obviously is in the ascendancy, social media has at least enabled people to comment.
 

arcobob

Member
Location
Norfolk
There is Alan. It’s just finding it.

As in all things there is a middle ground just slightly off centre which ought to be acceptable to most. That is not so with the SOP - as their recent actions clearly demonstrate.

The million dollar question is not “whether or not it exists” rather “whether or not the pursuit of it is worth the effort”

Don’t forget the fact that for years a good number of the best ploughmen in the country were serially abused by the SOP, their system of qualifiers and their administration of the national match. Most of us said nothing at the time, ever conscious of retribution or not wanting to seem bad losers.

Whilst retribution obviously is in the ascendancy, social media has at least enabled people to comment.
The lessons to be learned are the pitfalls to avoid by involving everybody and avoiding cover ups. We must keep it simple and avoid grandiose schemes.
 

Roy Stokes

Member
Location
East Shropshire
Competition, in any walk of life is so very healthy, take for example the standard of ploughing in the Yorkshire and surrounding counties, the top ploughmen's achievements have pulled up the other competitors standards by their wish to compete at that level, if you win every weekend it leads to complacency and ultimately no further improvement.

A rival club/society/affiliation would be competition for the current regime, ploughmen/women should be free to join both if they wish, the most successful of the 2 groups will prosper, the other will be left by the wayside or improve to compete.
you pays yer money and takes yer choice !

Edit
earlier on in these pages it has been suggested that certain people, World Style ploughmen/women or directors/executive directors and even higher ranking members of the SOP shouldn't be allowed in any new movement, my opinion is to welcome all, every last person who wants to join should be allowed, but make sure it is run by the members for the members and maybe everyone could read a copy of George Orwell's Animal Farm to remind ourselves of how things can go badly wrong in society
 
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Howard150

Member
Location
Yorkshire
Competition, in any walk of life is so very healthy, take for example the standard of ploughing in the Yorkshire and surrounding counties, the top ploughmen's achievements have pulled up the other competitors standards by their wish to compete at that level, if you win every weekend it leads to complacency and ultimately no further improvement.

A rival club/society/affiliation would be competition for the current regime, ploughmen/women should be free to join both if they wish, the most successful of the 2 groups will prosper, the other will be left by the wayside or improve to compete.
you pays yer money and takes yer choice !

Edit
earlier on in these pages it has been suggested that certain people, World Style ploughmen/women or directors/executive directors and even higher ranking members of the SOP shouldn't be allowed in any new movement, my opinion is to welcome all, every last person who wants to join should be allowed, but make sure it is run by the members for the members and maybe everyone could read a copy of George Orwell's Animal Farm to remind ourselves of how things can go badly wrong in society

I have oft’ used the same analogy Roy. After one spat with a senior member of the establishment, I told him that he would do well to read it. That is probably 10 years ago. If he did, then he only read the first half as it would appear that ‘all animals are still equal, some still being just a teensy bit more equal than others’
The pigs are in ascendece and are firmly ensconced in the house. Major still calls the shots, Napoleon is ruthless beyond compare, Squealer the mouthpiece there in abundance justifying their tyranny. A couple of Boxers have been summarily dismissed to the glue boiler. Whilst some horses more allied to Clover have found the diet unpalatable, have moved on and now watch the proceedings from over the hedge. The three dogs are there in abundance in the form of the executive protecting the hierarchy. One or two of these dogs are now unsure. Doubt exists in their mind. Regardless, a lot of other Boxers do the bidding without question and the sheeple baa away en masse. filling in proxy votes when told to do so wherever the need arises. We even have our very own fine upstanding Benjamin the donkey, braying away, highly principled, occupying the moral high ground of both camps, an embarrassment to both camps, one whose sum total contribution in the book is nothing.

Thus far the book is already well and truly writ. Short of reminding ourselves of how things could go wrong, we should read it again, more to remind ourselves how things have gone wrong. What it needs now is for a few honest good men and true to step up to the mark and re-write the ending.

Word of warning. These three parallels can be applied to our situation. Tony Blair took us to war to be rid of Sadam. Thanks to Tony we now have Isis, the biggest threat the free world has ever known.

Winston Churchill was one of the greatest leaders this country has ever known. One of his most notorious remarks was “ the biggest argument against democracy is a five minute talk with a member of the electorate” This can work both ways. Despite having won the war it was not long before he was deposed. Whilst the current leadership of the SOP leave much to be desired, this Churchillian logic and general contempt with which they hold the membership, has enabled them to cement their position as invincible.

Beware the communism and dictatorship that masquerades as democracy. We now have Corbyn. The very man fit to complete the destructive spiral this country seems unable to extricate its self from.

It’s sad that things have unfolded the way they have. A good number of us wanted autonomy for the vintage within the SOP. Unfortunately that was never allowed to happen. In the short term any new venture is likely to fall short of what currently exists and will be pilloried accordingly. Get the ball bouncing and who knows how far things can progress or what good can be allowed to come out of it.
 
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DB 880

Member
Hello everyone , earlier in this thread there was talk of a meeting being held second week in May just wondered if this is still happening as we are getting well in to April and have not heard anything being said ?
 

arcobob

Member
Location
Norfolk
I was reading an article about the RSPCA and how the charity has been hijacked by political groups and narrow minded activists. The Charity Commission has issued them with directives which have been completely ignored without consequence. The CC should be overhauled and become accountable because it gets charities, their disappearing assets and their tax concessions, a very bad reputation. Many people do not support charities for the simple reason that money disappears into a black hole on many occasions. Sound familiar ?:oops::oops:
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.2%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 65 34.8%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

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

  • 1,289
  • 1
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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