The UK Farmers Union - is it time ?

[Sid]

but WHO allowed that to be the case ???

It was put in place to ensure minimum standards in milk production, as inpected by the government, which was free.

Covered the basics, dairy door is locked etc.
Now it will go as far as making sure the gas stove in farm workers accommodation is tested!
Now we pay another tax to cover it!

 

[Treg]

Looking at Joe public’s buying habits and relationships with food, there is zero chance of vegan or vegetarian choices being eradicated

Meat consumption is falling, not growing

Embrace the change and the future

Ignore vegetarian trends....... at your peril

That's not what the Supermarket sales are showing meat sales are up for the last 12 months in the UK.

 

[Vader]

Tenants farmers tfa seem good crew.
Give me lots of help.
Maybe work with them to rebrand to be for all farmers and not just tenants.

TFA
The Farmers Association.

Ready made structure and staff.

 

[Henarar]

Most things "United" are similar

Problem with farming is that it never really unites, about the closest it gets is being p!ssed off about the same stuff, including a lack of unity

No the NFU just isn't a union, look it up

 

[delilah]

Tenants farmers tfa seem good crew.
Give me lots of help.
Maybe work with them to rebrand to be for all farmers and not just tenants.

TFA
The Farmers Association.

Ready made structure and staff.

It stops being the Tenant Farmers Association then. Hijacked by landowners.

None of you muppets are going to start a positive thread making specific suggestions as to how the NFU needs to change are you. Just going to keep going round and round in circles.

 

[delilah]

No the NFU just isn't a union, look it up

The best resume of the NFU you will find attached. It picks out the things that need to change for it to be a farmers union rather than an agribusiness lobby group.

 

[delilah]

That's not what the Supermarket sales are showing meat sales are up for the last 12 months in the UK.

tbf that's because lockdown has stopped folks going out for Sunday lunch. Corona has helped the supermarkets complete their takeover of the foodchain. (aided and abetted by the NFU to keep it on thread).

 

[kiwi pom]

but WHO allowed that to be the case ???

I think the idea was to have one standard that all the processors and retailers worked to. It would then make it easier for UK farmers to sell open market produce, which is what they like to do, without having to jump through a different set of hoops for each buyer.

 

[Hfd Cattle]

Have spent the last half hr reading the posts .
My thoughts .
NFU biggest problem is OMOV.
The structure allows the ones at the top to stay at the top . However at county level it IS ( I believe) OMOV. At the last AGM I attended before I left proposals were made for positions and voted for and there were enough 'Power Hungry' present to make sure the ones that THEY proposed got elected . If was nothing but a SHAM . 3 farmers stood for the position of livestock representative but their face didn't fit and 2 dropped out under pressure to make sure the other got in !
Basically the voting corruption starts at County level !

If a new 'union' was to be formed it would have my support but I'm not sure how much clout it would have with the Govt,supermarkets,abattoirs etc etc . There ,I believe,would have to be some paid employees to run it as voluntary positions lack commitment and time . The board could be elected by OMOV . The paid positions would be answerable to the board who in turn would be answerable to the members .

Would the new 'union ' demand ' or command the same amount of seats on RT board as the NFU get ? It would need that to have any hope of use .
How would the union get the ear of Gvt .
I think membership couldn't be free but a one off joining fee of possibly £200 and then yearly £100 members subs .

An interesting point would be .....could you be a member of the new union and the NFU ? (Conflict of interest perhaps)

Amazingly all the NFU have to do is go to OMOV and get the members who have left to rejoin with that in place and change would happen ! ( it would be slow)

A new Union ? ....I'm happy to give it a go !

 

[Treg]

tbf that's because lockdown has stopped folks going out for Sunday lunch. Corona has helped the supermarkets complete their takeover of the foodchain. (aided and abetted by the NFU to keep it on thread).

Local butchers have been flat out too ( Not been aided & abetted by the NFU to keep it even more on theme with the thread ).

 

[Bald Rick]

What was the trigger to start fuw?

The English ......... as is always the case

 

[Johnnyboxer]

Is it really falling though? Even seen some of the mainstream news reporting on the boom in meat sales recently and the large amounts of vegan food that's getting wasted in supermarkets because it isn't getting bought.

Some studies say it’s stable or dipping

Other studies say it’s increasing in poor countries as they get more wealth

 

[Treg]

Some studies say it’s stable or dipping

Other studies say it’s increasing in poor countries as they get more wealth

Oh dear....

Celebrities rooting for ‘Veganuary’ in UK to combat new rise in meat sales

Paul McCartney and Chris Packham among stars urging people to ditch meat and dairy in 2021 to fight climate change and avoid another pandemic

www.theguardian.com

10% increase of meat sales month on month through to September 20 .

 

[Danllan]

Was discussing this with a friend last night, hoping for a fresh view on the subject, he's got no ag' interests, relations or what have you; he's an engineer and is a fairly senior chap in a national civil engineering company.

He finds it astonishing that UK agriculture isn't better represented within and by the NFU; meaning that he finds the membership remarkably small and it astonishing that the members have no direct say on management and policy. He does think it has good name recognition and that it would make sense - if possible - to reform and use it, rather than start a new organisation.

Obviously he won't feel as strongly about the NFU as we do, one way or the other; but he's a bright guy and has no axe to grind. After hearing his opinion I asked one more question - what if the NFU won't reform? His answer was blunt: make it, or replace it. I hope all will agree that it's fair comment.

But my problem with it is that it boils down to how many chances we're prepared to give the NFU to change. How many years of being asked / told to wait, to change it from within etc. etc. and it never happens?

In the end I think we just have to recognise that people who cannot be held accountable will not change their behaviour if they don't want to. In every other field of human experience this is admitted without question; so what is it about the NFU that should either makes them an exception to or above this rule?


p.s. I note that there has been no response from the NFU to this thread, and the reason for that is obvious; if they do respond to it, they are accepting its premise.

 

[digger64]

as for "farm assurance" - why bother ?

as long as your production meets all legal & regulatory requirements & you produce meets the standards set by the buyers, what else do you REALLY need ?
Its ALL a con . . .

Says it all really

 

[Farmer_Joe]

Was discussing this with a friend last night, hoping for a fresh view on the subject, he's got no ag' interests, relations or what have you; he's an engineer and is a fairly senior chap in a national civil engineering company.

He finds it astonishing that UK agriculture isn't better represented within and by the NFU; meaning that he finds the membership remarkably small and it astonishing that the members have no direct say on management and policy. He does think it has good name recognition and that it would make sense - if possible - to reform and use it, rather than start a new organisation.

Obviously he won't feel as strongly about the NFU as we do, one way or the other; but he's a bright guy and has no axe to grind. After hearing his opinion I asked one more question - what if the NFU won't reform? His answer was blunt: make it, or replace it. I hope all will agree that it's fair comment.

But my problem with it is that it boils down to how many chances we're prepared to give the NFU to change. How many years of being asked / told to wait, to change it from within etc. etc. and it never happens?

In the end I think we just have to recognise that people who cannot be held accountable will not change their behaviour if they don't want to. In every other field of human experience this is admitted without question; so what is it about the NFU that should either makes them an exception to or above this rule?


p.s. I note that there has been no response from the NFU to this thread, and the reason for that is obvious; if they do respond to it, they are accepting its premise.

We should go on mass to an Nfu conference and show our contempt get some videos on YouTube job done

good post thouugh your right just not sure how you force reform mass with-drawl of membership would help

 

[Henarar]

The best resume of the NFU you will find attached. It picks out the things that need to change for it to be a farmers union rather than an agribusiness lobby group.

ahh see its not a union
perhaps we should form "the real farmers union"

 

[Danllan]

We should go on mass to an Nfu conference and show our contempt get some videos on YouTube job done

good post thouugh your right just not sure how you force reform mass with-drawl of membership would help

This is the real problem; if those who care enough to resign actually do so, it would mean that by a process of residual enrichment those left as members would be supporters of no reform. Catch 22...

ahh see its not a union
perhaps we should form "the real farmers union"

Farming UK would be a good name, and certainly offers the most memorable acronym.

 

[Hindsight]

ahh see its not a union
perhaps we should form "the real farmers union"

A sub group under the overall banner of 'The Federation of Small Businesses' is most probably the appropriate place for farmers to come together with their new trade association. As that is I suggest the reality for vast majority of individual farming businesses.

 

[Clive]

None of you muppets are going to start a positive thread making specific suggestions as to how the NFU needs to change are you. Just going to keep going round and round in circles.

how about the bullet points of my first post being a “how the nfu needs to change” suggestions ?