Where’s big business?

Ok so with agriculture taking a battering on all fronts at the moment, people say you farmers should stand up for yourself , but we are so fractured and insular we simply can’t do it so where the big suppliers speaking up for us? When the sub goes the profit goes no profit no spending money = no sales? I have not seen any ag business standing up for the little guy ….
 
We need people who don't think like farmers to represent us, the farmers Union is an example of how crap farmers are at representing themselves.
Even farmers are fed up listening to the same bollox about things not being fair and the playing field not being level.

Jeremy Clarkson (who I'd class as a townie type) has done more for farmers than any of our representatives have done in decades.

Thinking outside the box is required to get the public to realise how much in danger their food supply could be if they don't embrace the industry.
 
I don’t think it’s necessary to have a non farmer representing farmers, that is often difficult. But we need to move away from the “old white men in a suits” who always make up every panel and board. I am a farmer, I am 36, I farm largely without sub and I don’t own any ground. I would consider myself pretty forward thinking and well educated. I can think of many examples of other farmers, young, old, established and first gen, who all are doing some very interesting stuff and who I would be much happier representing me than a bunch of over payed, rich old land owners 😂
 

traineefarmer

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Mid Norfolk
Ok so with agriculture taking a battering on all fronts at the moment, people say you farmers should stand up for yourself , but we are so fractured and insular we simply can’t do it so where the big suppliers speaking up for us? When the sub goes the profit goes no profit no spending money = no sales? I have not seen any ag business standing up for the little guy ….

Big businesses are the ones holding the sticks emboldened by the useless NFU, RT and AIC.
 

Grassman

Member
Location
Derbyshire
I don’t think it’s necessary to have a non farmer representing farmers, that is often difficult. But we need to move away from the “old white men in a suits” who always make up every panel and board. I am a farmer, I am 36, I farm largely without sub and I don’t own any ground. I would consider myself pretty forward thinking and well educated. I can think of many examples of other farmers, young, old, established and first gen, who all are doing some very interesting stuff and who I would be much happier representing me than a bunch of over payed, rich old land owners 😂
Are you volunteering?😀
 
I don’t think it’s necessary to have a non farmer representing farmers, that is often difficult. But we need to move away from the “old white men in a suits” who always make up every panel and board. I am a farmer, I am 36, I farm largely without sub and I don’t own any ground. I would consider myself pretty forward thinking and well educated. I can think of many examples of other farmers, young, old, established and first gen, who all are doing some very interesting stuff and who I would be much happier representing me than a bunch of over payed, rich old land owners 😂
Stuff that's interesting to you maybe, but is that going to unterest the average shopper/city dweller?
One of our NFU Scotland representatives hasn't received subsidies in his life and is making a living but I don't see that helping the message get across.

Have you got the spare time to run such a project?

Why do you class getting a non farmer to put our message to non farmers as being potentially difficult?
 

farenheit

Member
Location
Midlands
I don’t think it’s necessary to have a non farmer representing farmers, that is often difficult. But we need to move away from the “old white men in a suits” who always make up every panel and board. I am a farmer, I am 36, I farm largely without sub and I don’t own any ground. I would consider myself pretty forward thinking and well educated. I can think of many examples of other farmers, young, old, established and first gen, who all are doing some very interesting stuff and who I would be much happier representing me than a bunch of over payed, rich old land owners 😂
By being all of the above, you have a competitive advantage. Why unionise and have to share? Also, you will absolutely not have the time to do it.
 

Chris F

Staff Member
Media
Location
Hammerwich
I've tried to speak to ADM a number of times. Zero response. They are all still making a profit and really don't care how farmers are treated, from what I can tell. They are simply a mechanism for their businesses to operate.

The RT/AIC in point in case. ADM could fix it if they wanted. But they haven't and that says volumes. Farmers won't stop selling to them if they offer the best price. So I get their point.
 
And here in, lies some of the issue. Most of the folk who have the time to dedicate to these kind of things, I am always slightly suspicious of why they have that time ? Why aren’t they doing something more productive ? There is a saying about rising to the level of your incompetence.

With regard to non farmers representing me, that happens enough as it is 😂 I always feel it’s a little questionable when folk are being asked to speak for me, or to give their opinion on a subject, that they know nothing about. Social media is full of folk who paint a nice picture but have zero to do with actual farming and making a living from it, so when they are asked to speak for farmers I cringe a bit.

I was being tongue in cheek about me taking any part, but I guess if I was asked to be part of a body which I actually thought might represent our views and give us some decent representation, I would be willing to dedicate some of my spare time to it.

Re interest to me vs the average person / city dweller. ...... I don’t live in a vacuum. A lot of my friends, my partner etc, are non farming. I don’t come from a farming back ground myself. I am also a social anthropologist by training and trade. It isn’t that hard to work out how the public think or what their priorities are! They are vocal enough about it 😂
 

Clive

Staff Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lichfield
We need people who don't think like farmers to represent us, the farmers Union is an example of how crap farmers are at representing themselves.
Even farmers are fed up listening to the same bollox about things not being fair and the playing field not being level.

Jeremy Clarkson (who I'd class as a townie type) has done more for farmers than any of our representatives have done in decades.

Thinking outside the box is required to get the public to realise how much in danger their food supply could be if they don't embrace the industry.

been banging this drum for years ! I recall posting similar 15 years ago on the old BFF forum

seems a few are finally waking up to it at last …… but is it too late ?
 

manhill

Member
We need people who don't think like farmers to represent us, the farmers Union is an example of how crap farmers are at representing themselves.
Even farmers are fed up listening to the same bollox about things not being fair and the playing field not being level.

Jeremy Clarkson (who I'd class as a townie type) has done more for farmers than any of our representatives have done in decades.

Thinking outside the box is required to get the public to realise how much in danger their food supply could be if they don't embrace the industry.
They may wake up to the criticality of our food supply as events in South Africa develop.
 

7610 super q

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
Back to the OP. You would think that the likes of John Deere etc would happily fund some media adverts promoting farming.
I'm watching the news as we speak, farmer bashing taking centre stage again. Greatest scape goat in history.
 
And here in, lies some of the issue. Most of the folk who have the time to dedicate to these kind of things, I am always slightly suspicious of why they have that time ? Why aren’t they doing something more productive ? There is a saying about rising to the level of your incompetence.

With regard to non farmers representing me, that happens enough as it is 😂 I always feel it’s a little questionable when folk are being asked to speak for me, or to give their opinion on a subject, that they know nothing about. Social media is full of folk who paint a nice picture but have zero to do with actual farming and making a living from it, so when they are asked to speak for farmers I cringe a bit.

I was being tongue in cheek about me taking any part, but I guess if I was asked to be part of a body which I actually thought might represent our views and give us some decent representation, I would be willing to dedicate some of my spare time to it.

Re interest to me vs the average person / city dweller. ...... I don’t live in a vacuum. A lot of my friends, my partner etc, are non farming. I don’t come from a farming back ground myself. I am also a social anthropologist by training and trade. It isn’t that hard to work out how the public think or what their priorities are! They are vocal enough about it 😂
I'm not asking for the non farmers to create the message, I'm suggesting that a body of non farmers are used to deliver it in terms and in ways that town/city types (which most of the population are) will take an interest in.

How would you go about being a good representative of farming in your opinion?
What angles do you see it coming from and how would you go about delivering our message?
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 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

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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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