The mixed farming business includes a 100-cow continental cross suckler herd, as well as sheep and arable. To undermine our farmers, when you want them to have regulation that costs a lot of money, and undermine them with cheap products coming in that dont even meet the first rung of the ladder, was going to do one thing, and that was going to put our farmers out of business. We recognised how split they were, but all sides were united in that they had a complete thirst for information. Which is very similar to what they do in countries like Australia and America. As a net importer from the EU, and it being our most important export market, it was in the economic interest for farmers on both sides that we added as little cost and friction as possible. You know, vote for this, because it will be cheaper. The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is demanding a written guarantee from the government that Brexit won't undermine British farming standards. On gene editing, yes, on plant breeding, its a massive opportunity. EXECUTIVE PROFILE: Minette Batters, President of NFU Yes, we did have very high-quality affordable food, the most affordable in Europe, the third most affordable in the world. I can remember challenging him at our February 2019 annual conference. We need people to harvest our fruit, vegetables, and flowers. Whitehall has driven so much of EU rules and regulations for agriculture and the environment, so when we bring it back home, weve got to be able to make sure that it works across those four countries. If were going to have checks in the Irish Sea to avoid a border, where do you do the checks? Down on the farm | Salisbury Journal UKICE: When you got over the total shock and start regrouping, youre facing the prospect that, despite your stated position that, on balance, it was better for UK farming to remain, youre going to have to cope with the outcome of a Leave vote. [6], In 2019 Walters was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset. I think there was a bit of a fait accompli moment, that we live in a democratic country, democracy has been played out, and our focus was always on, How does this work best for British agriculture? So, that is why we want you to be part of the SPS area. Agricultural Acts dont come along very often 1947, 1920 its over a 70-year gap. UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE): You have a Conservative leadership battle that ends up with Theresa May becoming Prime Minister. Which, of course, it should never have been, because that was about food safety and what we were wanting to talk about was food values, and the laws of our land. If we go and dilute that massively, and have a flood of much cheaper imports, that is obviously going to undermine our farmers. [2] Walters spent a year at the Abbey School in Reading, Berkshire, before winning a Foundation Scholarship at the Godolphin boarding school in Salisbury. In fact, weve probably actively driven away people from some sectors. Weve got to be able to look at, actually, how we enable these growers to have access to the workforce that they need. Dont forget, Michael Gove did not hold back in this arena, he is well documented and publicised. Youve got to have agriculture as a key part of trade policy. We brought a massive coalition together of all farming organisations, nearly every NGO that is out there animal welfare experts, consumer groups, Jamie Oliver, Raymond Blanc, Prue Leith. They still are. Menu. And I think George Eustice described this as seeing me have a sort of nuclear moment, where I nearly erupted through the ceiling. Within six months of that new government I was conscious that wed led the standards campaign. The union's president Minette Batters will make the call at their conference later today amid growing concerns about the implications of Brexit for farming - whether a deal is struck or not. NFU (National Farmers' Union) on LinkedIn: #gbbw2023 # Well, we still dont actually know, publicly, what trade policy is. Because at the end of the day, the NFU is going to be pivotal in this major re-set moment. We knew it would be a lose-lose to try and lobby, effectively, for a race to the bottom. Exports are down though, with specialist cheesemakers and products such as fresh cream taking a massive hit. When I see the out-of-home sector has been offline, with everybody buying products out of retail, prices in the red meat are pretty good because retail has become very loyal to British sourcing, because the British consumer has demanded it. Minettes goal is to make history as exciting and readable as any of her psychological crime thrillers. And the decision was taken, by NFU Council, the sovereign body of the NFU, that on the information available it was in British agricultures best economic interest to remain. Then there was the permanent focus, bearing in mind that successive governments have driven people out of doing what are deemed not to be office-based jobs, I suppose. She turned freelance in 1977 but continued to write for magazines to cover her bills. But Chequers, with its common rule book, allowed for that situation with the island of Ireland to be avoided, and it potentially paved the way for us to transition into an international trading relationship, but with the complexity of the deal with the EU and the UK sorted. That isnt going to happen overnight, because weve actively pushed people away from doing those jobs. So, the need for the NFU to get this right, to not drop a ball, to be focused on what is needed, to be the lobbyist extraordinaire ultimately, the weight of that falling on my shoulders has felt like a massive responsibility. Do you think that the Brexit that has played out so far is at least meeting their expectations, in terms of what new opportunities it would bring? But it was always going to need a bespoke model. Walters was born in Bishop's Stortford in 1949 to Samuel Jebb and Colleen Jebb. Because of the size of our population, because of the size of the sector, food and farming employs one in eight people. The catastrophic part came from the fact that, with more than 70% of our exports going into the EU, we would face their very high tariff wall which, for agricultural products like beef and lamb and dairy, was an impossible economic ladder to climb and at the same time, as a nation we import more than 30% of the food we consume from the EU. We had implemented laws that were based on food values, and yet we werent prepared to look at that in other parts of the world. I have very good engagement with the Department for International Trade at all levels, and with Defra at all levels. He knew the Department inside out; he knew farming well. UKICE: But its also consulting, isnt it, on gene editing and other issues like that, which the Government sees as a big new possibility to appear more open to innovation than the EU. Were now in May, and looking at these changes coming in for 2022. And why did you decide on your ultimate tactic, as we headed towards the referendum? Those three things together, for a long-term business- I would say, if you werent worried then, you werent actively engaged. Straight away she ruled out being part of the Single Market, and we had those big speeches at Lancaster House, Mansion House, that were hard-line Brexit positions. Have you been pressurising government-? The EU are now really having these positive conversations, and the Commission has come out positively, saying, Actually, on plant breeding, weve got to look at the opportunities around that resistant crop. Do you think it signalled a significant change of direction? That was a manifesto commitment, dont forget, in the 2019 election not to undermine our farmers in future FTAs. Minette Batters (MB): Well, George has been in Defra a long time. And then, of course, just this wall of silence. MINETTE BATTERS We wanted government to put its money where its mouth was. It was ideology based on three principles: A bonfire of regulation, the easiest trade deal in history, and more money for UK priorities, because we wouldnt be paying it into the EU. When that government came in in December 2019, there was, I felt, quite a bit of rebuilding to do with backbench MPs because of Brexit. I guess its knowing that you are going into a period of enormous change, but that change hasnt actually happened yet. espn reporters sleeping with athletes ossian elementary school calendar. MB: I still think that is undecided, effectively. Were such a big organisation, representing 50,000 farmers across England and Wales. That was quite a moment of recognition for me. dune fremen language translator. All rights reserved. So, I continue to hold them to account on that. With Theresa May, it was about trying to say, Were here, dont forget agriculture, because its going to be the complex area. I think we were quite at arms length, I would say, from influencing the European thinking. Walters describes herself as an exploratory writer who never uses a plot scheme, begins with simple premises, has no idea 'whodunit' until halfway through a story, but who remains excited about each novel because she, along with her reader, wants to know what happens next. Did it make a difference having Andrea Leadsom there? During a gap year between school and Durham University, 1968, Minette volunteered in Israel with The Bridge in Britain, working on a kibbutz and in a delinquent boys home in Jerusalem. Officials suddenly became very energised, because they had someone who was really digging in on every area of detail. Minette Batters We then used the NFU Council, to identify the key issues, we brought together an options paper, and we looked at bringing together a whole host of task and finish groups. Of course, if in effect you listen to everybody, then it does allow you the opportunity of going away and doing your own thing, because youve got all these dissenting voices. WebMinette Batters NFU President Minette runs a tenanted family farm in Wiltshire. The series was won by the actress Sherrie Hewson, whose debut novel The Tannery was published in March 2009. Real life consequences From my point of view, I wanted to keep the market, the business, alive, bearing in mind that these are perishable products that we are dealing with. We focused all our lobbying on, I guess, the outcomes that we wanted to see achieved, not our means of getting there by some of the existing avenues; the Single Market, customs union, EFTA. The Department for International Trade, of course, is focused on getting trade deals done. There were challenges across Europe and here with the weather that we have in the winter, so there was an application put in for emergency use authorisation on Cruiser neonicotinoid.