‘Let’s get talking about the food we produce’ Welsh farmers told

“Food taxes have been hitting the headlines recently. I believe the headlines need to be about a healthy balanced diet and that’s what the NFU promotes. We want everyone to talk about the high quality food that is produced in this country and sell the story around food production,” that was Minette Batters, NFU Deputy President’s message to Monmouthshire farmers at their recent annual conference.

Minette continued, “I am passionate about us farmers talking about the food we produce and spreading the message to consumers. I want us all to talk more about our industry and keep our customers interested in where their food comes from. We all have great stories to tell about food production and we need to have the confidence to be able to tell our story.

“A sustainable productive agricultural industry is a critical but often undervalued asset for the UK and as our population increases, diet evolves and climate changes, we will become increasingly dependent on our agricultural land for food production.

“The techniques of how we lobby as an industry are changing at a pace. What we need to do is turn the wheel, there is tremendous public support and interest in food and in what we as farmers do, so let’s embrace this and engage more with the public, get them on side, and then with their support we can then look forward to a better future for our industry.”

As well as her work with shoppers via ‘Ladies in Beef’, through the NFU Minette also campaigns for food and farming awareness to be at the heart of the school curriculum.

“For a start, and fundamental to all else, it’s about getting consumers on our side and the earlier in their lives the better. There’s got to be a moral obligation somewhere. With rising levels of obesity and the burden that puts on the health service not to mention food waste; we’re more often than not told that we can’t afford the time to teach children about the fundamentals of food, but I’d ask whether we can afford not to?”

Gary Yeomans, Monmouthshire County Chairman said, “These are challenging times at the moment, all commodities are suffering, but we have a good story to tell and I agree with Minette that it needs confidence but telling our food production stories will help to sell our products.”

HSBC Agriculture Director for Wales, Euryn Jones, agreed with Gary Yeomans that this year had been a difficult year for all sectors of the industry. He warned that the industry unfortunately would need to be better prepared for volatility and reduced payments in the future.

He asked the audience to consider making use of the BPS online calculator that can be found on the Welsh Government website so that they can have an idea of their BPS payments for the next five years. Euryn said, “It worries me that many many farmers haven’t looked ahead. I would encourage farmers to take some time to plan ahead for the future changes to the amount of their Single Farm Payment they will receive.”

Gary Yeomans closed the evening with a vote of thanks to Minette Batters for her address and to HSBC bank for its generous sponsorship of the conference.