Tag Archives: NFU

Aldi to open doors to farmers during Red Tractor Week

Discount supermarket Aldi has pledged to help support Red tractor week, with members of the scheme visiting Aldi stores in Bramley, Caerphilly, Enfield, Salford, Cowes and Edgbaston.

Farmers will meet customers and talk about how products are farmed and produced during

Red Tractor Week, which aims to highlight the standards behind the scheme and encourage shoppers to buy Red Tractor-labelled food and back British farmers.

Aldi says it is ‘committed to building long-term relationships’ with farmers, suppliers and growers and was the first supermarket to sign up to the NFU Fruit & Veg Pledge. Tony Baines, Joint Managing Director of Corporate Buying at Aldi, said, “We are proud to be able to offer our customers high quality, Red Tractor assured products, which recognise the best of British.

“We look forward to welcoming Red Tractor farmers to our stores to share their knowledge and experience with our consumers, and also to reinforce the fact that you don’t have to break the bank to buy responsibly sourced, quality food products.”

Photo Caption: Aldi is supporting Red Tractor Week

Photo Credit: Aldi

 

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Lidl signs up to NFU fruit and veg pledge

Joining Aldi as one of only two major retailers yet to sign this pledge, Lidl have committed to treating all suppliers fairly, paying growers on time and reducing waste. Lidl have also agreed to increase the proportion of British seasonal fruit and vegetables available for their customers.

The NFU’s horticulture and potatoes board chairwoman, Ali Capper, said: “We‘re delighted that Lidl has publicly committed to our pledge, highlighting its commitment to long-term supply relationships, equitable distribution of reward along the supply chain and fair and respectful trading relationships.” Ryan McDonnell, commercial director at Lidl UK, commented: “We’re very proud to have developed and maintained strong, long-standing relationships with all our suppliers and our commitment to the NFU pledge cements this further.”

The post Lidl signs up to NFU fruit and veg pledge appeared first on Hort News on 24 June 2016.

NFU plans to increase fruit and veg. consumption

Defra Secretary has helped unveil plans for the autumn by the NFU and others to boost the consumption of home-grown produce, including fruit and veg, as part of the government’s ‘Year of British Food’.

The NFU, Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, Red Tractor and Love British Food are uniting to coordinate a calendar of events starts with the NFU’s Back British Farming day in September, followed by an autumn of driving consumer awareness of quality, assured British food. This activity includes Red Tractor Week, British Food Fortnight, a 12-week Red Tractor on-pack promotion across retailers and foodservice operators, supporting TV and in-store advertising campaigns.

Environment secretary Elizabeth Truss said, “I’m delighted to see our world-leading food and farming industry celebrating British food and drink to help grow our food industry further. With 3.8 million people employed in the food chain we know it is vital for our economic future we make British food and farming all it can be and I am determined to work closely with the farming industry to harness innovation and technology, develop new skills and promote our rich food heritage.”

NFU Deputy President Minette Batters added, “I’m pleased to see our farming organisations collaborating and coming together to champion great British food and the thousands of farmers and growers who produce it every day of the year. I hope this plan of action will help showcase British food which, as we know, is the best in the world.”

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HTA and NFU set out Brexit positions

The National Farmers Union (NFU) and Horticultural Trades Association have set out their positions ahead of the UK’s referendum on whether to remain in the European Union.

After what it described as ‘a full consultation with all members’ in March the HTA has declared a neutral position. After attracting responses from 169 members (around 12 per cent of the total), there was no majority in favour of any of the three proposals (leaving, staying and remaining neutral) and based on that HTA will remain neutral.

HTA Chief Executive Carol Paris comments, “From the good response rate to our survey and comments sent members are interested in the EU referendum and its impact. With views across the spectrum adopting a neutral position ensures that the HTA doesn’t alienate the views of members. Working with other organisations we will endeavour to provide a balanced picture of the pros and cons in the lead up to the vote on 23 June.”

In contrast the NFU has joined other UK Farming Unions in saying that it believed the industry would be better served if the UK remained in the EU. In a statement it said, ‘The NFU recognises and respects the diversity of views among its membership. The NFU’s position is based solely on an evaluation of the agricultural merits of the case and the NFU is fully aware there are many wider issues at stake. The NFU will not be actively campaigning in the referendum; it will not be joining with any campaign groups and it will not, in any circumstances, advise its members how to vote.’

In an interview NFU president Meurig Raymond said, “We believe it’s for the betterment of the future of British agriculture. On all the surveys we have done in the NFU, the majority believe that we should stay in.”

However, in a poll of 350 farmers alongside Farming Online news articles in February, 50% of respondents favoured leaving the EU, whilst 34% said they would choose to remain.

Photo Credit: HTA

The post HTA and NFU set out Brexit positions appeared first on Hort News on 22 April 2016.

Low prices hurting growers

Speaking at the NFU Conference, NFU president Meurig Raymond has warned that completion between multiple retailers, coupled with delays to the Basic Payment, volatile markets and poor weather mean that UK farmers and growers face unparalleled financial pressures.

He called for ‘actions to back the words’ from Defra on its 25-year plan for food and farming, which has been mooted for several months. Mr Raymond said, “British farming has felt blow after blow in recent years – one thing I know for sure is there is no possible way that any sector can carry on in the same vein. Farmers borrowed a £17.8billion from banks in 2015 – a record high. This paints a picture for the many businesses having the profit squeezed out of them. Viable businesses cannot continue operating without profit and farms are no exception.

“We are calling on the government to provide the tools our sector needs to overcome the challenges and ensure they thrive. The 25-year food and farming plan must address the fundamental issues of productivity and competitiveness. It needs to see a culture change about how we value food and farming.”

In her speech, Defra Secretary Liz Truss agreed, “Farmers here in Britain have faced a tough year.” However, while she promoted a number of technical innovations and research spending, she said little about addressing unsustainable market prices.

Photo Credit: Richard Crowhurst

The post Low prices hurting growers appeared first on Hort News on 26 February 2016.

NFU meets Defra to discuss trickle irrigation

An NFU delegation from the key intensive horticultural areas in England met with Defra officials within days of the launch of a new consultation on abstraction licensing.

A Defra consultation ‘Changes to water abstraction licensing exemptions’, was published on 15 January. The deadline for responses is 8 April.

David Long, Kent soft and top fruit grower and a member of the NFU Horticulture Board said that to continue to flourish, growers need secure access to water to grow fruit, and labour to harvest it.

Paul Hammett, NFU water resources specialist, said that growers at the Defra meeting were promised a ‘light touch and risk based approach’ to the future licensing of trickle irrigation. Arguably the most contentious of the Defra proposals is that the Environment Agency will have powers to apply environmental constraints to protect the environment by applying abstraction restrictions at low flows or during drought conditions.

Marion Regan who represents the soft fruit sector at AHDB Horticulture pointed to the recent shift to the use of coir-type substrates which have little or no water holding capacity: “Modern growing methods mean that water shortages cannot be tolerated, even over short periods of time. Restrictions in water availability would have a major impact on crop growth and business profitability and so provision must be made to accommodate protected crop production in the new licensing regime”, she said.

Photo Credit: East Malling Trust

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NFU sparks Westminster debate on food security

On Wednesday 8 January MP for St Ives, Derek Thomas, headed a 90-minute parliamentary discussion on food security, inspired by work carried out by the NFU.

Mr Thomas, whose home constituency is largely rural, has been working with the NFU’s South West office and prepared his debate using information provided to him in two NFU reports.

He said, “Living in a rural area such as west Cornwall brings home the contribution that farmers make and the vital role they play. They preserve, maintain and protect our countryside, and create jobs not only in farming but in sectors such as food processing, engineering and tourism. Most importantly, they feed the nation.

“In the past year our farmers have had a particularly difficult time. For many, the price they are being paid does not cover the cost of production. If this continues we will see farms disappear and less food produced. We need to create an environment where farmers are consistently paid a fair price so that they have confidence to invest in their business, employ the workers they need and produce the food and drink to meet UK demand and beyond.”

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Meurig Raymond: Farming can survive current crisis

NFU President Meurig Raymond believes that farming can survive the current crisis affecting key sectors including cereals, milk and vegetables, but that in order to do so it must utilise the very best information and technology, not only to improve productivity, but also to emphasise the importance of the sector to society as a whole.

Speaking at AgriTech East’s REAP (Realising our Economic and Agricultural Potential) Conference on Wednesday (11 November) Raymond congratulated the Government for its recently announced 25 year Food and Farming Plan and emphasised how the NFU is feeding into that process, but he also lamented the fact that UK self-sufficiency in food has now fallen to just 62 per cent.

He said that provided they were allowed to make a return, farmers were more than willing to invest in the future of their businesses. “Our top priorities must be tackling the barriers to growth and investment,” he stressed. “We need a fair, transparent and functioning supply chain.”

In conclusion Mr Raymond said that policy makers needed to recognise the long term cycles affecting farming. “I am confident that farming is going to find its rightful place in society, but it’s going to be a bumpy ride,” he added.

Photo credit: Richard Crowhurst

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NFU President to help smooth EU food chains

NFU president Meurig Raymond has been elected by European farmers’ organisation Copa-Cogeca to represent EU farmers’ interests on the High Level Forum for a Better Functioning Food Supply Chain.

The forum, which seeks to improve relationships across the whole chain from consumers to farmers, processors and retailers, will be jointly chaired by EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan and the Commissioners for the Internal Market, Health and Food Safety.

Speaking in Brussels after his election Mr Raymond said, “I am very pleased to have this opportunity to work on the improvement of the European food supply chain. The NFU lobbied hard for the government to introduce the Groceries Code and Adjudicator in the UK. Although it isn’t perfect, it has improved relations between suppliers and retailers. I will be highlighting our experience – as Commissioner Hogan so frequently does – to my colleagues on the forum to ensure our example of best practice is shared throughout Europe.

“The NFU continues to call on the European Commission to bring forward legislation to deal with unfair trading practices. We want to ensure that British farmers receive a fair deal in the food chain both at home and abroad. The new High Level Forum is a chance to improve the food chain for the long term – deal with unfair trading, iron out volatility and create opportunities for the farming sector. The food chain is now in the political spotlight, and I intend to keep it there.”

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Countryside Stewardship offers boost to bees

The Environment Secretary Elizabeth Truss has said that the new Countryside Stewardship Scheme, which has a total budget of £900 million, will help protect bees and other pollinators as well as the wider countryside.

Over the next five years the new Countryside Stewardship scheme will offer grants to help improve our environment and countryside – with £85 million set aside to support projects in 2016.

Bees and pollinators are one of four main priorities for the scheme, which is being run on a competitive basis for the first time this year, with applications ranked and money only awarded to those who will make the biggest improvements in their local area. Extra points will be given to agreements working to support bees and pollinators and other farm wildlife.

Elizabeth Truss said, “This is the first ever countryside stewardship scheme that specifically combines help for bees and pollinators as well as wildlife, woodland and rivers. This will mean more margins and meadows with colourful wildflowers in our countryside. Productive farming goes hand in hand with improving the environment.”

However, NFU Vice President Guy Smith warned, “At this late stage, there are still a number of questions about how the scheme will work but we are committed to working with Defra and Natural England on its development and – more importantly – how it will be implemented on the ground.”

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