Sir Terry Leahy is probably relieved that his skiing accident kept him away from the NFU Centenary Conference - because his stand in Lucy Neville Rolfe, director of corporate and legal affairs, took a bit of a battering.
Farmers were lining up to ask questions about why the supermarkets was making a profit, while they were making a loss. Forget cost sharing, they pointed out - how about a bit of profit sharing?
The onslaught was to be expected - Britain's largest supermarket isn't much loved by farmers, despite the company being UK agriculture's largest customer.
Which makes it all the more frustrating that the answers weren't more satisfactory. Tesco had done as much as any other retailer to support the beef and sheep sectors, she said, adding that their buyers do try to ensure a "fair price was paid to the industry".
She also claimed that the margin made by Tesco was not huge - although they did of course sell a big volume. Oh yes, she also pointed out that in agriculture there were years when things were bad and years when things were better.
It was all a little unconvincing.