" In the meantime we believe that farmers want us to get on with improving the current situation for them."

 This is what the NFU  state in their retaliatory report on the prospects   of  a pressure group being formed. Haven't we been waiting for the NFU  to move for years  and  to date they have achieved  nothing that fundamentally  ensures the continuation and profitability  of British farming. It is time Bennett went - he has achieved  even less  than his predecessors. Good Luck to the group.

Jack.

 Jack.  Just what the NFU needs to shake it out of its complacency and to make the guys in charge realise that not all British Farmers think the NFU is doing the best it could and judging by our catostrophic prices and the strangulation of our free enterprise efforts with ridiculous non productive red tape from Government and the assurance scams we wont have enough real farmers left to form a quorum at the national AGM in 20years time. Time for a proper change,and if they wont let all the members vote for the President of their choice ,then they,the establishment,shouldnt be suprised by the efforts of BetterNFU to rectify the situation. Members have watched the present team trying to improve our situation and now realise that the old methods of begging and turning the other cheek simply aint working,time to try another approach. Dick

Better NFU typed into a 'spell-checker' returns Bitternut or Bitternuts; says it all really.

Those farmers, growers and NFU members, who successfully win the respect of their regional and national piers, and gain office within the NFU, have the opportunity and right to represent the industry, amongst customers and government. All I see here, is short sighted one-upmanship, while cutting the corners of a long standing democratic process.

If these people really had the credentials to lead the NFU or the farming industry, they would be running it already, rather than relying on an ill-fated, privately funded coup. 

Robert. No one has the right to represent the membership unless he is voted into that post by all subscription paying members and until that time you will have discontent and rebellion amongst the ordinary members. Be a really good idea to allow us a vote in return for the vast amounts of hard earned cash we are pouring into this organisation via our subs, or as the Americans once said ' No taxation without representation' I dont want or need someone to vote on my behalf for the presidential team,I want that right to vote myself and I want it now. Gone are the days when a few big powerful public school educated farmers exercised their judgement on behalf of the rest of us, today we are all well informed and able to make our own judgements without relying on the good and the great  doing it for us. I also of course would expect the present uprising to undergo the same fully democratic electoral system that the one man one vote supporters,like myself, hope eventually to see in all our union affairs. Dick

Dick and his band of merry men have a (idealistic?) point. But if democracy is such a popular idea with in the NFU, why is it always the same four or five people writing the same old message on this board? The article in the Times was prominent one. Goldsmith's peice was the leader and the story headline was prominant. Yet has there been any follow up to it? There has been no outpouring of support on this board, in the press or elsewhere that I have heard.

My impression is that this movement is nothing more than a group troublemakers whose principle desire is to achieve notoriety through publicity stunts. It can be no coincidence the Zac Goldsmith intends to stand in the next election.

And as for "Gone are the days when a few big powerful public school educated farmers exercised their judgement on behalf of the rest of us" then what in the hell do you think Zac Goldsmith is with his multi millions.

People may look to the model of the French unions or those in other countries, but even there those unions using their model of political action find their position increasing indefensible.Militancy is not the answer. Don't you remember someone called Arthur Scargill???

When was the last time you saw a successful organsation trying to influence the gvt go from being involved at the heart of its affairs to having more success outside of the system? The most powerful and sucessful pressure groups go from being on the outside to being on the inside, as the NFU has. Not the other way round. The one downside to that is that it is privy to a process which is less glamourous than blockading fuel refineries.

I'm with Robert. If the NFU is as useless as you think then you lose nothing by not payiing your subs. There is a tried and tested system in place. Use it.

well done steady eddie. I remember suggesting during FMD year that we did not want another Arfur Scargill !

and just remmeber the outright lies that were posted on the farmers for action website that year, and the stance Mr Handley took, telling everybody that we had to vote Tony Blair out, anybody but a bloody fool could see that labour would go back in in 2001, little wonder that farmers for action left themslves completely out in the cold that year and squealed continuously that they were not in on meetings and negotiations, same with the supermarkets, if you slag your customers off they are hardly likely to then sit up and respect your view in subsequent meetings, as for Mr Mead I think he should stand down from his position on the NFU council, after all he has done nothing other than criticise the nfu for years.

And as for Goldsmith, did his late father  not donate to new labour and indeed  help secure new labours win, for which he was duly made a labour peer !!, his tendancy towards labour during this period apparently came as a complete surprise apart from to his closest friends, so what makes you people think his son wants out of us farmers other than to use us as a stepping block.( to cap it all his private political secretary was none other than Michael foster MP, yes the prat who held up the cuddly fox when he tried to get a private members bill to ban hunting passed, sounds like thes really are the sort of people looking after our intersts, me thinks not

oh I forgot, no i am not an NFU office holder, infact i to think the nfu need a kick up the ass, but by someone with a bit of credabillity please !