As most of you will know we often run profiles or interviews with people in Farmers Weekly under the banner of In the Hot Seat. We've done ministers (from all the regions), leaders of key organisations like NFU, CLA etc and people who like to/tend to stir things up for farmers ie Sean Rickard.

I just wondered if there were any individuals you would like to see interviewed, that we haven't already? Any ideas you have would be really interesting.

Thanks,

Isabel 

Alastair Darling - to explain how his ideas for CAP are even half sensible/workable and to ask if he thinks winding the other Member States and the Commission up like that is realy such a good idea

Gordon Ramsay - after behaving like a bit of a mentalist with his little seaonal produce rant recently it would be good to drill down and see if he really cares

Marc Bolland (Morrisons CEO) - they are well placed to navigate their way through the credit crunch and he seems to be doing some good for the Bradford based retailer.

 I would like you to do a 'forensic' interview with the person who actually puts drafted regulations in front of the Secretary of State for Defra.

You could of course ask many questions but, because regulations are so comprehensive and the impact on the individual so great, we are entitled to probe their understanding of what it is they are requiring us to do.

Just on the issue of double tagging of sheep, we might ask them their knowledge (not opinion) of how long it takes to gather a flock of sheep, what equipment is required to pen them, and to tag them. How long does each operation take. What is the measure of stress in sheep as a result of this operation. How many sheep lose tags and why. Where are the tagging records kept, in what form and who makes the record, where are the records kept. Who accesses and monitors the records and where and what does each stage of the process cost.

My own estimate (fag packet stuff) for that operation on 44million sheep is £880m per annum, of which £286m is borne by the farmer that equates to £20 per animal.

Ask the person to produce the management accounts for the £600m of Defra, Trading Standards, Animal Health et al, of taxpayer's money spent on the scheme to ensure that sheep have a tag in each ear.

Ask him/her what is the point of the Individual Ear tag number given that Humans cannot catch disease dependent on inherited characteristics from a sheep and that in any case, were notifiably disease to hit a sheep Defra's solution is to treat on a whole flock basis.

When the person says that it is impossible to say how much of 'officials' time is spent on ear tags because the same official does other work, ask them  for a breakdown, with costs of each part of the overall work those officials do.

I know, I know, I'm being picky but believe me Isabel; those of us who have spent time on Management Accounting (and all farmers do this even if they don't use the term)  already break down their costs to these levels, and so why should this be any different for government employees involved in adding work and costs to the farm accounts.

Your final question would be.   How much Value do you add to add to British Farming as opposed to how much Cost do you add per annum.

Don't be afraid to be personal. Every regulation coming out of Whitehall has a personal impact on my life and so the person writing them should be held up to public gaze. Incidentally, given that employees are required to ensure that their actions do not harass or invoke stress in employees how does he/she ensure that farmers do not feel harassed or stressed as a result of each regulation or requirment.

Great suggestions. Keep 'em coming.

Sun Zhengcai the Chinese Ag minister, he has over a billion people to feed, his decisions change world markets, I wonder what he is like and what he thinks of us?

I doubt he will have the time tho

If not perhaps the Norwegian Ag minister ( Terje Riis-Johansen)  to see life outside the CAP and why did they put all those seeds in the vault.

Clarrissa Dickson-Wright and Jeremy Clarkson. Both would, I think, have strong views about the countryside and farming.

Isabel

Have you ever done an interview with Marian Fischer Boels?

I would like to ask her how the restricting of GM crops can be justified when so many of the worlds poorest are starving to death and why the new proposed EU restrictions on many pesticides, which will inevitably lead to a reduction in food production, can be justified just to satisfy the loony green brigade when most of the third worlds kids are going hungry.

Dick

Grumpy on BFF would be an ideal candidate.

Dos Alastair darling have a Brain?????He seams even worse that M Beckett.

He thinks that by scraping!!!! subsidys,and paying farmers less he can increase production.What the heck.

            I like He his-self's idea for an interview with the Chinese minister. Do you think this is possible?

 How about an interview with one the 'retired' Soviet Union Agricultural Planners? You could lead the discussion to the point where you asked him what the similarities are between what the Soviets used to plan, and with the plans of EU agricultural planners.

I like that one Peter.

 I think that the Benn fellow and the rest of the socialist mob who run this country and the bureaucracy  of the EU are the similar  type of people to those who ran the old failed soviet collective agriculture in Russia, that is to say, still hankering after a state controlled agriculture run by reconstituted Marxists with a natural hatred of the capitalist farmers, whom they described as Kulaks

. I only hope they are not planning to reopen the gulags ( concentration camps) to reeducate us or finish us off, after all Uncle Joe killed some 20 million farmers like us according to Solzhenitsyn. And I also think  you and I would be hauled off pretty quick  for indoctrination or worse!

Dick

There are some interesting ideas here - although quite a challenge to try and set up. But if we don't ask, we won't get.

Temple Grandin P HD 

Here are a selction of names I was emailed over the weekend:

George Monbiot, Jules Pretty, Lester brown, colin tudge, vandana shiva, jimmy's farm,  jared diamond, charles clover, robert watson (defra),

Lawrence Zubke, who is a stalwart of the Holstein industry in Europe and North America.

How about?

 John Beddington - govt chief scientist

Jimmy Carter - former US president (wasn't he a peanut farmer?)

That chap from Blur who's farming now?

The new CVO? Nigel Gibbens?

 What about an agricultural attache or a High Commissioner from a London embassy?

Arden Andersen,d.o.,ph.d.    He is a doctor,a progressive agronomist,he is a consultant world wide,and has a book called.LET FOOD BE YOUR MEDICINE. VIST  www.ardenandersen.com      or search on www.acresusa.com     he has strong vews on GM, milk intolerance,Autism,childrens Cancers,Allergies,Organics, and many more.   THANKS    JOHN.

Hi Skoda,

 Last year FW did an interview with Temple, which can be found here: http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2007/05/08/103395/back-to-basics-getting-cattle-handling-systems-right.html

 However, any other ideas of what would be worthwhile covergae with Temple would be greatfully received by the FW team I am sure - perhaps a farmer panel asking the questions etc?

Have you interviewed the Board's chairmen and/or members of the Little Red Tractor Assurance scheme and other schemes which we have to be members of in order to supply the great British public? These schemes seem to be becoming self serving in that they are dreaming up more ridiculous and expensive rules simply to justify their existence and raison d'etre. Some of the Inspectors from people like TESCO might be worth interviewing given that their inspections are I'm told more rigorous than most, how about asking them for justification and tangible proof that what they are doing is improving animal welfare, especially given that HFW is tabling a motion at TESCO AGM saying that the supermarket doesn't meet the 5 Freedoms?

Good idea freeranger.

 Lets hope the assurance scams can be exposed for the terrible waste of time and recourses that they really are. Nightmarish schemes dreamed up by the hierarchy of the NFU to deliver ordinary working farmers into the hands of a terrifying inspectorate whilst at the same time providing nice little part time jobs for the good and the great of our Union when they retire from active service. Nice little earners indeed, helps meet the devastating cost of school fees and the soaring cost of running the new Range Rover, all paid for by ordinary working farmers and creating nothing except stress, grief and paper mountains.

Dick.

Given that large producers have people on the Board's of these schemes drawing up the rules to suit themselves knowing that it will price small producers like myself out and stop us from attempting to compete with them on level terms isn't it time there was some investigative journalism into how they operate and the effect they have on small growers? From personal experience the big guys generally ignore the rules until they get caught out but no one points any fingers, they are still allowed on the Assurance Boards when they should be suspended or kicked off, and they only come crawling to people like me to supply them when they have dropped a clanger and then it doesn't matter to them whether you comply or not so long as they can fulfil that precious supermarket contract.

See if you can get this chap

Dr Mpoko Bokanga

He was on this BBC piece

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7428789.stm

Maybe a chat via webcam or even a forum event?

Isabel,

How about getting Hilary or Darling and let the Forum ask some Questions which you could put to them.

The person/imbecile who wrote the latest sheep-tagging regulations.

At least we would be able to find out who wrote them.