Gill under attack at Monmouth meeting
Gill under attack at Monmouth meeting
NFU president, Ben Gill, was given a rough ride when he addressed the annual meeting of the unions Monmouthshire branch.
With many Farmers for Action supporters in his audience, including some from the West Country, he was challenged time and again to spell out what he and other officers had achieved on a range of issues. He said the union must operate within the law and could not "flick a switch" to change things.
Farming was under attack from many directions and must fight back against its critics, especially vociferous single-interest groups.
"The countryside is not some frozen Constable painting," insisted Mr Gill. "Farmers are expected to look after the countryside and provide cheap food. You cannot have it both ways."
Criticised for not standing up to giant retailers over prices Mr Gill told members that supermarkets were not going away. They were businesses and, like farmers, they tried to screw down suppliers prices. The answer was proper dialogue, and more co-operation between producers to gain market strength.
"We must give up our independence after the farm gate to maintain it before the gate; it is the only way to increase prices," he said.
Mr Gill continued the theme when he visited Andrew Alfords county council holding at Llandewi Skirrid. Farmers were responding, he said, and forecast that within a year 60% of British milk would be sold through two powerful producer co-ops.
Looking ahead to EU expansion and dairy policy reform he warned that there was no budget to pay compensation to producers.
Mr Alford and other young milk producers told Mr Gill that the NFU should disown aspects of the quota system that hurt new entrants and those wishing to expand.
"There should be no place for speculators, or sofa farmers who are non-producing quota holders," he said. "Every time we get a price rise it goes into their pockets through increased leasing costs, and those of the quota agents."
If they were not producing, their quota should be taken off them. The NFU must come off the fence and decide whether it wanted to encourage young producers, or the over 60s, who saw leasing quotas as their pensions.
Mr Gill refused to give his personal view on the issue. But he assured Mr Alford that the NFU was committed to serving members of all ages. *
NFUpresident, Ben Gill, was criticised repeatedly during a visit to Wales.