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MB: Covid, in many ways, with food supply, helped, actually, because the engagement was there with agriculture and food and government. Which, of course, it should never have been, because that was about food safety and what we were wanting to talk about was food values, and the laws of our land. We also knew that campaigning on either side, for a membership organisation, would be really counter-productive. Having worked through the technical detail and this is where I think Michael came into play this became quite an obvious solution. But its a classic case of, youve got to pitch people. Or did you think it was just so unthinkable and such a bad thing, that you werent even prepared to talk about it with government? Walters's second novel, The Sculptress, which was inspired in part by an encounter Walters had as a volunteer prison visitor,[2] won the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award. If were going to continue with a policy that is about raising standards in this country, and not asking the same for other countries, thats going to have big impact on our farmers and on our food system. Scotland is talking about maintaining the same levels of direct support, so an area-based payment linked to sustainable farming. As part of the British project Quick Reads, to encourage literacy amongst adults with reading difficulties, she wrote a 20,000-word novella called Chickenfeed. MB: I think weve always recognised, from day one, how difficult Ireland is. We focused all our lobbying on, I guess, the outcomes that we wanted to see achieved, not our means of getting there by some of the existing avenues; the Single Market, customs union, EFTA. Youve got Defra, effectively, leading on border controls and things like export health certificates. That is going to be, I think, quite a challenge, especially on the back of Covid, in terms of making the case for future investment. UKICE: Theresa May was absolutely clear that Brexit meant ending free movement, but farming and food processing had been very dependent on Eastern European migration for a long time. How do we resolve an issue that kept the United Kingdom together and allowed us, effectively, to transition into a new relationship? Minette Batters (MB): Well, George has been in Defra a long time. As the May Government was starting to develop its vision of its Brexit, we had ministers, not least Liam Fox, talking about doing trade deals with the US, and the big summer 2017 bust-up over chlorinated chicken. That in itself was controversial with some of our members, but the expertise wasnt in the UK, economic analysis of trade deals was something the European Commission was responsible for. Its really key, though, to say on the information available, to remain in the EU. We were well aware then that agriculture is incredibly complex, and always the last chapter in trade deals to be achieved. I think its essential that we can meet with him, bearing in mind weve still got active engagement with member states trying to resolve these issues. UKICE: Are officials more accessible, if you cant get in to talk to Lord Frost? My predecessor, Lord Henry Plumb, had taken a position when we entered the Common Market in 1973. It was one of the most affected departments by Brexit: did you get the sense that they could get the staff and resources they needed, or were they struggling through this? buss type w 30 amp fuse replacement; Books. So, there is a lot of water, I would say, to go under the bridge before that question can be answered. Go to them, saying, This is the solution to that problem. abril 26, 2023 0 Visualizaes jason elliott, newsom. Her themes include isolation, family dysfunction, rejection, marginalisation, justice and revenge. But given the issues at hand went well beyond the economics argument, into issues such as immigration and sovereignty, it was also decided that the NFU would not campaign for Remain, nor would we advise our members how to vote. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most 1995 The CWA Gold Dagger Award (shortlist): 1995 The Best Translated Crime Fiction of the Year in Japan. Walters was born in Bishop's Stortford in 1949 to Samuel Jebb and Colleen Jebb. 30 Apr 2023 11:52:44 Are they worried about this unfairness to British producers? Her novels are often set against real backgrounds and real events to draw her readers into the 'reality' of what she is writing about. WebIt's St George's Day, and that marks the start of Ladies in Beef, Great British Beef Week! MB: In the end, as Deputy President of the NFU, I did take a public position, which was that, on the information we had, we would be better off remaining in the EU. Weve always maintained that, in the UK, we dont want to lower standards, but there has always been a concern as to what imports and the future of international trade will look like. We are really asking Defra to keep looking at the impact assessments. Co founder, Ladies in Beef and GBBW. It has also been translated into several languages. They have two sons: Roland, who is married to Charlotte, and Philip, who is married to Sarah: and three granddaughters: Madeleine, Martha and Hermione. There were challenges across Europe and here with the weather that we have in the winter, so there was an application put in for emergency use authorisation on Cruiser neonicotinoid. Trade is such dry policy, that a lot of people, particularly in the media, were not taking the time to understand it. Weve got to make sure that we build what I would call bridges to more mechanisation, more automation. Photograph: Adrian We knew it would be a lose-lose to try and lobby, effectively, for a race to the bottom. UKICE: You dont represent farmers in Northern Ireland, because theyre represented by the Ulster Farmers Union. She was first elected to the post in 2018 for two years, and was re-elected in March 2020. All rights reserved. Because whatever we allow Australia to do, dont forget weve then got New Zealand, weve got Canada, and of course, overlaying all of that, weve got the Trans-Pacific deals. That was quite a moment of recognition for me. The daffodil-growers in Cornwall will have faced enormous losses. If we dont do that, we will see things rotting in the fields, simply because we havent got the capability to pick them. The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is demanding a written guarantee from the government that Brexit won't undermine British farming standards. So a no deal meant that we would be dealing with the EU the same way as we would be dealing with the rest of the world in the absence of any trade deals. The government was clear it would not countenance food price inflation, so the Temporary Tariff Regime was conceived. The authoritative source for independent research on UK-EU relations, President, National Farmers Union February 2018 Present, Deputy President, National Farmers Union February 2014 February 2018. MB: I think they were in a difficult position. espn reporters sleeping with athletes ossian elementary school calendar. It was about achieving a new relationship, and that took a long time, as we know. UKICE: The perception, for those of us that dont know, is that a lot of farmers did vote Leave, partly because they just hated the bureaucracy of the Common Agricultural Policy, and thought it got in their way. Then there was the permanent focus, bearing in mind that successive governments have driven people out of doing what are deemed not to be office-based jobs, I suppose. Agriculture is up for this global climate challenge. Within four months, it had won the Crime Writers Association John Creasey award for best first novel and had been snapped up by 11 foreign publishers. Her father died from kidney failure in 1960. It just isnt going to work like that. When I see the out-of-home sector has been offline, with everybody buying products out of retail, prices in the red meat are pretty good because retail has become very loyal to British sourcing, because the British consumer has demanded it. So, Liam Fox was obviously very engaged at that time as Secretary of State at DIT on the opportunities of global trade. UKICE: Did you have any qualms about becoming NFU President in the middle of this process? We cant have one standard for one and not for another. MB: We made continual calls, between Nick von Westenholz, myself and the other office-holders, with backbench MPs, talking about how dire a no deal would be. I think, by then, there was quite a realisation in the Johnson-led administration that food was important. If we go and dilute that massively, and have a flood of much cheaper imports, that is obviously going to undermine our farmers. So, it continues just to be a live issue that will have to be overcome, at some stage. UKICE: But they still prioritised doing deals with the US, though maybe receded slightly. Yes, we did have very high-quality affordable food, the most affordable in Europe, the third most affordable in the world. But do bear in mind that a precedent had already been set. Minette Batters on her farm near Downton. That was pretty daunting, I think, for a lot of farmers. But it was always going to need a bespoke model. Its only when commodity prices are impacted, and the future support mechanism is changed- if that isnt right, that is when things will start to erupt, and that is what weve got to try and avoid. Within six months of that new government I was conscious that wed led the standards campaign. I think, on an official level on both sides, they could see the enormous challenge, but the decision that that had to be resolved was purely political. If government is going to introduce legislation on higher welfare, it needs to effectively put its money where its mouth is, and make sure that our procurement is only sourcing at those standards. And its still not resolved, which just shows how complex it is. But I wondered what conversations you were having about the potential problems of what we now call east/west trade, and north/south trade, within the island of Ireland, if Brexit happened. Walters was the first crime/thriller writer to win three major prizes with her first three books. Defra has obviously got form on implementation challenges, after trying to roll out what, on the face of it, was an easier payment scheme in the mid-2000s. Verified account Protected Tweets @; Suggested users Joanna Partridge NFU president Minette Batters on her farm in south Wiltshire with her Simmental cross cattle and dog, Basil. So, Australia is really just the start of what this is going to look like. And then, of course, just this wall of silence. airline pilot retirement age 70; what happened to mark reilly strong island; east carolina dean's list spring 2021; the frequency table shows the distribution of 1,200 students; lessons on stealing for students; MB: There was an element of, Goodness, what is this going to look like? And we got that. We knew that, during Theresa Mays time at the Home Office, she ended the global scheme, and that had been an exemplar scheme. Minettes goal is to make history as exciting and readable as any of her psychological crime thrillers. UKICE: Rather intriguingly, George Eustice, given his background, put down one of the indicative votes proposing UK accession to EFTA. Exports are down though, with specialist cheesemakers and products such as fresh cream taking a massive hit. To undermine our farmers, when you want them to have regulation that costs a lot of money, and undermine them with cheap products coming in that dont even meet the first rung of the ladder, was going to do one thing, and that was going to put our farmers out of business. We have commissioned some independent research to look at the viability of the new schemes, of how much will be lost, effectively, from BPS, and how much can be made up through either the agri-environment schemes or through the sustainable farming incentive. So, I think, then, there were some very tough conversations. The Best Foreign Honkaku Mystery of the Decade, Vice-Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenants of Dorset, "Minette Walters announces first book in decade and retirement from crime fiction", "The Siege of Lyme Regis Dorset History Centre blog", "1349 by Minette Walters - Gregory & Company Authors' Agents", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Minette_Walters&oldid=1148375305, Short description is different from Wikidata, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from October 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2012, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. It was quite a new way of working, I think, in the department. Australia can move livestock not only across the country but across seas, thousands and thousands of kilometres, and we have just banned it here. What did you think of that process, working with the Government on getting people ready for a whole bunch of really complicated border formalities that they havent had to bother with, to nearly as great an extent, over the last 45 years? I definitely felt that was a moment in time. And why did you decide on your ultimate tactic, as we headed towards the referendum? But I think, as the farming unions, we were all in the same place of wanting an approach that kept the UK internal market functioning fairly, and that there werent winners and losers. So, I am enormously worried, because the Government has committed, publicly, time and time again, that it will not undermine our farmers. As part of the British project 'Quick Reads', to encourage literacy amongst adults with reading difficulties, Walters wrote a 20,000-word novella called Chickenfeed. So, a no deal and I will stand by it forever and a day would have been absolutely disastrous for British agriculture. The dexterity of the human hand was essential. I think most definitely, in the run-up to those no deals, many farmers were thinking, This really does look terrifying. 48-52% was always going to be challenging, divisive, but to have another referendum, we didnt believe would have made any difference at all. MB: No, its a massively significant issue. It has also been translated into several languages. Michael didnt know that we were going to say that, nobody in Defra knew that we were going to say it. Thats what I remember most, nobody saying anything. We had implemented laws that were based on food values, and yet we werent prepared to look at that in other parts of the world. The NFU wanted MPs to have more say on trade of agrifood. But our strawberries, our raspberries, our asparagus, our blueberries, are reliant on the dexterity of the human hand. And the decision was taken, by NFU Council, the sovereign body of the NFU, that on the information available it was in British agricultures best economic interest to remain. There are a lot of high standards in America. Born on 1967 in Unknown, Minette Batters Fundamentally, we need to be producing much more of our fruit and veg here. Its obviously still a strange time, because weve still got Covid. Were they particularly worried about that? Ultimately, when we look at the delinking process, you are going to see 50% of direct support that will be capped in four years. Of course, dont forget, then Covid-19 is hogging the news agenda, so its even harder to get your voice heard. WebMinette met her husband Alec Walters while she was at Durham and they married in 1978. Because at the end of the day, the NFU is going to be pivotal in this major re-set moment. Yet were hearing about a race to achieve a trade deal with Australia before the G7 Summit in Cornwall in June. The series was won by the actress Sherrie Hewson, whose debut novel The Tannery was published in March 2009. In this conversation. Were you very engaged with what the UK was looking for in the TCA on that? But that didnt stop us from getting stuck in. That worked, because everybody opened the doors and said, Really? Here's some advice. So, it was never about an unfair approach and it was never about a protectionist approach. [2] Walters turned freelance in 1977 but continued to write for magazines to cover her bills. UKICE: When you saw the Northern Ireland Protocol that the Prime Minister had agreed to, did you anticipate that it was going to cause what appeared to be quite a lot of problems for east-west trade in agrifood products? We do have to be all things to all men, whether its arable, livestock, dairy, horticulture plus all those cross-cutting issues of environment, land use, tenancy issues. You also hear talk of having higher standards here, so being above the EU. Minette Batters is the current president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) of England and Wales, a position she has held for three years. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. It wasnt actually needed in the end, because the weather changed. At the moment, the Crown Commercial Service contract for the NHS, for prisons, schools, is set so low that you cant even get fresh produce into it, let alone free-range eggs. There is a lot of detail that needs to be progressed, and rapidly, for farmers to feel confident to get onto the new platform for next year. HARDtalk. Are you worried by that? That was primarily because of the WTOs Most Favoured Nations rules, where you cant have one rule for the EU and one rule for the rest of the world. I think it is always challenging when you work with a majority government. I think its still yet to be resolved as to what that looks like. Did you target any of the backbenchers who were holding out? Whitehall has driven so much of EU rules and regulations for agriculture and the environment, so when we bring it back home, weve got to be able to make sure that it works across those four countries. What was your expectation about how the Government would involve farming representatives in the development of their position on Brexit, going forward? And yet the NFU ultimately came out to support Remain, but would not campaign for it. Because one thing is for certain, you cant be all things to all men. But his way of operating is what I would call big tent politics. We need people to harvest our fruit, vegetables, and flowers. Its been very much about get a degree, go to university, work in services. [7], In addition to full-length novels, Walters has written feature articles for magazines and the broadsheets, some short stories including "English Autumn, American Fall", and two novellas, The Tinder Box (1999), and Chickenfeed (2006). It was ideology based on three principles: A bonfire of regulation, the easiest trade deal in history, and more money for UK priorities, because we wouldnt be paying it into the EU. I dont think that agriculture and food have been given, effectively, the opportunity to empower a UK workforce. MB: What wed been talking about, accepting that we were no longer going to be a part of the Single Market, was how free and frictionless trade was needed on both sides. Minette Batters 0 Batters calls for Government assurances over impact of UK-Australia trade deal on UK farmers June 15, 2021 NFU president Minette Nov 13, 2021. farmbusiness.co.uk . MB: I think it was a phenomenal rebrand for the department, really. WebOn 19 April our Environmental Change & #FoodSecurity inquiry heard from @HenryDimbleby; @Minette_Batters, @NFUtweets; Peter Dawson, @dairyuk; @suepritch, @FFC_Commission; and Chris Brown, @asda. What I did feel, and what I do feel, is enormous weight of responsibility to get this right. WebMinette Batters NFU President Minette runs a tenanted family farm in Wiltshire. Wales is almost in a slightly more similar position to England. But doing it well means really working collaboratively with everybody in the food and farming sector. After a pause of 10 years in which she wrote two novellas, Walters has decided to write historical novels. Well, that will be really, really damaging. Minette Batters (MB): In the run-up, I think we were beginning to think, This is pretty difficult for a membership organisation. It would help if we could speak to those who are leading these discussions. And I think George Eustice described this as seeing me have a sort of nuclear moment, where I nearly erupted through the ceiling. Again, it was the engagement with Number 10 that got the global seasonal scheme of 30,000 over the line. Although weve left the EU, weve left transition, we havent achieved trade at scale with the rest of the world, in any shape or form, nor have the aid schemes changed or been reduced yet. I can remember challenging him at our February 2019 annual conference. There is a lot to lose if we dont get it right, and there is a lot to gain if we do it well. MB: No, it wasnt. At the end of the day, this will land on the Prime Ministers desk as to which way he wants to go. To our minds, this had been a democratic decision of the nation. Vegan celebrities like Joaquin Phoenix who speak out about animal agriculture have been accused of hurting livestock farmers mental health.. Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), has accused Phoenix of hurting the mental wellbeing of farmers as a result of his vegan advocacy. And at the moment, what we are finding is that there are so many moving parts to the level of engagement with different trading partners. That then was the reason for me saying at the Oxford Farming Conference in 2019, Actually, do you know what? I thought, Gosh, were leaving the CAP and what is this? So, there was that seasonal focus. [6], In 2019 Walters was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset. How are you going to do that? These have been continuous weekly dialogue groups, with officials and ministers. All sorts of different people, in different places, dealing with different things. But for us, all the way through, it was about fairness, and making sure that trade was fair. Youve got all the challenges with Stranraer and other places about access points. And what I wanted to say was, Agriculture is the solution in all of this. I think officials have grappled with it and understood it for a long time, but politically, its still very difficult. So, the CAP was a multi-annual budget that sat outside of parliamentary cycles, so you got the budget, which I think annoyed others, in the NHS and education why did agriculture have special treatment? MB: Really concerned. You know, weve got a government that now is saying its banning live animal exports, and it wants to have higher standards across the board of food production. Some of which, like David Frost, its been impossible to meet. So, we had a very good discussion at NFU Council in April 2016. We established that body, because we realised this was going to be massive, it was going to mean change, and we would have to think and operate differently, in order to satisfy our members needs for knowledge on all of this. It was then, that we established our new EU Exit and International Trade Directorate. Tom Bradshaw NFU Deputy President Tom farms in partnership with his wife, Emily, and his parents in North Essex. I guess its knowing that you are going into a period of enormous change, but that change hasnt actually happened yet. So, for us to have stayed on the fence without a position would have, I think, looked quite extraordinary. Those three things together, for a long-term business- I would say, if you werent worried then, you werent actively engaged. It doesnt mean to say that it wont come back, but its going to take a lot of working together. Do you get the sense that this is a long-term policy, that the Government doesnt want to invest in the border? Now with correct twitter handle! That, above all else, United Kingdom farmers remained the number one supplier of choice to their own marketplace. You were planting crops and you were making business decisions, having no idea whether you had a market or not. So, we kicked off this campaign. It launched some plans for new tariffs, which were quite interesting, and it also made clear that it was prioritising regulatory autonomy, sovereignty, over removing friction. UKICE: Did any of your members, who might have been inclined to support Leave before the referendum, have second thoughts? It has got friction, where none existed before. Well, we were just getting a flat no Get back in your box and be quiet, because weve got a majority government and we can do what we want. And now, within the Agricultural Act of 2020, the Secretary of State for Defra has access to a multi-annual plan. I think it poses big questions for international trade. The story contains many of the same themes that occur in her earlier books, and, along with its sequel, The Turn of Midnight, published in 2018, draws readers into the frightening reality of the Black Death. You know, vote for this, because it will be cheaper. Apr 13 2023. Do not just go to government with X, Y and Z as a problem. UKICE: At the moment, we have this sort of asymmetric border, dont we? Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. How does it feel for the industry? It took two and a half years to write and was rejected by numerous publishing houses until Macmillan Publishers, bought it for 1250. Minette was the first crime/thriller writer to win three major prizes with her first three books. That was the frustration. WebBrowse 72 minette batters photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. The union's president Minette Batters will make the call at their conference later today amid growing concerns about the implications of Brexit for farming - whether a deal is struck or not. So, thats what we did in that very first instance. At the moment, I feel weve got a lot of warm words, and we just need to know the nuts and bolts of what the genuine ambition is for this country. Worst of all, you didnt know whether you had a market. UKICE: How did you think the Department was coping? Webshreveport obituaries minette batters family. What we feel is that the dialogue must bring a pragmatic solution at some stage. MB: I did. UKICE: We talked a bit earlier about the establishment of the Department for International Trade. He was there as Minister of State for Farming beforehand, under Michael, so we knew George very, very well. So, the need for the NFU to get this right, to not drop a ball, to be focused on what is needed, to be the lobbyist extraordinaire ultimately, the weight of that falling on my shoulders has felt like a massive responsibility. Her third novel, The Scolds Bridle, then won the CWA Gold Dagger, giving her a unique treble. They have two sons: Roland, who is married to Charlotte, and Philip, who is married to Youve got Liz Truss leading on trade with the rest of the world. I still believe that in the longer term, we will have to find ways with the EU to deliver less friction, because less friction equals less cost and thats to the benefit of both sides. UKICE: So, the negotiations are going on. I guess we always felt, in those early days, that a good Brexit effectively made agriculture the poster child of post-Brexit Britain. During a gap year between school and Durham University, 1968, Minette volunteered in Israel with The Bridge in Britain, working on a kibbutz and in a delinquent boys home in Jerusalem. In fact, weve probably actively driven away people from some sectors. MB: No more than the rest of Europe did. That was a manifesto commitment, dont forget, in the 2019 election not to undermine our farmers in future FTAs. We then used the NFU Council, to identify the key issues, we brought together an options paper, and we looked at bringing together a whole host of task and finish groups. Still, what keeps me awake at night is this desire to raise standards here. And I remember her saying to me, I had no idea how complicated Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) rules were. If you want to find a solution, youve got to pitch them as a solution and youve got to work out what that actually looks like. But it isnt an opportunity if we lose access to the EU market. But I think, every time we treated no deal as a live reality, we had to prepare for it. And this, I think, still remains a very complex political issue. Ive met with the Australian negotiating team, and they are absolutely determined that they should have free access on beef and sheep. How concerned were you about that part, as well as the trade side? But does the farming industry feel that its adapting okay, or are there surprising new challenges, unanticipated challenges, emerging? They have two sons, Roland and Philip. We knew that we had to be able to inform our members of facts. Stephen Sackur talks to Minette Batters, I suppose you can say that, in the end, the voice was heard, even if it took three botched attempts to avoid it. I dont think DIT and Defra are aligned in their thinking. But that F4 group is still trying to work through these thorny areas. If we set the legislation bar above domestically , for international trade, that is just going to add more cost and price ourselves out of the market. I think there was a sort of realisation then that, actually, they hadnt got this quite right, and they needed to be talking about farmers, about food production. Our focus was always based on what agriculture needed.

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