That is a strong and probably contentious headline but it is just what fruit, vegetable, flower and potato growers have done over the last six months.
I wrote in December that horticultural growers, that is, growers of vegetables, flowers and fruit were to vote on the continuation of the levy that sustained the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. The result in January showed that 61% of votes cast were to scrap the statutory levy with a split showing that the larger growers who actually paid more levy were in favour of keeping it.
Then, instigated by the same small group, a vote was held on the future of the potato levy and this time the result was very clear that 66% of growers of all sizes wanted to scrap the levy.
In both cases, the matter is now in the hands of the Farming Minister, Victoria Prentice. I know nothing of this lady. Is she the type of Tory who will rejoice in the buccaneering, free market spirit of the scrappers or will she take the view that these industries are strategic and need a guiding hand into the future? Will she say, “That’s the spirit, go sink or swim”, or will she say, “Let’s not throw all the toys out of the pram”.
Our industry is in a period of profound challenge and probably profound change. Profit margins are often insufficient to allow adequate reinvestment and this is where the dissatisfaction arises.
There is an inexorable and accelerating pressure to reduce inputs of herbicide, pesticide, fertiliser, and others, driven by both customers and administrators. We recognise this pressure and want to be at the forefront of the changes. The work done by The Agriculture and Horticulture Board and the Potato Council is so important if we are to find new, environmentally-kind ways to grow crops efficiently. The market and the worldwide chemical industry have worked well in the past to provide new plant protection products. Developing ways to work differently and without these products is less suited to a marketplace. If we are to aspire to regenerative agriculture which by definition generates much of the inputs from within, collaboration and scientific input will be vital.
Farmers in the United Kingdom have not always been good at collaborating, but then, as Brexit demonstrates it is not just a farmer problem.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.