NFU elects first female president
I keep humming “Farming Matters – Minette Batters”. Strange earworm to have but I am pleased that Ms Batters now has this role. Jessica and I heard her speak last year at the Arthur Rank Centre and were very impressed. This article tells us:
Minette Batters, a beef farmer from Wiltshire, is the first woman to lead the NFU in its 110-year history.
She told the BBC that she saw “potential” after Brexit, but World Trade Organisation rules would be bad for farmers and consumers.
Ms Batters takes over from Meurig Raymond, who held the post since 2014.
She had just one opponent, Essex farmer Guy Smith, who will become her deputy.
The NFU, which represents more than 50,000 farmers and growers in England and Wales, announced the result at its annual meeting in Birmingham.
EU relationship ‘vital’
The union backed Remain in the 2016 referendum, but Ms Batters said she was keen to look to the future.
“We feel very strongly now, after doing our research into what World Trade Organisation rules [or a ‘no deal’] would mean, that we need to look forward and find solutions,” she said.
“Crashing out would not be good for farming so it is vital we agree our relationship with the EU.”
And she believes it is not just the farming industry that needs that certainty.
“It is important for consumers too,” she said. “When buying anything, we don’t want to see those taxes go up. It would have a negative impact for consumers.”
She also emphasised the importance of not “opening the flood gates” to cheap food with lower standards, as she said the NFU had the ambition to maintain or potentially raise them.