He knew the Department inside out; he knew farming well. 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. Walters joined IPC Magazines as a sub-editor in 1972 and became an editor of Woman's Weekly Library the following year. fivem gun crafting location; pros and cons of lifesource water system; usta friend at court 2022 handbook MB: I dont think we should underestimate the challenge you refer to of, not only piloting policy, but piloting delivery. Its also so complex, this area. Straight away she ruled out being part of the Single Market, and we had those big speeches at Lancaster House, Mansion House, that were hard-line Brexit positions. All of these issues need a pragmatic approach from both sides. Would the EU have allowed things to carry on? It was about saying that this needed to be fair and equitable to all. We need a really transparent approach to how agriculture fits in all of this. During a gap year between school and Durham University, 1968, Walters volunteered in Israel with The Bridge in Britain, working on a kibbutz and in a delinquent boys' home in Jerusalem. WebMinette runs a tenanted family farm in Wiltshire. I think Defra has very strong views on all of this, I know George Eustice does. I can remember, it was either Justin Webb or John Humphreys, saying, This isnt the Agricultural Bill, this is the Environment Bill. Scotland is talking about maintaining the same levels of direct support, so an area-based payment linked to sustainable farming. Or did they think it was just a completely unacceptable attempt to cherry-pick the single market? You were looking at, I think it was David Dimbleby and at the arrows and thinking, No, that cant be right. There are a lot of high standards in America. What is needed?. She said: "Back in 2009, my friend Minette Batters and I saw that positive messages about Red Tractor-assured British beef were not getting through to the consumer. Its a massively significant employer. The NFU wanted MPs to have more say on trade of agrifood. Minette describes herself as an exploratory writer who never uses a plot scheme, begins with simple premises, has no idea whodunit until halfway through a story, but who remains excited about each novel because she, along with her reader, wants to know what happens next. Its worth pointing out that, at that time, there was not even one side of policy on A4 of what leaving the EU would look like. UKICE: When you got over the total shock and start regrouping, youre facing the prospect that, despite your stated position that, on balance, it was better for UK farming to remain, youre going to have to cope with the outcome of a Leave vote. UKICE: If you look at the whole period together, farming is obviously one of those areas where the big decisions used to be taken in Brussels, but theyre now being taken in a mix of London, Cardiff, Edinburgh. So, in my opinion its been a phenomenal return on investment and it can be an even better return on investment, if we all work together. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. What was not to like? 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, we put our energies into that, rather than trying to stop anything or have another referendum. There are a lot of things that need to be done. Minette Batters What we want is four countries that are doing, effectively, the same thing, otherwise we will distort our own internal market. Do you get the sense that this is a long-term policy, that the Government doesnt want to invest in the border? My predecessor, Lord Henry Plumb, had taken a position when we entered the Common Market in 1973. I had a call the other day, with COPA-COGECA, listening to the Commission and DG SANTE. I asked what he thought as the Votes were just starting to come in then, and I think a lot of people were in the same position as me. Baroness McIntosh of Pickering with NFU Vice President But we had to get this right. It took two and a half years to write and was rejected by numerous publishing houses until Maria Rejt, Macmillan Publishers, bought it for 1250. But of course, politically, it was enormously challenging. Her third novel, The Scolds Bridle, then won the CWA Gold Dagger, giving her a unique treble. WebOn 19 April our Environmental Change & #FoodSecurity inquiry heard from @HenryDimbleby; @Minette_Batters, @NFUtweets; Peter Dawson, @dairyuk; @suepritch, @FFC_Commission; and Chris Brown, @asda. Andrea Leadsom, a leading light of the Leave campaign, moves over to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), to replace Liz Truss, and the establishment of the Department for International Trade (DIT), to show that new trade deals were going to be a big thing for the new government. Her father died from kidney failure in 1960. Minette met her husband Alec Walters while she was at Durham and they married in 1978. We recognised how split they were, but all sides were united in that they had a complete thirst for information. We were put under a lot of pressure at various times to be part of the Peoples Vote, and call for another referendum. Our focus was always based on what agriculture needed. I think it is always challenging when you work with a majority government. UKICE: Chequers obviously didnt go anywhere and sunk at the Salzburg Summit, but Theresa May does land a Withdrawal Agreement and Parliament is not passing it. Those principles would guide the discussion. 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. South West farmers say 'beef doesn't have to cost the earth Theyve got a lot to do. 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. Minette joined IPC Magazines as a sub-editor in 1972 and became an editor of Womans Weekly Library the following year. Has farming and agriculture gone up the government agenda in prominence, now that its not just an obscure Agriculture Council that nobody really can understand, that comes back with a protected budget that gets implemented? dune fremen language translator. I think there was an element of relief that it wasnt necessary to re-inform someone who came in totally new. EXECUTIVE PROFILE: Minette Batters, President of NFU To get to wholesale ways of trading, whereby you have one truck full of one thing, is going to be easier to resolve. Youve got Liz Truss leading on trade with the rest of the world. Again, it was the engagement with Number 10 that got the global seasonal scheme of 30,000 over the line. [2] Walters spent a year at the Abbey School in Reading, Berkshire, before winning a Foundation Scholarship at the Godolphin boarding school in Salisbury. And I think George Eustice described this as seeing me have a sort of nuclear moment, where I nearly erupted through the ceiling. Boris Johnson was operating from a seismic majority, and so they have the power base to do whatever they want. Exports are down though, with specialist cheesemakers and products such as fresh cream taking a massive hit. Brexit Witness Archive - Minette Batters - UK in a changing Europe The EU are now really having these positive conversations, and the Commission has come out positively, saying, Actually, on plant breeding, weve got to look at the opportunities around that resistant crop. [13], Walters' first five books were adapted for television by the BBC and her eighth book, Acid Row, is currently[when?] The end of this will be judged in the years to come. Michael didnt know that we were going to say that, nobody in Defra knew that we were going to say it. minette batters UKICE: So, the negotiations are going on. I wonder if you thought youd done enough to bring pressure to bear on individual MPs, as reputedly very effective lobbyists. It was around that time, and certainly when I came in, that I said, Weve got to start talking food, because food is what resonates with people, farming doesnt. Chequers, I think brought a level of understanding. 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. He had said, on behalf of the NFU, that it was in farmings best interests to join the Common Market. 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. 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: Did you get a sense that government actually appreciated the lengths of those lead times in farming? Walters joined IPC Magazines as a sub-editor in Do you think the Government has yet worked out beyond some of the things youve been worried about like the ban on live animal exports the opportunities of post-Brexit Britain, on regulating differently, more smartly, being more pro-innovation? But his way of operating is what I would call big tent politics. Australia is the sort of precedent FTA because that will be the first one, potentially, that is concluded. 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. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. Now, what did preparation look like? Were they particularly worried about that? 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. DB6031P06 LOCAL farmer Minette Batters gives us an insight into daily life on her farm near Downton with There are different moving parts to all of these things that, I think, make it a challenge to resolve. Minette Batters is the first woman to become President of the National Farmers' Union, representing 47,000 members. minette batters I went out to the Republic of Ireland to the massive ploughing match that they have, talked with the Irish Farmers Association, as we have done for our entire time, within COPA-COGECA, and also visited the Northern Ireland border and our colleagues in UFU. Minette Batters In a farming business, when youre looking at the long-term, youre putting rams with the sheep, youre putting bulls with cows, youre planting crops, all of which are focused on the following year, so youre having to plan a long time ahead. Were such a big organisation, representing 50,000 farmers across England and Wales. So, it was incredibly important for me to get to speak to Theresa May, and we were trying to just get agriculture to register on the Richter Scale. We also knew that campaigning on either side, for a membership organisation, would be really counter-productive. We can, as a source of emissions and a sink, go carbon-neutral, we can get to net zero. I can remember challenging him at our February 2019 annual conference. National Farmers Union elects first female president in 110-year The mixed farming business includes a 100-cow continental cross suckler herd, as well as sheep and arable. Home; Service. It doesnt mean to say that it wont come back, but its going to take a lot of working together. Weve now got the two licences in place for 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. Michael Gove was perhaps not in his most ideal Cabinet seat, but I think he did manage to rebrand himself with what had been deemed to be a graveyard department, to the benefit of the department. UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE): You have a Conservative leadership battle that ends up with Theresa May becoming Prime Minister. It wasnt actually needed in the end, because the weather changed. Its been very much about get a degree, go to university, work in services. 48-52% was always going to be challenging, divisive, but to have another referendum, we didnt believe would have made any difference at all. Its really key, though, to say on the information available, to remain in the EU. Northern Ireland are looking like they will carry on with the status quo. Set in the 17th century, it explores the division and devastation of the English Civil War. The dexterity of the human hand was essential. I know where that negotiating team are, so, either one side or the other side has to capitulate between now and June. I have to say, at that time, that was so needed, because we had to work through a process. Webdid they ever find laci head fale com a gente. I think, again, we need to be looking at producing more here. It was never going to be, for them, the same as remaining part of the single market. But more generally, he was embarking on a quite radical reshaping of agricultural support and the post-CAP regime. IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. Dont get me wrong, I think the NFU is really optimistic about the future, we really believe we can be leaders in climate-friendly food production. From my point of view, I wanted to keep the market, the business, alive, bearing in mind that these are perishable products that we are dealing with. I have to say, at this moment in time, it is hard to see how we retain our levels of self-sufficiency, and keep our farmers with the same price structure, effectively, that they have at the moment. On that basis, it was catastrophic. All rights reserved. But with his unfrozen moment speech and things like that, were you worried that he was veering too much in that direction, and wasnt taking full account of the needs of food security or valuing food production? Vegan Celebrities Hurt Farmers' Mental Health, Complains Union So, from our point of view, it was important to have bilaterals with our opposite numbers and allow them to lobby their governments on what was needed. WebBrowse 72 minette batters photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. UKICE: Rather intriguingly, George Eustice, given his background, put down one of the indicative votes proposing UK accession to EFTA. Still the position remains today from our European partners that we must sign up to dynamic alignment of rules across the EU SPS area. It was a formidable coalition. It was quite a new way of working, I think, in the department. We never even got close to that. MINETTE BATTERS Were you very engaged with what the UK was looking for in the TCA on that? MB: No, it wasnt. So, Australia is really just the start of what this is going to look like. 72 Minette Batters Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images I remember sitting opposite him at a Sector Food Council meeting and George Eustice remembers this, I might add, as clearly as I do, because he was in the room, and Liam Fox saying, Brexit is going to be great, because we can bring in cheap raw ingredients and add value to them under the Union Jack. Yet were hearing about a race to achieve a trade deal with Australia before the G7 Summit in Cornwall in June. The gnarly issues that remain today are still to be resolved, and who knows how we will resolve them. That was pretty daunting, I think, for a lot of farmers. Minette Batters Environmental Audit Committee on Twitter: "On 19 April our