Oxford Farming Conference

Archived

Thursday, 09 January 2003

The following are soundbites from the Oxford Faming Conference which was held on 6 - 8 Jan. For more information visit www.fwi.co.uk and search for Oxford Farming Conference

FARMERS must take more responsibility for the environment and food safety, Donald Curry told the Oxford Farming Conference.

Reducing regulation would be an important target area for his implementation group, he told Farmers Weekly.

Sir Donald, who is overseeing the implementation of the government’s strategy for agriculture, said farmers were swamped by red tape.

"But if the government is going to be encouraged to intervene less that requires industry to deliver," he said.

"If we are saying that the government has got to get of our patch then the industry has got to pick up responsibility."

************************************************************
MARGARET Beckett has urged farmers to embrace change in a bid to revitalise Britain's agriculture industry.

The Rural Affairs Secretary was speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference on Tuesday (7 January).

Signs were emerging that farmers had made good progress towards delivering a sustainable, prosperous agriculture industry, she said.

Farmers' markets, online farm shops and on-farm processing were all helping producers reconnect with their customers.

************************************************************
TONY Blair's senior agricultural adviser believes British farmers have a bright future – despite the worst income crisis since World War Two.

Lord Haskins, who was asked by the Prime Minister to review the way rural policies are delivered, said farmgate prices would eventually rise.

Depressed commodity prices would be reversed in the foreseeable future as the current economic cycle bottomed out, forecast the Labour peer.

************************************************************
SIR Don Curry has called on farmers to work with the government and the rest of the food chain to return the industry to profit.

The chairman of the group responsible for implementing the government's farming strategy opened the Oxford Farming Conference on Tuesday (7 January).

His address was reminiscent of many speeches delivered by Rural Affairs Secretary Margaret Beckett.

Sir Don said there were opportunities for farmers who were prepared to co-operate with each other and the government.

"Every business, organisation, and individual with an interest in making [a sustainable farming industry] work must engage fully."

************************************************************
THE Little Red Tractor must not be used as the basis for a brand to revitalise British farming, a food industry consultant has warned.

Peel Holroyd, a visiting lecturer to the Royal Agricultural College, believes the logo lacks the "buzz" that makes a successful brand.

"A brand is a way of life," Mr Holroyd told delegates at the Oxford Farming Conference on Wednesday (8 January).

But the tractor logo, designed to boost sales of British food, is no more than a marque denoting a base standard, he added.

The logo covers so many farmers that it cannot convey the "whiter than white" production standards needed to underpin a reliable brand.