Minette Batters (MB): It was interesting, wasnt it, when Theresa May came in? That isnt going to happen overnight, because weve actively pushed people away from doing those jobs. But for us, all the way through, it was about fairness, and making sure that trade was fair. 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. For me, the issue was, How do we pivot this back to the policies that are needed for sustainable food production?. But it isnt an opportunity if we lose access to the EU market. And that still remains the challenge. How does it feel for the industry? Weve worked very closely with them throughout, so weve always known that it is a very, very difficult area. The daffodil-growers in Cornwall will have faced enormous losses. What we want is four countries that are doing, effectively, the same thing, otherwise we will distort our own internal market. But do bear in mind that a precedent had already been set. I had a call the other day, with COPA-COGECA, listening to the Commission and DG SANTE. 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. 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? Everybody was putting down these legal markers, effectively. I remember reading the Defra press release the night before that interview, and it was a heart-stopping moment for me. Officials suddenly became very energised, because they had someone who was really digging in on every area of detail. Im not so sure. 1995 The CWA Gold Dagger Award (shortlist): 1995 The Best Translated Crime Fiction of the Year in Japan. Still the position remains today from our European partners that we must sign up to dynamic alignment of rules across the EU SPS area. For some sectors, if you take upland livestock, youre looking at an 80% drop in farm business income, which is enormous. How worried were you that the Government was very keen on a deal with the US? UKICE: Just on that, the Government has also moved to be more flexible on using neonicotinoids than it was before-. So, he did, in the early days, in 2019, sign up to the importance of the Trade and Agriculture Commission, writing in ink that he agreed with the concept and would look to establish such a body. They have very different standards to us; they have big feedlot systems, they farm at serious scale. Within six months of that new government I was conscious that wed led the standards campaign. Minette has written another entry in the Quick Reads series entitled A Dreadful Murder for World Book Day 2013. Minette Batters (MB): Well, George has been in Defra a long time. under option with Company Pictures. MB: Covid, in many ways, with food supply, helped, actually, because the engagement was there with agriculture and food and government. What does that look like?. I guess we always felt, in those early days, that a good Brexit effectively made agriculture the poster child of post-Brexit Britain. WebChanging The Way The World Views Construction. Above all else, I want to see honesty to farmers about the road that they are on from our political leaders. Weve obviously got a lot of trucks coming over and a lot of trucks going back empty. WebMinette met her husband Alec Walters while she was at Durham and they married in 1978. Its been very much about get a degree, go to university, work in services. After a pause of 10 years in which she wrote two novellas, Walters has decided to write historical novels. Weve got higher standards, with many of the producers sitting above European level. Because one thing is for certain, you cant be all things to all men. Her husband, Malcolm, is not involved Minette Batters Walters's themes include isolation, family dysfunction, rejection, marginalisation, justice and revenge. Minette Batters - Biography - IMDb So, I think we engaged on every level. We wanted MPs to be able to know all aspects of those free trade agreements, what was in them, what the impact would be, and we wanted them, ultimately, to have the final say. WebIt's St George's Day, and that marks the start of Ladies in Beef, Great British Beef Week! 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. Still, the same Chequers discussions are being played out. So, I think we pretty soon realised that this was going to be difficult. I have to say, at that time, that was so needed, because we had to work through a process. In competition with works by other best-selling authors, such as Ruth Rendell, Maeve Binchy and Joanna Trollope, Chickenfeed has won two awards as the best novella in the 'Quick Reads' genre. NFU President. And Australias big, offensive asks on beef, certainly, maybe lamb. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most I guess its knowing that you are going into a period of enormous change, but that change hasnt actually happened yet. And everybody was adamant that we could not have a border on the island of Ireland. So, that is why we want you to be part of the SPS area. UKICE: We saw the very hostile reaction from EU political leaders to Chequers, but I wondered whether you got any sense from your sister bodies in France, Denmark, Netherlands, places that were concerned about UK lowering standards and the implications for that on agri-food farming, that they thought Chequers was quite a clever wheeze? MB: Yes. To our minds, this had been a democratic decision of the nation. We knew that we could have a global scheme, that it didnt all have to be about Europe, but with a reliance in the seasonal workforce, of 80,000 seasonal workers, to pick and pack and plant our fruit, veg and flowers. You could say he brought a massive breath of oxygen into the department. And then, of course, just this wall of silence. So, influencing is going to be important. minette batters Walters joined IPC Magazines as a sub-editor in 1972 and became an editor of Woman's Weekly Library the following year. There are different moving parts to all of these things that, I think, make it a challenge to resolve. UKICE: But its also consulting, isnt it, on gene editing and other issues like that, which the Government sees as a big new possibility to appear more open to innovation than the EU. It wasnt actually needed in the end, because the weather changed. I can remember, it was either Justin Webb or John Humphreys, saying, This isnt the Agricultural Bill, this is the Environment Bill. He was there as Minister of State for Farming beforehand, under Michael, so we knew George very, very well. Photograph: Adrian So, lets talk about food, lets talk about the environment, animal welfare. 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. South West farmers say 'beef doesn't have to cost the earth Minette Walters She was first elected to the post in 2018 for two years, and was re-elected in March 2020. 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. Australia is the sort of precedent FTA because that will be the first one, potentially, that is concluded. 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. Youve got to have agriculture as a key part of trade policy. Minette Batters - President, National Farmers Union of England and Wales. 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. MB: I did. 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. What difference did it make to you in engaging with the Government when Michael Gove, on rehabilitation into the Cabinet, took over from Andrea Leadsom, and started to make a lot of noise about what post-Brexit policy might look like? Climate change is a global issue, weve got to be able to do it collaboratively, with others coming with us. Contact: Agent | Publisher | General inquiries. Covid-19 has probably really shone a light on our diets, that a lot of them are not good diets, and we all need to have more fruit and veg in them. MB: No more than the rest of Europe did. 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. I think, again, we need to be looking at producing more here. What are my members going to be doing in future? Theyve got a lot to do. 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? Agriculture is up for this global climate challenge. The mixed farming business includes a 100-cow continental cross suckler herd, as well as sheep and arable. The NFU wanted MPs to have more say on trade of agrifood. MB: No, it wasnt. So, a no deal and I will stand by it forever and a day would have been absolutely disastrous for British agriculture. Minette Batters, better known by her family name Minette Bridget Batters, is a popular British farmer and trade unionist. We ended up facing three no deals, essentially, in the end, all of which were avoided. We recognised how split they were, but all sides were united in that they had a complete thirst for information. 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. Minette Batters on Henry Plumb President of the NFU Minette Batters champions the life of Henry Plumb, Lord Plumb, who was the only British president of the minette batters Martin said, I think its going to be close but, without a doubt, it looks like were going to remain. Because at the end of the day, the NFU is going to be pivotal in this major re-set moment. She supplemented her salary by writing romantic novelettes, short stories, and serials in her spare time. I always remember Faisal Islam saying that agriculture had managed to beat the rest of manufacturing in getting its voice heard in this arena. Set in the 14th century at the time of the bubonic plague, The Last Hours took several years to research and write. If we dont do that, we will see things rotting in the fields, simply because we havent got the capability to pick them. Was the move to George Eustice an easy transition? Are you convinced that theyve got the capacity to make this work? The coalition showed that this was about consumers, this was about everybody believing in it. Movies. Matthew Parris asks Minette about the challenges of balancing her work with the day-to-day demands of farming and what impact Lord Plumb made on British life. Ultimately, when we look at the delinking process, you are going to see 50% of direct support that will be capped in four years. You didnt know what your workforce was going to look like, you didnt know what the future policy was going to look like. Minette joined IPC Magazines as a sub-editor in 1972 and became an editor of Womans Weekly Library the following year. The end of this will be judged in the years to come. There are a lot of things that need to be done. Of course, dont forget, then Covid-19 is hogging the news agenda, so its even harder to get your voice heard. Or did you wait to see what on earth the Government did, to fill in this void? Retail is now very loyal to British sourcing, so were seeing good prices across a range of agricultural products. HARDtalk - Minette Batters - President, National Farmers Union 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 . In 2019 Minette was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset. And why did you decide on your ultimate tactic, as we headed towards the referendum? The Mail on Sunday agreed to help promote the NFUs standards petition. She supplemented her salary by writing romantic novelettes, short stories, and serials in her There have been challenges. And we got that. What did the NFU want? But what I did see very quickly with Michael was someone who was very prepared to dive down into every area of technical detail and grasp it. Its one that I take incredibly seriously and one that does keep me awake for many a night, yes. 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. Batterss 17-year-old twins, who are studying for their A-levels, havent decided if they will take over running the farm, but it remains a family business. Its obviously still a strange time, because weve still got Covid. Minette was the first crime/thriller writer to win three major prizes with her first three books. I think farmers are feeling reasonably optimistic at the moment. We can, as a source of emissions and a sink, go carbon-neutral, we can get to net zero. 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. How did you find dealing with the new team, compared to the May team? You know, vote for this, because it will be cheaper. If we go and dilute that massively, and have a flood of much cheaper imports, that is obviously going to undermine our farmers. But ultimately, there were two sides to all of this, and the UK wasnt the only party in the negotiations. 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? Its also so complex, this area. In this conversation. 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. With Theresa May, it was about trying to say, Were here, dont forget agriculture, because its going to be the complex area. MB: Well, Brexit wont be felt until its happened, but the impact hasnt happened yet. We never even got close to that. Its not perfect by any means. And its still not resolved, which just shows how complex it is. WebCall Us Today! There isnt a silver bullet, but ignoring the situation and saying it isnt important is not a way forwards. The gnarly issues that remain today are still to be resolved, and who knows how we will resolve them. Weve worked on emergency measures and everything else, but thankfully they were never needed. 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. And of course, we still had the Wageningen work, which proved to be pivotal in having those discussions, and the principles. Will either one? Have you been pressurising government-? UKICE: Did you have any qualms about becoming NFU President in the middle of this process? Minette Batters He was there as Minister of State for Farming beforehand, under Michael, so we knew George I have very good engagement with the Department for International Trade at all levels, and with Defra at all levels. 21 February 2023 Minette Batters: Food cannot be the poor relation to the environment Minette Batters, head of the National Farmers Union (NFU), doubles down on food security in the face of green farm subsidy reforms. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of Walters 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. We wanted government to put its money where its mouth was. What was not to like? In fact, weve probably actively driven away people from some sectors. Well, that will be really, really damaging. As a net importer from the EU, and it being our most important export market, it was in the economic interest for farmers on both sides that we added as little cost and friction as possible. In 2017, Minette realised a long-held ambition to publish an historical novel. MB: I think, bearing in mind how vital our market is to them, they could see that it allowed a way through. Or was it like the rest of the population, where views seemed to be fairly entrenched? On 37 March 2008, BBC2 aired Murder Most Famous,[4] a five-part TV talent contest series, in which Walters tutors and judges six competing celebrity writers, with the winner having his or her crime fiction novel published by Pan Macmillan on World Book Day 2009. And I think the likes of Daniel Kawczynski, too, supported it, on that very basis. 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. What was your expectation about how the Government would involve farming representatives in the development of their position on Brexit, going forward? 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. 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. Were now in May, and looking at these changes coming in for 2022. [13], Walters' first five books were adapted for television by the BBC and her eighth book, Acid Row, is currently[when?] I think there was a bit of a fait accompli moment, that we live in a democratic country, democracy has been played out, and our focus was always on, How does this work best for British agriculture? We had an extraordinary meeting of our council, which is our sovereign body, made up of two representatives, effectively, from every county across England and Wales. Minette Batters - Her Salisbury Story UKICE: So, the negotiations are going on. They have two sons, Roland and Philip. So, thats what we did in that very first instance. Her first full-length crime novel, The Ice House, was published in 1992. It just isnt going to work like that. There is a lot to lose if we dont get it right, and there is a lot to gain if we do it well. How do we resolve an issue that kept the United Kingdom together and allowed us, effectively, to transition into a new relationship? 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. Exports are down though, with specialist cheesemakers and products such as fresh cream taking a massive hit. NFU President Minette Batters UK egg production has fallen to its lowest level in nine years. Or did they think it was just a completely unacceptable attempt to cherry-pick the single market? The series was won by the actress Sherrie Hewson, whose debut novel The Tannery was published in March 2009. That was pretty daunting, I think, for a lot of farmers. Of course, getting your voice heard in all of this was quite a challenge, I think, for the goods sector.