We went to Wageningen University, a world leading Dutch University with experience in running agricultural trade models. Now, what did preparation look like? Defra has obviously got form on implementation challenges, after trying to roll out what, on the face of it, was an easier payment scheme in the mid-2000s. He said at our conference that it would be disastrous for farmers to have a no deal. That, above all else, United Kingdom farmers remained the number one supplier of choice to their own marketplace. But certainly France and other countries put forward the same thing. Its also so complex, this area. We convened our council, our sovereign body, again, at a special meeting in London. As her father was a serving army officer, the first 10 years of Walters's life were spent moving between army bases in the north and south of England. The gnarly issues that remain today are still to be resolved, and who knows how we will resolve them. WebChanging The Way The World Views Construction. So, the CAP was a multi-annual budget that sat outside of parliamentary cycles, so you got the budget, which I think annoyed others, in the NHS and education why did agriculture have special treatment? You also hear talk of having higher standards here, so being above the EU. But do bear in mind that a precedent had already been set. She was first elected to the post in 2018 for two years, and was re-elected in March 2020. Well, we were just getting a flat no Get back in your box and be quiet, because weve got a majority government and we can do what we want. WebBrowse 72 minette batters photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. I have to say, at that time, that was so needed, because we had to work through a process. Did it make a difference having Andrea Leadsom there? 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. MB: I think innovation and research and development, effectively, are at the heart of everything, and certainly at the heart of getting to net zero. As part of the British project Quick Reads, to encourage literacy amongst adults with reading difficulties, she wrote a 20,000-word novella called Chickenfeed. You know, weve got a government that now is saying its banning live animal exports, and it wants to have higher standards across the board of food production. She turned freelance in 1977 but continued to write for magazines to cover her bills. 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. WebMinette Batters is known for Midlands Today (1964), Kay Burley @Breakfast (2019) and Sky News Today (2001). Knowing where the Treasury had been, having made clear over the last 11 years that if there was the chance, they would remove direct support payments to farmers, we also wanted to know what that would look like. Are you worried by that? UKICE: In terms of getting ready, we had the negotiations going on, but there was a need to prepare for a rather uncertain change of regime at the end of 2020, when the transition ended. I guess its knowing that you are going into a period of enormous change, but that change hasnt actually happened yet. 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. MB: Covid, in many ways, with food supply, helped, actually, because the engagement was there with agriculture and food and government. The Best Foreign Honkaku Mystery of the Decade, Vice-Lieutenant and Deputy Lieutenants of Dorset, "Minette Walters announces first book in decade and retirement from crime fiction", "The Siege of Lyme Regis Dorset History Centre blog", "1349 by Minette Walters - Gregory & Company Authors' Agents", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Minette_Walters&oldid=1148375305, Short description is different from Wikidata, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from October 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2012, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. Were they particularly worried about that? He was there as Minister of State for Farming beforehand, under Michael, so we knew George The contestants were Brendan Cole, Sherrie Hewson, Kelvin MacKenzie, Matt Allwright, Angela Griffin and Diarmuid Gavin. But we had to get this right. Officials suddenly became very energised, because they had someone who was really digging in on every area of detail. If you want to find a solution, youve got to pitch them as a solution and youve got to work out what that actually looks like. MB: I dont think we should underestimate the challenge you refer to of, not only piloting policy, but piloting delivery. 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. It just isnt going to work like that. But it was always going to need a bespoke model. Minette Batters: Brexit has been a face-slapping moment for 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? espn reporters sleeping with athletes ossian elementary school calendar. It is no good going to government, just saying, I want. Were such a big organisation, representing 50,000 farmers across England and Wales. We havent prioritised different skill sets of job opportunity in the UK. They have two sons, Roland and Philip. MB: No more than the rest of Europe did. The end of this will be judged in the years to come. Minette met her husband Alec Walters while she was at Durham and they married in 1978. It runs, I think, central government and its departments for under a month. 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. I think most definitely, in the run-up to those no deals, many farmers were thinking, This really does look terrifying. Weve got to be able to look at, actually, how we enable these growers to have access to the workforce that they need. Were you very engaged with what the UK was looking for in the TCA on that? I remember reading the Defra press release the night before that interview, and it was a heart-stopping moment for me. But for us, all the way through, it was about fairness, and making sure that trade was fair. But then he left. I think, by then, there was quite a realisation in the Johnson-led administration that food was important. Its a massively significant employer. Real life consequences RT @RainNewtonSmith: Great podcast with the brilliant @Minette_Batters of @NFUtweets passionate about the role of farmers in nature restoration, energy and food security. Agriculture is up for this global climate challenge. minette batters Minette is published in almost 40 countries and has sold in excess of 25,000,000 copies of her books worldwide. We then used the NFU Council, to identify the key issues, we brought together an options paper, and we looked at bringing together a whole host of task and finish groups. But doing it well means really working collaboratively with everybody in the food and farming sector. Id be lying if I said I didnt think that. NFU President Minette Batters UK egg production has fallen to its lowest level in nine years. Movies. The NFU wanted MPs to have more say on trade of agrifood. The dexterity of the human hand was essential. It was never going to be, for them, the same as remaining part of the single market. Walters was born in Bishop's Stortford in 1949 to Samuel Jebb and Colleen Jebb. Well, we still dont actually know, publicly, what trade policy is. Minette Batters Are you convinced that theyve got the capacity to make this work? Do you get the sense that this is a long-term policy, that the Government doesnt want to invest in the border? I think we all knew what problems were coming, but I think the challenge was, what was going to be done about them? airline pilot retirement age 70; what happened to mark reilly strong island; east carolina dean's list spring 2021; the frequency table shows the distribution of 1,200 students; lessons on stealing for students; The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is demanding a written guarantee from the government that Brexit won't undermine British farming standards. The fundamentals that we had taken for granted free and frictionless access to the largest trading block in the world, and free movement of people, which gave us access to a competent and reliable workforce were front and centre. 72 Minette Batters Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images 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 there was also a level of thinking, Well, it could just end up being no-deal by default. 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. UKICE: Did you get a sense that government actually appreciated the lengths of those lead times in farming? As the May Government was starting to develop its vision of its Brexit, we had ministers, not least Liam Fox, talking about doing trade deals with the US, and the big summer 2017 bust-up over chlorinated chicken. That was pretty daunting, I think, for a lot of farmers. So, it continues just to be a live issue that will have to be overcome, at some stage. There are different moving parts to all of these things that, I think, make it a challenge to resolve. Ive met with the Australian negotiating team, and they are absolutely determined that they should have free access on beef and sheep. [6], In 2019 Walters was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Dorset. Was the move to George Eustice an easy transition? They have very different standards to us; they have big feedlot systems, they farm at serious scale. We recognised how split they were, but all sides were united in that they had a complete thirst for information. So, I think, then, there were some very tough conversations. WebMinette met her husband Alec Walters while she was at Durham and they married in 1978. That then was the reason for me saying at the Oxford Farming Conference in 2019, Actually, do you know what? And everybody was adamant that we could not have a border on the island of Ireland. 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. Still, the same Chequers discussions are being played out. To our minds, this had been a democratic decision of the nation. They still are. MINETTE BATTERS That was quite a moment of recognition for me. 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. Which, of course, it should never have been, because that was about food safety and what we were wanting to talk about was food values, and the laws of our land. Webdid they ever find laci head fale com a gente. Her husband, Malcolm, is not involved I just wondered whether that perception of the farming sector is right, or if it was much more evenly split than that? We just focused on, What we need is free and frictionless trade, which I think, for some, got quite annoying. Covid, and the out-of-home sector being offline, is masking the issue at the moment, of what things will look like going forward. Minette Batters: I feared farmers would be used as a pawn in Her first full-length crime novel, The Ice House, was published in 1992. By India Bourke Her father died from kidney failure in 1960. Because one thing is for certain, you cant be all things to all men. WebMinette runs a tenanted family farm in Wiltshire. Helped by her husband Edwin and son George, Jilly manages 600 acres on the River Exe floodplain, raising native breeds like South Devons and Red Polls. I guess we always felt, in those early days, that a good Brexit effectively made agriculture the poster child of post-Brexit Britain. Her novels are often set against real backgrounds and real events to draw her readers into the reality of what she is writing about. 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. Checking everything against the principles was pretty key, because if you are leading an organisation, which I wasnt then, Meurig Raymond was, it is really critical to have that solid evidence based foundation from which to operate, and from which to build our policy and lobbying position from. I always remember Faisal Islam saying that agriculture had managed to beat the rest of manufacturing in getting its voice heard in this arena. And the decision was taken, by NFU Council, the sovereign body of the NFU, that on the information available it was in British agricultures best economic interest to remain. Photograph: Adrian And Chequers definitely gave way to those conversations happening in a constructive manner, without doubt. I just wondered if this was done in concert with you was this George Eustice acting as the NFUs representative in Parliament? [5] The first of these novels is The Last Hours, set during the Black Death, followed by a sequel, The Turn of Midnight. Were now in May, and looking at these changes coming in for 2022. Minette Batters on her farm near Downton. The Department for International Trade, of course, is focused on getting trade deals done. It has got friction, where none existed before. Minette Batters, who is the president of the National Farmers Union (NFU) of England and Wales and has been called the most powerful farmer in the UK, was MB: I think it was a phenomenal rebrand for the department, really. Then weve got political issues, like seed potatoes- there is no reason why seed potatoes should be blocked out of the EU market. MB: I think weve always recognised, from day one, how difficult Ireland is. 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 WebCall Us Today! The mixed farming business includes a 100-cow continental cross suckler herd, as well as sheep and arable. And a support aid budget of 3bn, a lot of talk is made about that. Now with correct twitter handle! I think farmers are feeling reasonably optimistic at the moment. So, the need for the NFU to get this right, to not drop a ball, to be focused on what is needed, to be the lobbyist extraordinaire ultimately, the weight of that falling on my shoulders has felt like a massive responsibility. What is needed?. dune fremen language translator. That was a manifesto commitment, dont forget, in the 2019 election not to undermine our farmers in future FTAs. It was then, that we established our new EU Exit and International Trade Directorate. buss type w 30 amp fuse replacement; Books. Minette Walters I think they were clearly split though. Minette has written another entry in the Quick Reads series entitled A Dreadful Murder for World Book Day 2013. Australia is the sort of precedent FTA because that will be the first one, potentially, that is concluded. BBC Radio 4 - Great Lives, Minette Batters on Henry Plumb MB: I can remember being on the Today programme, in Broadcasting House, with Michael Gove being interviewed, when he published the Agricultural Bill. The first country to implement animal welfare legislation was the UK. Set in the 17th century, it explores the division and devastation of the English Civil War. [13], Walters' first five books were adapted for television by the BBC and her eighth book, Acid Row, is currently[when?] minette batters So, he was very prepared to roll up his sleeves. We didnt want farmers to go out of business. But more generally, he was embarking on a quite radical reshaping of agricultural support and the post-CAP regime. I dont think DIT and Defra are aligned in their thinking. And now, within the Agricultural Act of 2020, the Secretary of State for Defra has access to a multi-annual plan. Were talking about England only- are we going to have more complexity within the internal market? So, that is why we want you to be part of the SPS area. 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? Minette Batters UKICE: But they still prioritised doing deals with the US, though maybe receded slightly. Because at the end of the day, the NFU is going to be pivotal in this major re-set moment. In fact, weve probably actively driven away people from some sectors. Rain will drench Britain today as Met Office warns thunderstorms National Farmers Union is reportedly in talks to read more company news. So that, with as free and frictionless trade as could be achieved, was something that we all believed in then and we all believe in now. Everybody was putting down these legal markers, effectively. We also knew that campaigning on either side, for a membership organisation, would be really counter-productive. I think Defra has very strong views on all of this, I know George Eustice does. The tenancy eventually came to her in 1998 (after a spell as a jockey and then a caterer), and she is very much in charge. Walters joined IPC Magazines as a sub-editor in 1972 and became an editor of Woman's Weekly Library the following year. Or did you think it was just so unthinkable and such a bad thing, that you werent even prepared to talk about it with government? And then, of course, just this wall of silence. We were put under a lot of pressure at various times to be part of the Peoples Vote, and call for another referendum. There is a lot of detail that needs to be progressed, and rapidly, for farmers to feel confident to get onto the new platform for next year. Scoops about National Farmers Union . So, I think we engaged on every level. UKICE: But this was a government that made very clear that it was willing to contemplate no deal, to get out by 31 October. UKICE: One way of making that operation much easier would have been to sign up to alignment, or greater alignment, on SPS in the TCA, but none of that really seemed to come to fruition. The daffodil-growers in Cornwall will have faced enormous losses.
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