BBC Radio 4 - Great Lives, Minette Batters on Henry Plumb So, Liam Fox was obviously very engaged at that time as Secretary of State at DIT on the opportunities of global trade. Weve worked on emergency measures and everything else, but thankfully they were never needed. Because one thing is for certain, you cant be all things to all men. But we had to get this right. minette batters So, there is a lot of water, I would say, to go under the bridge before that question can be answered. MB: Covid, in many ways, with food supply, helped, actually, because the engagement was there with agriculture and food and government. Australia can move livestock not only across the country but across seas, thousands and thousands of kilometres, and we have just banned it here. Which is very similar to what they do in countries like Australia and America. 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. Weve got higher standards, with many of the producers sitting above European level. [13], Walters' first five books were adapted for television by the BBC and her eighth book, Acid Row, is currently[when?] So, the Government has got to stick to its word on this. 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. Which means there were nearly a billion less eggs produced in 2022 compared to 2019. Minette met her husband Alec Walters while she was at Durham and they married in 1978. The Department for International Trade, of course, is focused on getting trade deals done. Minette Batters could not have chosen a more difficult time to become the first female president of the National Farmers Union (NFU). Its a tense time right now. I speak to my opposite number in France, Christiane Lambert, who is President of the FNSEA, the French version of the NFU, getting her to lobby the French government on why we need border control posts, Calais being pretty pivotal in all of this. You also hear talk of having higher standards here, so being above the EU. 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. espn reporters sleeping with athletes ossian elementary school calendar. 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. 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. And we got that. But that didnt stop us from getting stuck in. 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. I remember going to bed on referendum night and texting our Director of Strategy, Martin Howarth, who has been with the NFU a long time, and was in our London Office. In fact, the solid line from the NFU had been that we wanted to maintain our high standards of animal welfare. But his way of operating is what I would call big tent politics. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. Minette Batters, NFU President NFUonline So, lets talk about food, lets talk about the environment, animal welfare. minette batters familymilwaukee battery lights flashing back and forth minette batters family. Yet, we were seeing no sign of deregulating. minette batters minette batters @Minette_Batters Wiltshire farmer: beef, sheep and arable. That was pretty daunting, I think, for a lot of farmers. We brought a massive coalition together of all farming organisations, nearly every NGO that is out there animal welfare experts, consumer groups, Jamie Oliver, Raymond Blanc, Prue Leith. 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. [7], In addition to full-length novels, Walters has written feature articles for magazines and the broadsheets, some short stories including "English Autumn, American Fall", and two novellas, The Tinder Box (1999), and Chickenfeed (2006). Co founder, Ladies in Beef and GBBW. What was your expectation about how the Government would involve farming representatives in the development of their position on Brexit, going forward? 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. Minette Batters (MB): Well, George has been in Defra a long time. MB: I think the biggest challenge, if Im honest, is the number of different departments, different people, dealing with different things. [5] The first of these novels is The Last Hours, set during the Black Death, followed by a sequel, The Turn of Midnight. Minette Batters Weve got the climate here to be growing it. NFU President Minette Batters UK egg production has fallen to its lowest level in nine years. Vegan celebrities like Joaquin Phoenix who speak out about animal agriculture have been accused of hurting livestock farmers mental health.. Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers Union (NFU), has accused Phoenix of hurting the mental wellbeing of farmers as a result of his vegan advocacy. And, as someone quite well known to you, were you relieved that it was someone who had a track record on farming? MB: I think there were some. Initially she was an amateur jockey and assistant trainer to David Elsworth and James Toller. I have very good engagement with the Department for International Trade at all levels, and with Defra at all levels. Of course, if in effect you listen to everybody, then it does allow you the opportunity of going away and doing your own thing, because youve got all these dissenting voices. MB: No, it wasnt. And how is the state going to be able to pay for them to effectively just plant trees? MB: Well, Brexit wont be felt until its happened, but the impact hasnt happened yet. I have to say, at that time, that was so needed, because we had to work through a process. So, I think we engaged on every level. That was the challenge. But its a classic case of, youve got to pitch people. What we want is four countries that are doing, effectively, the same thing, otherwise we will distort our own internal market. So, very quickly, this debate became about chlorinated chicken. under option with Company Pictures. MB: I think they were in a difficult position. MB: I did. But more generally, he was embarking on a quite radical reshaping of agricultural support and the post-CAP regime. 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 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. 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. Minette Batters - Biography - IMDb dune fremen language translator. 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? All rights reserved. WebBrowse 72 minette batters photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more photos and images. I dont think DIT and Defra are aligned in their thinking. Chequers, I think brought a level of understanding. UKICE: Did any of your members, who might have been inclined to support Leave before the referendum, have second thoughts? So, when I went and had my second meeting with Theresa May, it was to discuss her Chequers proposal. Joanna Partridge NFU president Minette Batters on her farm in south Wiltshire with her Simmental cross cattle and dog, Basil. I guess we always felt, in those early days, that a good Brexit effectively made agriculture the poster child of post-Brexit Britain. 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. Do you think it signalled a significant change of direction? The series was won by the actress Sherrie Hewson, whose debut novel The Tannery was published in March 2009. 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. 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. We ended up facing three no deals, essentially, in the end, all of which were avoided. And we established some principles of what we were looking for, going forward, whether it was Leave or Remain. +(91)-9821210096 | paula deen meatloaf with brown gravy. So, a no deal and I will stand by it forever and a day would have been absolutely disastrous for British agriculture. Minette Batters Wiki, Biography, Age, Career, I havent been able to get a meeting with Lord Frost yet. Weve had endless statements, from the Prime Minister, from Liz Truss and others, about, Britains farmers will not be undermined in future trade agreements. Her themes include isolation, family dysfunction, rejection, marginalisation, justice and revenge. Retail is now very loyal to British sourcing, so were seeing good prices across a range of agricultural products. It doesnt mean to say that it wont come back, but its going to take a lot of working together. I think it poses big questions for international trade. What does that look like?. We didnt want farmers to go out of business. They have two sons, Roland and Philip. Chequers, if Im honest, allowed that to happen. The dexterity of the human hand was essential. Are you convinced that theyve got the capacity to make this work? 72 Minette Batters Premium High Res Photos - Getty Images At the moment, their demand is that we sign up to follow EU rules and the Government, as you know, is clear that we will not sign up to that. I think its essential that we can meet with him, bearing in mind weve still got active engagement with member states trying to resolve these issues. But of course, politically, it was enormously challenging. Because of the size of our population, because of the size of the sector, food and farming employs one in eight people. I think we were quite at arms length, I would say, from influencing the European thinking. What was not to like? Above all else, I want to see honesty to farmers about the road that they are on from our political leaders. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of Minette was the first crime/thriller writer to win three major prizes with her first three books. But I was well aware that wed burnt quite a lot of bridges with people, who felt that the NFU had behaved badly. But given the issues at hand went well beyond the economics argument, into issues such as immigration and sovereignty, it was also decided that the NFU would not campaign for Remain, nor would we advise our members how to vote. So, that is all good. minette batters UKICE: In March 2019, Daniel Kawczynski said hed vote for the Withdrawal Agreement, given the negative prospects of no deal exit to the farming industry. The gnarly issues that remain today are still to be resolved, and who knows how we will resolve them. I dont think that agriculture and food have been given, effectively, the opportunity to empower a UK workforce. These have been continuous weekly dialogue groups, with officials and ministers. Although weve left the EU, weve left transition, we havent achieved trade at scale with the rest of the world, in any shape or form, nor have the aid schemes changed or been reduced yet. Minette Batters She supplemented her salary by writing romantic novelettes, short stories, and serials in her spare time. We went to Wageningen University, a world leading Dutch University with experience in running agricultural trade models. 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. WebMinette met her husband Alec Walters while she was at Durham and they married in 1978. 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. Apr 13 2023. 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? Defra had always been a slightly second, third, ranked department, partly because so much of its policy was run from Europe rather than domestically. 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. 30 Apr 2023 11:52:44 They have very different standards to us; they have big feedlot systems, they farm at serious scale. Top $76,000-a-year New Jersey boarding school admits 'more should have been done' to stop bullying of boy, 17, who took his own life after being falsely accused of rape by cruel peers What we have to recognise is none of these things can be done in isolation. UKICE: Whether or not it was a majority of farmers, some farmers at least were keen to leave the EU. 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. We use cookies to enhance your user experience. MB: There was an element of, Goodness, what is this going to look like? In this conversation. And everybody was adamant that we could not have a border on the island of Ireland. Did you go back and say to the NFU, This is what we now need to do? Were you at all engaged in the discussions there, or were you very surprised when the Government suddenly unveiled that as its preferred approach? Minette is published in almost 40 countries and has sold in excess of 25,000,000 copies of her books worldwide. 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. 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. That was primarily because of the WTOs Most Favoured Nations rules, where you cant have one rule for the EU and one rule for the rest of the world. She graduated from Trevelyan College, Durham in 1971 with a BA in French. Still, what keeps me awake at night is this desire to raise standards here. The union's president Minette Batters will make the call at their conference later today amid growing concerns about the implications of Brexit for farming - whether a deal is struck or not. What were your early engagements with the new May administration like? fivem gun crafting location; pros and cons of lifesource water system; usta friend at court 2022 handbook 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. How do we resolve an issue that kept the United Kingdom together and allowed us, effectively, to transition into a new relationship? So, that is why we want you to be part of the SPS area. 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. So, he was very prepared to roll up his sleeves. Given he was one of the greatest proponents in the Brexit debate, of isnt it great, food is going to be cheaper. The coalition showed that this was about consumers, this was about everybody believing in it. But it isnt an opportunity if we lose access to the EU market. I think there was a sort of realisation then that, actually, they hadnt got this quite right, and they needed to be talking about farmers, about food production. 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? It runs, I think, central government and its departments for under a month. 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 We wanted government to put its money where its mouth was. UKICE: You dont represent farmers in Northern Ireland, because theyre represented by the Ulster Farmers Union. MINETTE BATTERS: I have huge admiration for farmers across the world, not least our cousins in Australia and New Zealand. That was a manifesto commitment, dont forget, in the 2019 election not to undermine our farmers in future FTAs. But Defra, government, really only focused on bail-out packages in a no deal scenario, that would allow farmers to effectively restructure. Its obviously still a strange time, because weve still got Covid. That, above all else, United Kingdom farmers remained the number one supplier of choice to their own marketplace. Michael didnt know that we were going to say that, nobody in Defra knew that we were going to say it. National Farmers Union elects first female president in 110-year We had implemented laws that were based on food values, and yet we werent prepared to look at that in other parts of the world. 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. 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. He knew the Department inside out; he knew farming well. It wasnt actually needed in the end, because the weather changed. 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. So, it continues just to be a live issue that will have to be overcome, at some stage. Lovely to listen while running through Oxfordshire farms. Trying to make sure that we had all areas of our membership covered was absolutely critical. In her role as Or did they think it was just a completely unacceptable attempt to cherry-pick the single market? National Farmers' Union president Minette Batters has urged ministers to tackle an absolute crisis in the food sector, saying that she is determined to solve this situation. I can remember, it was either Justin Webb or John Humphreys, saying, This isnt the Agricultural Bill, this is the Environment Bill. 1995 The CWA Gold Dagger Award (shortlist): 1995 The Best Translated Crime Fiction of the Year in Japan. Do you think that the Brexit that has played out so far is at least meeting their expectations, in terms of what new opportunities it would bring? Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. UKICE: And were there any sensible preparations that you could do, or that you were talking about Defra doing, in that eventuality? Born on 1967 in Unknown, Minette Batters And this, I think, still remains a very complex political issue. I think its still yet to be resolved as to what that looks like. 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. Webminette batters family. It has also been translated into several languages. Minette Batters net worth Feb, 2023 - People Ai minette batters 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. So, that was the conversation, literally, with Theresa May she hadnt realised how complex SPS was. minette batters Did it make a difference having Andrea Leadsom there? Agricultural Acts dont come along very often 1947, 1920 its over a 70-year gap. Actually, Lord Plumb joined the discussion and Sir David Naish joined that discussion, as well as other previous Presidents. It would help if we could speak to those who are leading these discussions. MB: I still think that is undecided, effectively. Her husband, Malcolm, is not involved Were such a big organisation, representing 50,000 farmers across England and Wales. BiographyThe events that shaped Minettes life and career, Photo galleryA peek inside Minettes personal photo album, Charitable workOrganizations and causes Minette supports, Interview with Anne CattrellMinette talks about her life, Minette Walters 2019. My meeting with the Prime Minister in October last year, 2020, was absolutely pivotal in getting the Trade and Agriculture Commission over the line. MB: I think there was an element of thinking, They can never do this, because it will be so bad. Of course, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) believed so strongly in Brexit. And why did you decide on your ultimate tactic, as we headed towards the referendum? It was ideology based on three principles: A bonfire of regulation, the easiest trade deal in history, and more money for UK priorities, because we wouldnt be paying it into the EU. We cant have one standard for one and not for another. It means that the future absolutely has to be got right, and delivery has to work. minette batters family