Fear, frustration and farming....
Do you want to buy your vegetables from a bunch of exploitative, morally bankrupt corporations that are destroying the fabric of our countryside?
You can see the frustration and hear the pain in the voice of Riverford Organics CEO, Guy Singh-Watson in his latest campaign to hold British supermarkets to account.
Riverford Organic have launched a Fair to Farmers Charter which, as the name suggests, aims to drive fairer practices for farmers when dealing with the big supermarkets.
The charter has 5 key principles including:
- Buy what you committed to buying
- Pay on time
- Commit for the long term
- Agree on a fair specification
- Pay what you agreed to pay
That all sounds reasonable, doesn't it? Not really given all the shady, deceitful and exploitative tactics used by the supermarkets towards farmers.
The Real Enemy
The supermarkets, in my eyes, are largely to blame for so many of the issues that we're currently seeing in British farming.
Poor pricing, low margins, cashflow issues giving rise to financial uncertainty and poor mental health are the direct result of a broken food supply chain.
It's not wonder that so many are leaving the industry and so few are keen to get in.
It's become so painfully difficult to make a living through traditional agriculture that the effort doesn't seem worth while.
My advice
A large part of Farm Stock is my belief that it is no longer enough to create a successful farming business through food production alone. And case studies like this feed into that belief.
I'm fundamentally behind the Riverford Charter but also believe that as an industry we need to take things into our own hands if we're going to succeed.
I've never had much time for politics and my fear is that 'change', if any, from the big supermarkets will be glacial at best.
I strongly encourage you to sign the petition using the button below and at the same time create income streams out with food production that will provide control and financial security to your business.
Until next week.....