How do you confuse a group of industry leaders in a field?
By asking 'the man in the grey suit' to move forward, as a hapless photographer discovered during the launch of the Campaign for the Farmed Environment.
His request was met by furrowed brows and worried looks as 10 out the dozen industry 'great and good' lined up across a six metre margin in a Bedfordshire field wondered if he meant them.
The incident, which generated much amusement afterwards, highlighted both the phenomenal success in getting to this point and challenge that lies ahead in getting those that don patched up farm jackets and muddy wellington boots for their work to buy into it.
That predominantly grey suited line-up shivering in a field on NFU president Peter Kendall's farm represented an unprecedented coming together of Government and farming, farming advice and the environmental interests.
Despite the bleak Bedfordshire weather, the mood was unremittingly upbeat and the sense of pride and achievement palpable.
With good reason.
As Defra Secretary Hilary Benn said once these suits had joined more among the 100 or so others gathered for the launch in a heated barn, it is has been a hard road getting here, but we are in a 'better place' than anyone had ever anticipated.
The debate over what to do after set-aside had been one of the most bitter and hard-fought in modern farming.
Mr Benn recalled how on one side he had the environmental lobby demanding that he 'regulates now' to preserve the environmental benefits of the policy, while, on the other, the farming industry pleaded with him not to.
In the end, Mr Benn chose to trust farmers. So the NFU and CLA got the decision they wanted, a voluntary policy.
The Campaign for the Farmed Environment, a national campaign to be played out at local level, is the nuts and bolts of that policy.
All the organisations present have now thrown weight and there as an indisputable will to make it work.
Words and phrases like 'watershed', 'unprecedented partnership' and 'historic' were banded about liberally. None of them seemed out of place.
But there was one nagging doubt lurking within the whole event.
That was the suspicion that the wider farming fraternity remains largely unaware of the campaign or, at best in many cases, indifferent to it.
Allied to this is the concern that some farmers are simply unaware of the battle that has taken place to get here.
While what is being asked of them may seem like an unnecessary burden to some, the truth is that it would have been much, much worse if that battle had not been won by the industry.
This was touched on only briefly, notably when the RSPB's Graham Wynne spoke of the need to mobilise the large number of 'recalcitrant' farmers. The real test of success will be what has changed in a year's time, he said.
Few disagreed. Because the reality, as everyone knows is that, while the 'suits' have got us this far, it is in the hands of the wellington booted masses to make this laudable partnership work.
There is obviously a lot to learn. There are some good points here.
insightful post
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I keep listening to the news speaking about getting free online grant applications so I have been looking around for the best site to get one.
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I’ve been visiting your blog for a while now and I always find a gem in your new posts. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve been visiting your blog for a while now and I always find a gem in your new posts. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you for a great post
Which golf clubs will be the best for beginner ?
Should I buy steel golf clubs or graphite ?
I’ve been visiting your blog for a while now and I always find a gem in your new posts. Thanks for sharing.
I just book marked your blog on Digg and StumbleUpon.I enjoy reading your commentaries.
Great writing! Are there any thoughts that you might be willing to voice to justify your last section a bit further? peace
Great article! Any predictions that you might be able to share to assist us in understanding your first point a bit more? peace
Fantastic writing! Any thoughts that you would like to voice to illustrate the second part a small bit more? peace
You certainly deserve a round of applause for your post and more specifically, your blog in general. Very high quality material.
Wow!, this was a real quality post. In theory I'd like to write like this too - taking time and real effort to make a good article... but what can I say... I keep putting it off and never seem to get something done
Thank You For This Post, was added to my bookmarks.
Thanks For This Blog, was added to my bookmarks.
The recession wasn't caused by a political party. It was caused by us as Americans getting lazy and giving away everything our forefathers worked so hard for. Don't blame Obama OR Bush, blame yourself.
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I think Bush put the country into recession as his last act before leaving office.
Small businesses worldwide are being affected by recession. It's the burden of capitalism...that's why we need a president like Obama to bring a socialist government to fruition!!!