Climb down

The RSPCA has finally accepted that it has, over a period of many years, overstepped its true role in protecting animal welfare.

Ongoing criticism of its aggressive stance, not least in this column, has brought about an apology to all concerned, including the farming unions.

In an interview published in the Daily Telegraph, chief executive Jeremy Cooper said: “Of course we have made mistakes in the past, and we are very sorry about that. We have to be honest and admit the mistakes and acknowledge them.”

The apology comes after years of criticism and negative publicity which led to a parliamentary inquiry and an independent report recommending sweeping changes to the charity’s involvement with prosecutions.

For the FUW, Brian Thomas said: “For more than a decade, we as a union, have repeatedly raised concerns about the conduct of the RSPCA in relation to its overtly political campaigns, and pursued a number of complaints with the Advertising Standards Authority and the Charity Commission, amongst others.”

Concerns have also been expressed after the RSPCA tried to claim thousands of pounds for stabling and caring for horses which had been put down by the charity.

“A sinister shadow has been cast over the honourable roots of the RSPCA and the important work done by its employees. The only way in which to redeem its reputation is through full transparency, and a full investigation of the role played by the Charity Commission in allowing the organisation to fall into such disrepute,” said Mr. Thomas.

More good news

Meat Promotion Wales joined hundreds of smallholders in celebrating pigs, pork and all aspects of country life at the Royal Welsh Spring Festival last weekend.

As well as being proud sponsors of the event, HCC had on offer a range of their own publications surrounding the red meat sector in Wales.

With a growing innovative pork industry in Wales, Porc Cymru is a catalogue of the finest pig farmers and premier porcine producers from around the country.

Other features included a range of recipes, information on pork cuts and health and nutrition, as well as interviews with Porc.Wales ambassadors who described why pork produced in Wales is so very special.

Market development officer, Melanie Hughes, told me: “We believe that pork produced in Wales stands out for many reasons; the climate and the landscape, not to mention the expertise and knowledge of the pig farmers. The sector is innovative and has a new generation of passionate artisan producers who make award-winning products.”

Misleading reports

Various Government bodies now insist that farming documents must be submitted on line yet virtually all the promises of super fast broadband and vastly improved mobile networks never come to fruition.

The NFU insists that, with only four per cent of farmers having access to superfast broadband, the roll-out of complete mobile networks and affordable, reliable superfast access in rural areas must now be prioritised by government.

Both are essential to run safe and efficient farms, to comply with regulation, to promote farm diversification and for rural communities to enjoy family life. The government needs to put in place the funding, the legislation and business support to allow this to happen.

The NFU is concerned about the government’s broadband delivery programme, supposedly worth £1.7 billion, which will leave an estimated 1.2 million premises without superfast broadband - that’s the equivalent of five per cent of all premises, the majority of which will be farm businesses and rural communities.

At best, farmers within this last five per cent could be offered far lower speeds of 10 megabits per second by 2020, whilst other industries and urban areas receive superfast speeds of 30Mbps or ultrafast speeds of 100Mbps plus.

For the NFU, Guy Smith says: “If our industry is to meet any of the ambitions of the long-awaited government 25-year Food and Farming Plan, it will be essential for barriers to growth to be removed. Poor access to broadband and mobile networks is one such significant barrier and the current situation is neither sustainable nor acceptable. The government is asking farmers to run their businesses in conditions that put them at an immediate disadvantage.

“We have heard of farmers waiting 15 hours to download a Countryside Stewardship guidance booklet; farmers can’t comply with increasingly online-only regulation and aren’t able to contact their customers. Farmers can’t harness the brilliant range of agri-technology which relies on a reliable internet connection. To increase productivity, you need superfast broadband, to get out of the farm office and into the field.

“Well over half of our members have diversified their farm businesses with the aim of supporting the wider rural economy, but they simply won’t be able to support this wider economy if they can’t offer high-speed broadband. This is tantamount to failure to provide the infrastructure that our industry desperately needs to flourish and compete in increasingly globalised markets.”

The NFU sets out 10 key ways we can promote an effective superfast broadband and mobile ’phone network. Fundamentally, we need government to keep to their commitment to make the UK the best connected country in the world and to ensure a system is designed that will actually address the rural market and boost competition. We also need the telecommunications industry to get positively involved in creating a competitive digital rural market for our members and their rural communities.

Keeping up the pressure

Not unlike other farming organisations, the FUW - a longstanding campaigner for food products displaying clear and trustworthy information for consumers - has welcomed a decision by the EU Parliament to call on the Commission to introduce a mandatory requirement to display origin information.

According to reports already published by the Commission, 90 per cent of consumers felt it was important that origin information was displayed on fresh and processed meat and consumer surveys have revealed that the origin is an important purchase factor for milk, dairy and meat products. Evidence clearly shows that consumers in Wales want Welsh and British produce.

A non-binding resolution recently approved in Strasbourg requests the commission to look again at its position and ‘implement the mandatory indication of country of origin for all kinds of drinking milk, dairy products and meat products,’ as well as highlighting the need for clarity within food labeling.

The resolution also emphasises the success of voluntary labelling schemes, as advocated by the European Commission. However, MEPs felt that this could lead to confusion for customers with the possibility of several schemes being established. The resolution argues that legislation on labeling should be brought forward ‘as a priority.’

Charlotte Priddy, FUW policy officer, assures me: “This is an important step in maintaining customer confidence. Transparent supply chains help to promote the safety and integrity of produce which is something we should be proud of. In particular, the call for a mandatory labeling of the origin of milk comes at an important time considering the dairy crisis. It will serve as a helpful factor in protecting the quality of dairy products, combating food fraud and even go some way to protect employment within the dairy sector.”

The way it is

Recently, I was diagnosed with A. A. A. D. D. - Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests itself: I decide to water my garden. As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide my car needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice that there is mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys down on the table, put the junk mail in the rubbish bin under the table, and notice that the bin is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the rubbish first.

But then I think, since I’m going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my cheque book off the table, and see that there is only one cheque left. My extra cheques are in my desk in the study, so I go inside the house to my desk where I find the can of coke that I had been drinking.

I’m going to look for my cheques, but first I need to push the coke aside so that I don’t accidentally knock it over. I see that the coke is getting warm, and I decide I should put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye: they need to be watered.

I place the coke down on the work surface, and I discover my reading glasses that I’ve been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I’m going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the work top, fill a container with water and suddenly I spot the TV remote. Someone has left it on the kitchen table.

I realise that tonight when we go to watch TV, I will be looking for the remote, but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the lounge where it belongs, but first I’ll water the flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor. So, I set the remote back down on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day: The car isn’t washed. The bills aren’t paid. There is a warm can of coke sitting on the work surface. The flowers don’t have enough water. There is still only one cheque in my chequebook. I can’t find the TV remote and I can’t find my glasses and I don’t remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I’m really baffled because I know I was busy all day long, and I’m really tired. I realise this is a serious problem, and I’ll try to get some help for it, but first I’ll check my e-mail.

PS. I just remembered, I left the water running......................................

(Contributed)