Country England and Wales Founded 1908 | Website www.nfuonline.com | |
Full name National Farmers' Union Members 55,000 Farmer and Grower members, 34,000 Countryside members Key people Officeholders: Meurig Raymond MBE, President; Minette Batters, Deputy President; Guy Smith, Vice President (Terms of office run from Feb 2016 - Feb 2018); Martin Haworth, Acting Director General. Office locations Stoneleigh, United Kingdom, Warwickshire, United Kingdom, CV8 2TZ, Stoneleigh, United Kingdom Profiles | ||
The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is a member organisation/industry association for farmers in England and Wales. It is the largest farmers' organisation in England and Wales, and has over 300 branch offices.
Contents
History
On 10 December 1908, a meeting was held in an ante-room at the Smithfield Show to discuss whether a national organisation should be formed to represent the interests of farmers. The outcome was the National Farmers' Union (NFU).
The first President, Colin Campbell, worked tirelessly to get new branches off the ground, encourage membership and establish the NFU’s credibility with Government, at a time when farming was going through the longest and deepest depression in its history, as imports of cheap grain and frozen meat flooded in from abroad.
At the 1918 general election, the union ran six candidates, none of whom were elected. In 1922, it sponsored three unsuccessful candidates under its own name, and four successful Conservative Party candidates. It again sponsored Conservative candidates in 1923 and 1935, but has not done so since.
The organisation celebrated its Centenary in 2008.
The NFU is registered as an association of employers under the 1974 Trade Union and Labour Relations Act. In 2000 it founded Assured Food Standards who administers the Red Tractor Scheme.
1918 general election
Barnard was also sponsored by the National Party.
1922 general election
Blundell, Bruford, Lamb and Shepperson stood for the Conservative Party.
1923 general election
All candidates stood for the Conservative Party.
1924 general election
Both candidates stood for the Conservative Party.
1935 general election
Two candidates were sponsored and elected for the Conservative Party.
Membership
There are several tiers of NFU membership:
Function
Known as 'The Voice of British Farming', the NFU states that it "champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its Farmer and Grower members."
It negotiates with the government and national organisations on behalf of English and Welsh farmers. The NFU's Back British Farming campaign highlights hundreds of reasons why farming deserves public support.
Structure
The NFU is governed by its Constitution and Rules. Under the Constitution and Rules the NFU shall maintain a number of bodies, which are responsible for the Governance of the NFU. These include NFU Council, Governance Board, Policy Board, National Commodity Boards, Regional Commodity Boards, an Audit and Remuneration Committee and Legal Board and Regional Boards.
The NFU has an office in Brussels, Belgium to represent the interests of British farmers to the European Union.
The NFU is closely associated with the insurance mutual company NFU Mutual, which is also based in Warwickshire.
NFU Cymru is based at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells.
Archives
The archives of the NFU are deposited with the Rural History Centre at Reading University.
Controversy
The NFU has been described by Ethical Consumer as "The English Agribusiness Lobby Group" reflecting concerns that the organisation focuses too strongly on promoting the interests of larger, strongly profit-maximising "agribusinesses" rather than those of smaller farmers. Guy Watson of Riverford Organics, wrote "I don’t feel represented by the NFU. In fact I find myself increasingly alienated by their self-righteous lobbying for the short term interests of a small number of largescale farmers. This especially applies to their resistance to any representation of the interests of the tax payers who prop up their industry; to even the tamest environmental regulation; to public access to land; and to any redirection of farming subsidies to encourage younger, smaller scale entrants to the industry."