This Week in Farming: Food scandal latest and Coffey’s woes
Hello and welcome to a blockbuster edition of This Week in Farming where there will be no prizes for guessing what leads the agenda this Saturday.
Here are five of the biggest topics from the Farmers Weekly team this week and a look ahead to what’s coming up in the next edition of the FW podcast.
FW scoop picked up in parliament and across the media
It’s been a thrilling week for the whole Farmers Weekly team as we’ve watched FW deputy editor Abi Kay’s exclusive story on widespread food fraud and food safety issues in the meat processing sector grab the attention of politicians and the mainstream media.
On Wednesday, we revealed that multiple whistleblowers had come forward with credible allegations of long-running and widespread criminality at a meat processing firm, which cannot be named for legal reasons.
This included the mixing of rotten meat in with fresh meat (pictured).
© MAG/Farmers Weekly
The next day, the story was raised in parliament with the Defra ministerial team having to field questions on the topic from opposition MPs and their own Conservative backbenchers.
Defra secretary Therese Coffey said that she would consider, with the prime minister, whether the Food Standards Agency (FSA) should be brought into Defra’s remit.
There were also calls from the meat industry for senior figures at the FSA to “consider their positions” amid accusations that the body had not done enough to protect the public.
In my editorial this week, I called for retailers and other major customers of meat firms to come together and rapidly agree how their own auditors could improve their scrutiny of meat processors, and no longer have the wool pulled over their eyes by bad actors.
FW deputy editor Abi Kay has also been touring a number of major media outlets to explain how the story came to light, including being interviewed by Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel on The News Agents podcast.
Bruising week for Ms Coffey
It’s been a tough week for Ms Coffey, who had to acknowledge FW’s investigation at the despatch box just a day after falsely accusing me of “voting Liberal Democrat for a decade before joining Labour” (this was in fact FW opinion writer Stephen Carr), while giving evidence to parliament’s Efra Committee.
She also denied reading Farmers Weekly, claiming she was interested in “information and facts”.
The bizarre comments followed committee chairman Robert Goodwill drawing the Suffolk MP’s attention to the editorial I wrote after her poorly received performance at the NFU conference in February.
She later claimed that she did read UK farming’s biggest publication, as well as our rival Farmers Guardian, but managed to get the two pieces that she said she enjoyed the wrong way round.
Fendt shake-up
“What do you do when you’ve nailed the formula for a compact 240hp tractor that accounts for about half your annual sales? If you’re Fendt, you decide to change it.”
That’s the hook for this excellent piece from freelance machinery journalist James Andrews who runs the rule over the 724 Vario after the German manufacturer’s major overhaul of the popular 700 series.
If you’re looking for ideas for a more modest investment, why not check out this story on how Dorset mixed farmer Jamie Hawkins decided to give his ageing 3m Vaderstad 30 mounted drill a major spruce up for under £10,000.
Helpful advice on BPS form filling
It’s a busy time of year for many farmers with lambing, calving and spring cropping jobs piling up.
It’s never wise to leave filing your area payment application form until the last minute though, and we’ve got some timely tips for farmers in each nation on how to avoid common pitfalls.
As it’s the last week of the month, it’s also time for our Business Clinic advice team to spring into action.
This month’s first question being tackled is: Should I enter a long-term land use agreement?
If you’d like your own question answered for free by our panel of experts, the contact details are at the end of the article.
Ageing disgracefully
If you’re in need of a chuckle to end the week after all that seriousness, then look no further than Will Evans.
This week, Will has set out to prove that you can teach an old(er) dog new tricks by having his first proper go at laying a hedge.
To view the 1940’s hedging video, or simply to share your thoughts with Will on his article, head on over to his Twitter page.
Listen to the FW Podcast
You can hear more from Abi Kay on her exclusive story on the Farmers Weekly podcast. Johann and Hugh will also be bringing you a range of other stories including the market prices.
Keep an eye out for it dropping here or bring us with you in the cab by downloading it from your usual podcast platform.