National Farmers' Union of England and Wales

45,000 farming and growing businesses^[1]Tom BradshawDavid ExwoodRachel HallosTerry JonesWebsiteOfficial website

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) is an employer association and trade association for farming and growing businesses within England and Wales.

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 meeting resulted in the formation of the National Farmers' Union.^[2]

The first President, Colin Campbell, worked 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.^[2]

At the 1918 general election, the association 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.^[3]

In 1972, the NFU alongside other farming employers' associations, set up the 'British Agriculture Bureau' to represent their intrests in the European Economic Community wide and later European Union affairs.^[4][5]

In 2000 it founded Assured Food Standards which administers the Red Tractor food quality mark.^{[citation needed]}

In 2013, during the so-called "Bonfire of the quangos" by the Cameron–Clegg government, the NFU lobbied in supported the abolishment of the Agricultural Wages Board,^[6][7] the governmental body which had been responsible for regulating farm workers wages.^[8] In the same year, the NFU campaigned against the existence of any cap on subsidies that farmers could receive.^[6][9]

In 2016, the Ethical Consumer Research Association published a report Understanding the NFU - an English Agribusiness Lobby Group describing the NFU as promoting policies that benefit big agribusinesses at the expense of farm workers pay and conditions, the environment, and animal welfare.^[10]

During the Brexit Referendum, the NFU Council voted overwhelmingly to endorse the Remain campaign, but did not actively campaign on the issue.^[11][12] In the leadup to the referendum, the NFU commissioned a report by Wageningen University. The report described that two of three Brexit scenarios could increase farm-gate prices.^[12]

The NFU elected its first female president, Minette Batters, in 2018.^[13]

Function

The NFU proclaim themselves as 'The Voice of British Farming'^{[citation needed]}, the NFU states that it "champions British farming and provides professional representation and services to its Farmer and Grower members."^[14]

It negotiates with the government and national organisations on behalf of English and Welsh member farmers.^{[citation needed]}

Structure

The NFU is registered as an employer association under the Certification Office for Trade Unions and Employers' Associations.^[5]

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.^[15]

The NFU is closely associated with the insurance company NFU Mutual, which is also based in Warwickshire.

NFU Cymru is based at the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells.

British Agriculture Bureau

The British Agriculture Bureau (BAB) is the joint office of the NFU, the National Farmers' Union of Scotland and Ulster Farmers' Union in Brussels. The BAB lobbies for and collects information on behalf of the British farmering industry in regards to European Union policy.^[4][5][16]

Election results

1918 general election^[3]

Constituency	Candidate	Votes	%	Position
Barnard Castle	Octavius Monkhouse	1,274	10.0	4
East Norfolk	William Benjamin Taylor	1,926	12.3	3
Hertford	Edmund Broughton Barnard	7,158	38.8	2
Leominster	Ernest Wilfred Langford	2,870	17.4	3
Ormskirk	Stephen Hirst	4,989	28.3	3
Richmond (Yorkshire)	William Parlour	4,907	33.2	2

Barnard was also sponsored by the National Party.

1922 general election^[3]

Constituency	Candidate	Votes	%	Position
Carmarthen	Daniel Johns	4,775	15.9	3
Howdenshire	H. J. Winn	7,021	39.5	2
Leominster	Ernest Shepperson	10,798	53.1	1
Ormskirk	Francis Blundell	11,921	58.7	1
Rutland and Stamford	E. Clark	4,471	20.3	3
Stone	Joseph Lamb	7,742	38.3	1
Wells	Robert Bruford	10,210	47.7	1

Blundell, Bruford, Lamb and Shepperson stood for the Conservative Party.

1923 general election^[3]

Constituency	Candidate	Votes	%	Position
Leominster	Ernest Shepperson	11,582	57.3	1
Ormskirk	Francis Blundell	10,598	53.0	1
Stone	Joseph Lamb	10,001	50.8	1
Wells	Robert Bruford	9,909	44.2	2

All candidates stood for the Conservative Party.

1924 general election^[3]

Constituency	Candidate	Votes	%	Position
Leominster	Ernest Shepperson	13,237	52.5	1
Stone	Joseph Lamb	12,856	57.3	1

Both candidates stood for the Conservative Party.

in the 1935 general election, two candidates were sponsored and elected for the Conservative Party.^{[who?][citation needed]}

Archives

The archives of the NFU are deposited with the Rural History Centre at Reading University.^[17]

Arms

Coat of arms of National Farmers' Union of England and Wales

Notes Granted 9 September 1946 [18] Crest On a wreath of the colours a scythe and sceptre in saltire Or. Escutcheon Vert a chevron Ermine between in dexter chief a hull's head and in sinister chief a ram's head caboshed and in base three ears of wheat banded all Or. Motto Labore Agricolae Floreat Civitas

See also

• National Farmers' Union of Scotland
• Agriculture in the United Kingdom
• Farmers' Union of Wales
• Ulster Farmers Union

References

External links

• Official website