Soil Association Producer Roadshow - a real success
Soil Association producer members were invited to a series of free meetings around England and Wales in September, October and November. The events were designed to give members the chance to hear about - and input into - Soil Association activities and to meet fellow members.
Phil Stocker, Soil Association director of farmer and grower relations, comments on the meetings:
"The Producer Roadshow programme for 2009 has more than proved its worth. With an average of 40 people at each event, Patrick Holden (ably substituted by Peter Melchett in the Southwest) and I met over 300 members.
"As you’d expect, some of the topics were challenging. But that reflects where we are with the market, the debate over food security, and many other issues. So what was achieved? Firstly, we wanted to listen to your issues and have the chance to discuss solutions. But we also wanted to tell you about the wide-ranging work the Soil Association is doing to support you and to prepare for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.
"I hope we got the message across that membership of the Soil Association can bring farmers and growers together into a community of similar interests – completely removed from organic certification. I also hope we effectively explained our work to build a public movement, to create a supportive policy framework, and to provide a wide range of business support. We listened to your many views, which will help to shape our work in the future. You will shortly find a summary of the many topics discussed on my new ‘Talking Point’ page on the web site.
"But I want to finish with a big thank you to all the host farms who have – without exception – been welcoming, generous and supportive. It’s been a humbling reminder of the extent to which producers are prepared to open their doors, share knowledge, and speak their minds."