The Farmers Fight

I don’t think Maisie Adam’s fits into the ‘posh stereotype’. But, even if she does, does that make her an ‘awful’ person? I don’t think so.

Posh, out of touch, no clue. Her food arrives pre-packaged on a supermarket shelf. Awful woman Allira why so judgemental?

You forgot:

Wear a Barbour jacket

‘Posh’ is an interesting social construct, largely defined by your behaviour rather than who your parents are / were, or even by how rich you are. I wouldn’t imagine most people think farmers are ‘posh’. I certainly don’t.

Here’s the result of a survey asking people what they think makes someone posh. Makes interesting reading:

“A 2021 nationwide study of 2,000 people by Perspectus Global found that the top 20 signs of “poshness” are…

1. You went to boarding school – 34 per cent

2. You have antiques and family heirlooms – 28 per cent

3. You have a wine cellar – 26 per cent

4. You have paintings of your ancestors – 26 per cent

5. You belong to an old private members club – 25 per cent

6. You NEVER discuss money – 25 per cent

7. You call your parents ‘mummy’ and ‘daddy’, even when you are an adult – 24 per cent

8. You have a family coat of arms – 23 per cent

9. You ride horses – 22 per cent

10. Your dinner parties are catered – 22 per cent

They also tend to laugh very loudly, use loose leaf tea – rather than teabags – say ‘supper’ instead of dinner and call the toilet “the loo”…”

Of course, as with any social construct, the notion of ‘poshness’ is loaded with stereotypes. Just like ‘working class’ stereotypes, they can be very mixed up in 21st Century UK.

Posh.

Her uncle
‘By Ford was born in Castleford, Yorkshire. He spent his early years living around the West Riding of Yorkshire, where his father, Sir Lawrence Byford, served as a policeman. Sir Lawrence went on to become Chief Constable of Lincolnshire, and later, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary. Mark was educated at Lincoln School which later became Lincoln Christ's Hospital Comprehensive School.[1]

He returned to West Yorkshire in 1976, studying law at the University of Leeds, where he was president of Devonshire Hall. Immediately on graduating he joined the BBC in 1979, aged 20, as a "temporary holiday relief assistant" working as a researcher over the summer holiday in his local (Look North) television newsroom in Leeds. After three months' vacation work, he joined the BBC full-time.’
Strike me as a family that have achieved what they have by hard work and intelligence, not inherited wealth.

Her posh grandfather
‘Sir Lawrence Byford CBE QPM DL (10 August 1925 – 10 February 2018) was an English police officer who served as Chief Inspector of Constabulary from 1983 to 1987.[1] His inquiry into the failings of the Yorkshire Ripper investigation by West Yorkshire Police earned him the description "the man who changed the face of modern policing" because it "led to fundamental changes in the way serial killer investigations would be carried out in future across the world".[2][3]

Early life
Byford was born the son of a coal miner in Normanton, West Riding of Yorkshire.[4] He left school without any qualifications and became an apprentice electrician at a local pit. In 1944, Byford was conscripted and saw service during the latter months of World War II with the Royal Signals in France, Belgium and Germany.[2]’

Perhaps your idea of posh is different from mine.

There are posters who think farmers are posh because they wear Barbour jackets.
Anyone can wear a Barbour jacket.

I think having titled relatives and relatives in high places is posh.

We all have different standards.

Allira

HousePlantQueen

Allira

HousePlantQueen

Maizie? Posh? Were you watching the same programme as I was?

Do you anything about know her background?

No, do you?

Yes.

So, what do you know that we don’t?

HousePlantQueen

Allira

HousePlantQueen

Maizie? Posh? Were you watching the same programme as I was?

Do you anything about know her background?

No, do you?

Yes.

HousePlantQueen

keepingquiet

She had just been to a party in the British museum with the Archbishop of Canterbury...

No she hadn't. That was Ian Hislop

It just goes to show how misinformation can spread like wildfire across the internet when a group of people can watch a tv programme and soon afterwards come up with different interpretations about the content of that programme.

Thank you for replying foxie. It's basically a "mixed" answer in terms of continuing food production, isnt it. I think it's significant just how long this has been going on for.

It does occur the farmer's demonstration isn't just about IT right now, its a long term issue on where we get food from, production costs, and land costs, and the enduring feelings about connection to our land being broken.

I find Maisie really inspirational as, like my granddaughter, she developed epilepsy a teenager. I've been very reassured seeing how much she has achieved despite this

Allira

HousePlantQueen

Maizie? Posh? Were you watching the same programme as I was?

Do you anything about know her background?

No, do you?

keepingquiet

She had just been to a party in the British museum with the Archbishop of Canterbury...

No she hadn't. That was Ian Hislop

I should add that it's very easy to put up agricultural buildings under the 5 hectares rule (just over 12 acres) and tbh once they are up no one is really interested in what they are actually being used for so I know of several farms that store all sorts of things from legal documents to wine.

Wyllow3 one became an equestrian yard but took a few store cattle, another has retired and rents out the land which is used mainly for sheep, hay and haylage, I also know of one where the land is rented out to someone who grows herbs for the ready meal industry. Another local farmer stopped farming, he wasn't dairy, and he developed a small caravan storage business and rented out his land for cattle mainly. None of these changes are recent, most were more than a decade ago.

I don't know any farmers so this might be a daft idea but if you are a farmer on a family farm why don't you gradually give you child/children who work on the farm shares in the business? You could work up to you still being the majority share holder with your child/children working up to owning 49% of the farm. Wouldn't that mean no IHT on a farm worth up to £3m, if it is true that you can have up to £3m IHT free.

Once you are ready to retire you could become the minority shareholder.

Allira

HousePlantQueen

Maizie? Posh? Were you watching the same programme as I was?

Do you anything about know her background?

She does a podcast called That’s a First which I’m going to start listening to. She’s become my new favourite comedian. I think she’s great.

foxie48

Small farms were protected to a large extent by membership of the EU, France, Greece etc have lots of small farms so policy took that into account and subsidies were generous. After Brexit the Conservative govt continued with subsidies but they have not kept pace with inflation and farmers have been particularly hard hit by the rise in the price of oil because it affects them in lots of different ways, not just diesel. Liz Truss, who was head of Defra between 2014-16 was particularly against subsidies and believed that market forces should reign! I find it somewhat ironic that Conservatives have leapt to the defence of the "small farmer" they certainly didn't help them when they were in govt for 14 years. I think it would be easy to imagine a pretty cynical reason for the interest!
Small farmers need income and despite every farmer that I know having diversified (holiday lets, camping sites, fishing lake, meat and veg boxes etc) they are still struggling to make a living. In this area farmers are retiring and selling their land off but retaining the farmhouse. Their children don't want to scrape a living relying on subsidies. We used to have lots of dairy farms, now there is just one. This is a problem that has been going on for a long time it has not just erupted.

a long and interesting post, Foxie. Just interested in asking becuause of concerns about food production, whether the land that the small dairy farms were on in your are, is still used for food production by larger units. In terms of the UK feeding itself its the crucial one, or has the land been bought for investment non farming?

Grandmabatty

You are still offensive. Food, beverages, tobacco is a heading. The details followed.

Why include tobacco then?
🤔

paddyann54

David Scotland is nota region its a country.A country that has exported MORE than we imported since records began,We have a positive balance of payments despite our budget being cut by Westminster and now £6Billion LESS than it was a few years ago.We also have vast natural resources that WM pilfersand assumes they are theirs not to mention our billions they raise in taxes from the likes of Scotch whisky and gin .A wee bit of research would be beneficial then if you know the FACTs about Scotland you might…just might be qualified to discuss us

David49 is perfectly correct in referring to Scotland as a region in the context of the CAP and the EU.

During the United Kingdom's membership of the EU, the term 'region' also included England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are formally referred to as countries by the British government.

You may refer to Scotland as a country, but Scotland is not an independent country.
Should it ever gain independence and apply to rejoin the EU, then it would be again regarded as a region by the EU.

You are still offensive. Food, beverages, tobacco is a heading. The details followed.

“David your comment is incredibly offensive to Scottish gransnet people.”

Then stop complaining how badly you are treated by the English, if Scots want independance vote for it, but they don’t really they just want to complain.

You list tobacco as an export I must have missed tobacco growing in Scotland

HousePlantQueen

Maizie? Posh? Were you watching the same programme as I was?

Do you anything about know her background?

Brexit was a nightmare to the shellfish industry in Scotland Iam.

Most shellfish went to the EU quickly and easily. It's much more difficult now. I haven't kept up with any changes to the industry but I know it was devastating.