Terry Jones - putting farmers on the political frontline

Defra’s decision to create a supermarket ombudsman last month was sweet news to Terry Jones, the NFU’s head of Governmental and Parliamentary Affairs.

It gave hope to farmers exploited by large retailers, and reflected a wider message - Defra is starting to value British farmers. Mr Jones describes it as ‘a turning point’ for British agriculture, as well as a personal triumph.

Since his arrival at the NFU in 2002, he has been at the coalface, a key member of the union team battling to create an ombudsman.

Over the years he has worked with three NFU presidents, three Secretaries of State for Defra, an array of lawyers, umpteen MPs and has generated reams and reams of evidence from members.

Until recently, all he had to show for the effort was one failed code of practice and one voluntary initiative torpedoed by retailers.

In January, Defra relented, announcing its intention to create a supermarket ombudsman.

“It was fantastic news. We can pat ourselves on the back for a second, but need to make sure we get an ombudsman that is proactive, robust and has teeth,” he says.

Defra will put out its consultation in February. “That’s when the hard work begins again,” says Mr Jones, who will not stop until a powerful ombudsman is in place.

A farmers’ son from Monmouthshire, he studied agriculture at Reading University before joining a graduate scheme at multinational food company, Cargill.

After five years in the ‘cut and thrust’ of corporate life, he went to a Herefordshire potato business.

Two years later, in 2002, he was looking for a new challenge and joined the NFU’s marketing team. He ascended quickly through the ranks and has been head of the London office since 2005.

The Westminster office, with six permanent staff, has a wide brief: namely to promote the views of the NFU across industry, to support NFU policy-makers and to promote the union in the national media.

The office is perhaps most famous for its Parliamentary lobbying operation, which basically involves getting as many MPs as possible to champion farming and to push legislation to secure the future of British agriculture.

Mr Jones describes his office as a ‘translation centre’. “We take what MPs and Lords say and convert it into language our members understand. We reflect the views of our members when we talk to MPs and Lords,” he says.

Lobbying

Lobbying MPs on behalf of farmers is often a thankless task, but times are changing. “I think there is now recognition within Government that farming is part of a solution and not a problem,” he says. “Politicians were spooked by the food price spikes of 2008 and now see the role of British farmers to produce food and look after the environment.”

Politicians are starting to trust the industry, he says, describing the initiative to retain the environmental benefits formerly provided by set-aside (Campaign for the Farmed Environment) as ‘a defining moment in the relationship between industry and Defra’.

“We showed Defra we were an industry that could take responsibility and develop solutions. Equally, Defra has demonstrated it can do business with us.”

Defra’s pledge to introduce an ombudsman is evidence of ‘a growing relationship’ with Ministers, he says, stressing ‘all is not rosy’.

The spectre of TB, Responsibility and Cost Sharing, emissions from livestock and governmental budgetary pressures are all topics that ‘keep me awake at night’ and ‘must be tackled in 2010’, he says. “But we have shown in recent months we can get things done.”

A willingness to form ‘unlikely alliances’ will give the union the political potency it may have lacked in the past, he adds.

“When we saw Minsters about the ombudsman, we could list support from people like ActionAid and Friends of the Earth.

“While I fundamentally disagree with FOE views on livestock emissions, we can find common ground elsewhere,” he says.

Whether coping with the FMD fall-out in 2007, fighting for emergency measures on drivers’ hours during the cold snap or lobbying on TB, Mr Jone’s sole ambition is to allow farmers to do what they do best - produce food.

If the recent commitment from Defra is anything got go by, farmers’ interests are in good hands.

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