Congratulations to Brendan Kelly on his recent success in Northern Ireland’s regional Wool Board Election.
The Co. Antrim man has already made it clear that he will represent the interests of all sheep producers when he takes his place in Bradford. This stance is to be commended.
The Wool Board is the last marketing organisation of its type left in operation. Back in the day, the likes of the former Milk Boards and Pigs Boards were felt not to be fit-for-purpose.
However, history has since shown that decisions taken in haste can turn out to be the wrong ones in the long term.
The Wool Board is a farmer-owned co-operative, which operates a wholly transparent auction system on behalf of its members. The organisation also pump-primes a lot of highly relevant research and development, where adding value to wool is concerned.
For their part, dairy farmers have had no end of struggles to contend with since the shutters were drawn down on the old Milk Marketing Boards.
Time to re-establish the old marketing boards?
Had they survived, or some form of over-arching co-operative put in their place, dairy farmers might well have been able to better cope with the spectre of volatility that has so haunted them over the past decade.
It’s also no coincidence that the pig industry went into freefall, once the former Pigs Marketing Boards fell by the wayside.
I know lots of other factors came into play when the decisions to wind up the various marketing boards were made.
But one could make a genuine argument for the re-establishment of some form of collective marketing system right across the agri-food spectrum, given the challenges that are coming down the track.
Certainly, those arguing that Brexit will be a good news story for our farming sectors, given that we will be well placed to feed everyone in the UK, should have no bone to pick with this assertion.
