The NFU’s approach to tackling the crisis in the beef sector has been condemned as a ‘fiasco’ by its former national livestock chairman.

Devon farmer Richard Haddock says the union has adopted a pitifully weak stance in dealing with the issue and he has now resigned from it as a result.

He says the NFU has now grown too close to the major retailers to be able to represent its members’ interests in any meaningful way.

Mr Haddock, a livestock farmer and farm shop owner from Churston, in Torbay, has been particularly scornful about the recent beef ‘summit’ held under Defra’s auspices, describing it as nothing more than a sop to West Country livestock farmers whose livelihoods are being undermined by cheap beef imports.

“We had the retailers and processors in for a ‘summit’ ten years ago when I was national chairman of livestock,” he said.

“They promised to behave themselves and support British livestock farmers and that lasted about six months, after which it was back to business as usual – that business consisting of cheating the British producer at every opportunity.

“And that was in the days when the NFU could still wield a bit of clout when it came to negotiations. That is now changed.”

Mr Haddock said the NFU’s call for a dealings with the beef processors and retailers to be governed by a voluntary code of practice showed precisely how out of touch it had become.

“It wanted a voluntary code to control dealings between supermarkets and their suppliers and another to sort out the sharp practice in the milk industry.

“But supermarkets are still using strong-arm tactics and milk is still being sold at four pints for a pound. What does that tell us about voluntary codes?

“I have resigned from the NFU partly because of this fiasco but mainly because I can no longer see what I get in return for my subscription – and dozens of other farmers are doing the same thing.

“The sooner we can get an independent organisation together to represent solely livestock farmers and to argue and fight for their interests the sooner we shall be able to lift the current threat hanging over the entire livestock sector in the South West.”