If farmers are not around the table, then they will be on the menu.
That was the message from Finnish farmer and Copa-Cogeca chair of cereals and oilseeds working group Max Schulman, speaking at the NFU Scotland conference in Glasgow on February 6.
Mr Schulman has been working as a lobbyist for 18 years alongside being a farmer in Finland, mainly working in Brussels.
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He took a look back at the past five years in the European Union, where farm groups were not being included in discussions which affected those they represented.
This meant that trust was lost between farmers and legislators.
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"At the beginning of 2024, a lot of tractors were out there in different countries. It got the attention of the legislators.
"We could start to see maybe a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel," he said.
"If you are not around the table then you are on the menu."
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He highlighted the focus had been purely on environmental sustainability. But, he highlighted that only if farmers were economically sustainable could they invest in the measures the legislators wanted.
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"You cannot just say no," he said.
"That is how some of the legislators feel, that you always come to the table and say no.
"It is not always no.
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"But you have never opened it up and allowed us to be part of the whole process."
He also highlighted areas to watch for UK farming, highlighting that the UK often followed the EU in policy decisions.
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One area was fertiliser sanctions on Russia, which had already driven up European fertiliser prices. Soil health legislation was another area to watch.
He finished by urging those in the room to engage with policymakers from a local level upwards.
"Food is always good," he said.
"Food is what we provide to the world.
