“We know we operate professional businesses in a dynamic, forward looking, professional industry. We are a fundamental and crucial part of a very value-added food industry. Let’s shout all this from the rooftops.

“What is the point of being good at something if others don’t know you’re good at it? For too long we seem to have been somewhat backwards in coming forward to promote the many positive aspects of the industry.”

We are professional, he said, so let’s be passionate and proud, and promote our professionalism.

“We currently enjoy a welfare price premium. With the industry’s environment strategy we may yet enjoy an environmental premium.

With skills development we get a near certain production premium through more highly skilled and motivated people. And, who knows, we might even be able to derive a skills price premium.

”We can also make a start on establishing the industry as a first choice for school leavers. Rather than it being seen by many outside the industry as being for the academic also-rans.

“This is about business benefits - not more cost and compliance,” he stressed.

Message to Levy Board UK...

"I say, do not disrupt what is already in place and working pretty damn well. If current producer confidence in the existing BPEX were to be compromised in any way, all of this and more could well be stillborn and massive potential opportunities wasted.

Message to the training establishment...

“To the Learning and Skills Council and the sector skills councils I say this. We have ended up where we are today because industry abrogated its responsibility for skills development. We simply dumped that responsibility on you. With an, at best ambivalent, and, at worst, apathetic, client, you, unsurprisingly, just got on with what you thought best. It must be difficult working for such a client! We openly recognise and acknowledge our past shortcomings but are now relishing the opportunity to take the initiative.”

Message to Government...

Speakig directly to Farm and Food Minister Lord Rooker he pleaded for govenemnt to recognise what the pig induystry was trying to achieve.

"Resist any temptation to impose so many hoops and conditions on delivery that these fundamental concepts just become sound bites that, like driftwood, will float back out to sea on the next turn of the tide. Will all this turn out to be employer-led by name or will it be allowed to become truly employer-led by nature?

“I am sure that any government minister that came to such an event as this and wasn’t asked for some money would be rendered near speechless with shock. Well, minister, I would not want to render you speechless. But I do not need to ask for additional funding. All I would ask is that, in recognition of what we have already achieved, you help us free up some of the money that is already available – much of it in another government department and some being taken Robin Hood like from our subsidised cousins’ single farm payment.”