The NFU’s next director general is an experienced food industry management figure. Sophie Throup joins the National Farmers’ Union in May, bringing with her years of board level experience, notably as Head of Agriculture at Morrisons. Raised on her family farm in Yorkshire, her working life reflects her commitment to food production. “My roots have always been in agriculture, and I know how important this period of change is for the sector,’ she told journalists when her appointment was announced. NFU members have frequent problems when dealing with multiple retailers, since food producers are not automatically the supplier named on the documentation. This seemingly minor distinction makes an important difference, since food retailers will stone wall and refuse to engage with any party that is not explicitly named on the account details. Quite apart from being very frustrating, this can make some contracts unworkable. This may be a deliberate tactic used by the retailer, or it may be used to stress test a supplier. Time sensitive crops and activities are particularly vulnerable to such practices, since person or party that has to deliver the product has no way of knowing where the real problem arises. Retail logistics will often assume that all categories are time sensitive and place a 20-minute window on deliveries, particularly store deliveries, to keep sites moving, even if the products themselves are stable.
Urban Food Chains
the links between diet and power
