Getting candidates on farm is a great opportunity to get across your specific local issues, as well as informing candidates about the broader problems impacting farmers up and down the country.
The NFU Cymru team can help arrange visits; read our 5 steps to a successful visit below.
If you are a parliamentary candidate wanting to get out on farm, please get in touch with our team at: [email protected].
1. Get in touch with your county adviser
County advisers will be your first port of call for arranging a visit during the election period. They have been reaching out to candidates to promote NFU Cymru's General Election manifesto and will be there to accompany you on the day of your visit.
They are also making sure that all parties in each constituency get the same offer of a visit, as NFU Cymru is an apolitical organisation.
To get in touch with your local county adviser, please visit our who's who page:
2. Set the agenda
“There is no substitute for getting potential MPs out on farm.”
NFU Cymru National Political Adviser, Huw Thomas
Your county adviser will help ensure that your invitation is clear and concise and explains why you’d like a candidate to come and visit you.
Take a look at NFU Cymru’s manifesto where we break down simple, key asks on agricultural policy, covering everything from environmental schemes and flooding, to trade agreements and supply chain fairness.
Have a look at the NFU Cymru website to find out the big issues in your sector. If you want to discuss something else, it’s worth doing a bit of research to ensure you make your case as well as possible.
Landing a few points well is more effective than overloading candidates with information.
3. Plan an itinerary for the visit
Planning an itinerary is a good idea as it allows candidates to come to discussions better prepared.
A suggested plan could be a farm walk, followed by a kitchen table discussion. The farm walk gives candidates the chance to see how your business runs day to day and brings to life the issues you want to describe to them.
A kitchen table discussion also allows you to go over some of the key issues you wish to raise in more detail. It’s worth having a bad weather contingency plan, just in case.
Ensure they know they’ll need to bring appropriate footwear and clothing and they have clear instructions to get to the farm. What3Words is one tool that offers a more precise location than a postcode alone.
4. Know your candidate
It’s really important to do some research of the candidate you are meeting, so you can understand their background and priorities.
The website They Work For You can be a useful tool to understand your former MP’s and candidate's views and voting record in advance of the meeting.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact either your local county adviser, or the NFU Cymru office.
5. Come prepared with solutions
The NFU Cymru manifesto can help guide your discussions with candidates, and give you an opportunity to expand on how the issues raised within it impact you and your farm on a local level.
In our manifesto, we have provided solutions to many of the challenges the sector is facing, but this is also your chance to explain about the benefits these solutions would bring to your business.
After the meeting please do update the NFU Cymru team about how the meeting went so we can coordinate our campaigning efforts ahead of the general election.