DEAR EDITOR,

I am writing as a long-standing UFU member, who is deeply disappointed by the Union’s decision to call for the resignations of Minister Andrew Muir, permanent secretary Katrina Godfrey and chief veterinary officer Brian Dooher.

I am no particular supporter of the minister and I believe government, ministers and senior officials must be held accountable. However, I believe the UFU has crossed an important line, by moving from challenging decisions and demanding answers, to publicly naming individual civil servants and calling for their resignations before the full facts and review process have been established. What concerns me even more is the political atmosphere surrounding this decision.

ADVERTISEMENT

To the wider public, the UFU increasingly risks looking less like a broad agricultural representative organisation and more like a farming unionist organisation, which has succumbed to the populist unionist politics and social-media pressure that surrounded events at Stormont last week.

That should concern every UFU member, regardless of their political background.

Agriculture in Northern Ireland crosses every political, religious and community boundary.

Yet as a member, I increasingly worry that the UFU can feel like a cold house for Roman Catholics and for farmers who do not identify with traditional unionist politics. Decisions such as this do little to challenge that perception. I am particularly uncomfortable with the singling out of the chief veterinary officer. Given his well-known sporting and community background, I cannot help asking whether the same political and public pressure would have developed had the individual involved come from a different cultural or religious background.

I also struggle with the optics of a campaign directed at a gay minister, a female permanent secretary and a senior civil servant from a different community background. I am not alleging that prejudice motivated the UFU Executive, but the union should be sufficiently self-aware to recognise how this can appear beyond its own internal structures.

At a time when Northern Ireland agriculture desperately needs wider public confidence, political influence and constructive relationships across society, this feels to me like a publicity stunt driven by large political egos and even larger social media personalities.

Too many people now appear more interested in winning the next Facebook argument than protecting the long-term reputation of Northern Ireland farming and the wider agri-food industry.

I joined the UFU because I believed it represented farmers professionally and independently, regardless of politics. I no longer have confidence that this is where the organisation is heading.

Unless there is a significant change of direction, I will not be renewing my UFU membership in 2027.