Minette Batters: “Really tough” decision to step down from NFU
3rd October 2023
After 10 years as an NFU office holder, Minette Batters will end her presidency in February 2024.
The first female president of the NFU, Ms Batters is now in her third term, having secured 75% of the vote in the 2022 election.
She served as deputy president from 2014-2018, before being elected president in February 2018. She was previously a county chair, Wiltshire’s NFU Council delegate and also a regional board chair for the south west.
“An extraordinary time for British farming”
Commenting on her decision to step down as president in February 2024, she said: “The decision to step down has been really tough to make but after 10 years at the top of the organisation it is time for someone else to take the lead.
“It has been an extraordinary time for British farming. From the impact of Brexit, the Covid pandemic and most recently the cost of living crisis, which was exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, and the resulting impact of record inflation for the agriculture sector. There has not been a playbook in history for the events that have unfolded.
“I have given it my all and there’s a huge job still to be done. I remain determined to deliver what’s needed for our members.”
Ms Batters runs a tenanted family farm in Wiltshire. The mixed farming business includes a 100-cow continental cross suckler herd, as well as sheep and arable.
Campaigning on the importance of British food and farming has been a key theme of her presidency. In 2020 she led a petition, signed by over 1 million people, calling on the government to back British farmers and prioritise food standards when negotiating trade deals.
