I am not looking to reduce our own suckler herd - indeed we are working on expanding it. We have invested a lot of money into farming and we intend to invest further. Both my wife and myself are very positive about the future of agriculture. I intend to keep British agriculture at the forefront. You may not see me these days jumping up and down but I have been doing a lot behind the scenes as national livestock chairman. One positive result from our efforts is that most of us in England and Wales received our subsidy payments on time for a change!

I hope the pedigree cattle societies are going to push the breeds forward and keep their eye firmly on the commercial side of the beef business. There is no point in breeding something for the show ring if it is not what the commercial world wants. All breeds have come a long way in the last 20 years. We are meeting what the industry wants head-on but we need more carcasses to achieve R4L classification or better. There are too many O+ carcasses around in the meat industry. R4L produces the best eating quality and this is what everyone should be aiming for. The trouble is we have not yet achieved the continuity and quality of supply of different breeds throughout the country. There is too much variation in quality and we see that in our own meat plant at West Country Beef. There is a tendency to think that because it is a named breed, it will automatically earn a premium. A carcase weight of 210kg, for example, is of no use to the modern butchery and meat industry. Carcasses must hit the right weight and grade.

All breeds have to look forward and use the swear words 'quality and profit'. This is what retailers have to understand. We as farmers will produce quality stock under the new CAP but the meat industry will have to start coming up with forward contract prices that allow us to make a profit.

Under the new CAP, farmers should not be subsidising the consumer anymore. Everyone in the chain needs to make a profit. We need strong leaders to take us forward but we also need you as farmers to stand together and be positive. As breed societies, we have been slow in taking this concept forward, but I hope I can do my part in getting the message across as I go around the country.