Bananas

[cyril evans awaydays]

No, I'm in a very rural location and although I'm retired now I did used to own a fairly big farm, so I must have been very lucky to get away with my poor knowledge of agriculture.
I must say that I've never grown bananas - very few people seem to round here actually, even in the rural parts.
Perhaps you could explain where I'm going wrong in my thinking

No problem. The EU had an agreement with its former colonial countries that allowed preferential trade into the EU. This was called the Lome Agreement. The US (under lobbying pressure from Chiquita who grow no bananas in the US but have extensive interests in Latin America) challenged Lome at the WTO and won. The EU responded by trying its best to defend the African Caribbean Pacific Countries most effected but the US challenged again and won. The EU had to significantly revise its banana regime as a consequence. The cheaper dollar banana from Latin America as a consequence of US pressure decimated the Caribbean industry in economies far more dependent than Jamaica such as the Windward Islands. The EU scrambled to install a regime that at least alleviated some of this damage that was WTO compatible whilst also brokering a compromise with the US. The Cotonou agreement that replaced Lome gives significant funding to the affected countries and their producers that tries to soften the impact of US commercial aggression. The key reason why (if you lived in South Wales) you won't see many Geest/Fyffes bananas landing in South Wales ports.

What do yo farm in East Anglia by the way? I have a reasonable understanding of the agricultural sector in that area and how it operates that we can chat about?

[Mrs Steve R]

No problem. The EU had an agreement with its former colonial countries that allowed preferential trade into the EU. This was called the Lome Agreement. The US (under lobbying pressure from Chiquita who grow no bananas in the US but have extensive interests in Latin America) challenged Lome at the WTO and won. The EU responded by trying its best to defend the African Caribbean Pacific Countries most effected but the US challenged again and won. The EU had to significantly revise its banana regime as a consequence. The cheaper dollar banana from Latin America as a consequence of US pressure decimated the Caribbean industry in economies far more dependent than Jamaica such as the Windward Islands. The EU scrambled to install a regime that at least alleviated some of this damage that was WTO compatible whilst also brokering a compromise with the US. The Cotonou agreement that replaced Lome gives significant funding to the affected countries and their producers that tries to soften the impact of US commercial aggression. The key reason why (if you lived in South Wales) you won't see many Geest/Fyffes bananas landing in South Wales ports.

What do yo farm in East Anglia by the way? I have a reasonable understanding of the agricultural sector in that area and how it operates that we can chat about?

Thinly veiled 'I don't believe you' post imo

[cyril evans awaydays]

Thinly veiled 'I don't believe you' post imo

Interesting interjection on Ronnie's behalf. Still it might give him a bit of time to work out (sorry remember) what kind of holding he had and how much he was generating in agricultural subsidies.

[Mrs Steve R]

Interesting interjection on Ronnie's behalf. Still it might give him a bit of time to work out (sorry remember) what kind of holding he had and how much he was generating in agricultural subsidies.

Interesting take on a little joke that I would make to anyone on the forum

[cyril evans awaydays]

Interesting take on a little joke that I would make to anyone on the forum

The last 25 seem to be almost exclusively on Farmer Ronnie's or WB posts but I take your point

[Mrs Steve R]

The last 25 seem to be almost exclusively on Farmer Ronnie's or WB posts but I take your point

On WB's maybe but not Farmer Ronnie, although the one thread was about both of them so I dunno if that counts

[cyril evans awaydays]

On WB's maybe but not Farmer Ronnie, although the one thread was about both of them so I dunno if that counts

Yeah fair enough. I got so confused by this multiple id ying and yang and both Ronnie and WB offering to meet in Beddau with duelling laptops that when I decided to spend a bit more time here I thought the easiest way back in was to ignore some of the historical noise and just chat to Farmer Ronnie. Just have to see what crops (pun intended) up I suppose!

[Wales-Bales]

Interesting take on a little joke that I would make to anyone on the forum

Haha, nice joke, WB and I really appreciate your humour!

[Mrs Steve R]

No, not at all. That's what they're for.
When I joined I left it blank but then a bunch of people who don't like WB started claiming I was him. You'll have seen that I reasoned with them and I filled in the profile really to make it obvious that wasn't the case.
The reason I said he's a WB nutter is that he's trawled through that profile in order to pick up things, ( in this case the fact that I had a farm before I retired), then use them to try and catch me out. He won't because I've never lied here about myself ,WB or anything else.

Re your own comments about whether your sane, well I expect you like a laugh etc but you equally don't seem fixated on a false idea that I'm WB and you don't troll me about that all the time

I don't care who anyone is, answer the post not the poster

Haha, nice joke, WB and I really appreciate your humour!

[Wales-Bales]

I don't care who anyone is, answer the post not the poster

Sorry it was a slip of the finger, R and W are very close together on an ASCII keyboard, I meant to say RB and I really appreciate your humour!

[RonnieBird]

Haha, nice joke, WB and I really appreciate your humour!

Very good, but I don't know whether that'll work a second time WB.

[cyril evans awaydays]

Very good, but I don't know whether that'll work a second time WB.

I don't know. One minute you are bemoaning anyone who accuses you of being an echo account and saying how tedious it is and the next minute you think its all a jolly jape when the person in question starts some predictably self-indulgent games. Is this the self-proclaimed consistency you seem so proud of, #54 if you need a quick reference.

[RonnieBird]

Thinly veiled 'I don't believe you' post imo

It's not even thinly veiled. It's plain bloody rude in fact.
I posted back to him, but I'm perfectly on the level - I only reply to your post there because you seem to be a sane person !

[Mrs Steve R]

It's not even thinly veiled. It's plain bloody rude in fact.
I posted back to him, but I'm perfectly on the level - I only reply to your post there because you seem to be a sane person !

Give it time

[cyril evans awaydays]

Give it time

286 posts in and he hasn't sussed you yet

[Mrs Steve R]

286 posts in and he hasn't sussed you yet

If he can think for himself maybe he will never think I'm a loon

[cyril evans awaydays]

If he can think for himself maybe he will never think I'm a loon

To be fair I am quite surprised that you had any involvement in a thread entitled "Bananas" but then again what do I know?

[RonnieBird]

No problem. The EU had an agreement with its former colonial countries that allowed preferential trade into the EU. This was called the Lome Agreement. The US (under lobbying pressure from Chiquita who grow no bananas in the US but have extensive interests in Latin America) challenged Lome at the WTO and won. The EU responded by trying its best to defend the African Caribbean Pacific Countries most effected but the US challenged again and won. The EU had to significantly revise its banana regime as a consequence. The cheaper dollar banana from Latin America as a consequence of US pressure decimated the Caribbean industry in economies far more dependent than Jamaica such as the Windward Islands. The EU scrambled to install a regime that at least alleviated some of this damage that was WTO compatible whilst also brokering a compromise with the US. The Cotonou agreement that replaced Lome gives significant funding to the affected countries and their producers that tries to soften the impact of US commercial aggression. The key reason why (if you lived in South Wales) you won't see many Geest/Fyffes bananas landing in South Wales ports.

What do yo farm in East Anglia by the way? I have a reasonable understanding of the agricultural sector in that area and how it operates that we can chat about?

In essence you agree then that leaving the EU would allow us to reinstate trade with Jamaica.
As I said I'm retired so I don't farm anything any more. Since you appear so interested though I farmed cattle and other livestock in Scotland when I did farm. I saw few banana boats in either place , although I did see a lot of lorries from the South Wales and Bristol when I lived in Dunmow in Essex.

I don't know why I'd want to chat about agriculture in East Anglia with you or vice Versa, but since you're trying to test me it's mainly corn and food crops with a high concentration of sugar beet and around the fens a lot of pumpkins recently. Most small farms here have been absorbed by firms like Pickavers so I don't know many small farmers and of course there's no reason why I should .

I've no idea why so many people here are so paranoid and think everyone is lying and involving themselves in strange intricate conspiracies to mislead people they've never met and never will.

It's getting very tiresome you know. Actually, the only reason I filled out the details on that profile was to discourage nutters from engaging in their peculiar counter intelligence games, but now it seems to have caused more trouble !

What's wrong with you ? Is it so remarkable that someone lives in East Anglia and used to own a farm ? I've actually done other stuff too during my life and lived in a lot of places since I watched the Geest Bay and Geest Port shunting in and out of the docks down there.
I might be wrong but I don't remember Fyfees coming in there at all.
That was a long time ago though and it doesn't matter any more than your half arsed Sherlock Holmes interrogation. Please grow up.

[cyril evans awaydays]

In essence you agree then that leaving the EU would allow us to reinstate trade with Jamaica.
As I said I'm retired so I don't farm anything any more. Since you appear so interested though I farmed cattle and other livestock in Scotland when I did farm. I saw few banana boats in either place , although I did see a lot of lorries from the South Wales and Bristol when I lived in Dunmow in Essex.

I don't know why I'd want to chat about agriculture in East Anglia with you or vice Versa, but since you're trying to test me it's mainly corn and food crops with a high concentration of sugar beet and around the fens a lot of pumpkins recently. Most small farms here have been absorbed by firms like Pickavers so I don't know many small farmers and of course there's no reason why I should .

I've no idea why so many people here are so paranoid and think everyone is lying and involving themselves in strange intricate conspiracies to mislead people they've never met and never will.

It's getting very tiresome you know. Actually, the only reason I filled out the details on that profile was to discourage nutters from engaging in their peculiar counter intelligence games, but now it seems to have caused more trouble !

What's wrong with you ? Is it so remarkable that someone lives in East Anglia and used to own a farm ? I've actually done other stuff too during my life and lived in a lot of places since I watched the Geest Bay and Geest Port shunting in and out of the docks down there.
I might be wrong but I don't remember Fyfees coming in there at all.
That was a long time ago though and it doesn't matter any more than your half arsed Sherlock Holmes interrogation. Please grow up.

I don't know how you concluded that the Jamaican banana industry decimated by the US lobbying on behalf of the US company Chiquita would somehow rise from the ashes post hard Brexit but then again I guess there is quite a bit about agriculture you are still wrestling with.

Still, I have a little familiarity with cattle (and other livestock industry) and regularly liaised with our devolved colleagues. Those animal id regulations must have been a real bind. I say as one who had some oversight for the regulatory regime.

I fully understand your angst about people thinking you are a 6ft 4 inch white rabbit called Harvey who hangs around with Wales Bales. I just want to talk agriculture with you!

[RonnieBird]

I don't know how you concluded that the Jamaican banana industry decimated by the US lobbying on behalf of the US company Chiquita would somehow rise from the ashes post hard Brexit but then again I guess there is quite a bit about agriculture you are still wrestling with.

Still, I have a little familiarity with cattle (and other livestock industry) and regularly liaised with our devolved colleagues. Those animal id regulations must have been a real bind. I say as one who had some oversight for the regulatory regime.

I fully understand your angst about people thinking you are a 6ft 4 inch white rabbit called Harvey who hangs around with Wales Bales. I just want to talk agriculture with you!

Oh, you're a WB nutter are you ?
For what it's worth I'm sure you know bugger all about farming, but I don't care. You're actually sitting there persisting with your stupid little theory that I'm WB and now you're trying to catch me out because you're determined that you couldn't have been wrong .
Seriously, mate, if you think I'm WB or you think I'm a Martian I don't care.
You've got to be some kind of nut case for it to even occur to you to start investigating people on a football message board .

If you care for some reason read my profile. It's general for obvious reasons, but it's perfectly accurate and if you don't believe that I don't care.

[Mrs Steve R]

Oh, you're a WB nutter are you ?
For what it's worth I'm sure you know bugger all about farming, but I don't care. You're actually sitting there persisting with your stupid little theory that I'm WB and now you're trying to catch me out because you're determined that you couldn't have been wrong .
Seriously, mate, if you think I'm WB or you think I'm a Martian I don't care.
You've got to be some kind of nut case for it to even occur to you to start investigating people on a football message board .

If you care for some reason read my profile. It's general for obvious reasons, but it's perfectly accurate and if you don't believe that I don't care.

I just read your profile, simply because you just mentioned it, hope that does not make me a WB nutter?

[RonnieBird]

I just read your profile, simply because you just mentioned it, hope that does not make me a WB nutter?

No, not at all. That's what they're for.
When I joined I left it blank but then a bunch of people who don't like WB started claiming I was him. You'll have seen that I reasoned with them and I filled in the profile really to make it obvious that wasn't the case.
The reason I said he's a WB nutter is that he's trawled through that profile in order to pick up things, ( in this case the fact that I had a farm before I retired), then use them to try and catch me out. He won't because I've never lied here about myself ,WB or anything else.

Re your own comments about whether your sane, well I expect you like a laugh etc but you equally don't seem fixated on a false idea that I'm WB and you don't troll me about that all the time

[cyril evans awaydays]

No, not at all. That's what they're for.
When I joined I left it blank but then a bunch of people who don't like WB started claiming I was him. You'll have seen that I reasoned with them and I filled in the profile really to make it obvious that wasn't the case.
The reason I said he's a WB nutter is that he's trawled through that profile in order to pick up things, ( in this case the fact that I had a farm before I retired), then use them to try and catch me out. He won't because I've never lied here about myself ,WB or anything else.

Re your own comments about whether your sane, well I expect you like a laugh etc but you equally don't seem fixated on a false idea that I'm WB and you don't troll me about that all the time

I know you haven't been a board member for very long so it may come as a surprise to you that on a laptop part of your profile (the bit that says you live in East Anglia) loads for each message you post. You might be even more surprised to realise that it was your post #25 where you stated "No, I'm in a very rural location and although I'm retired now I did used to own a fairly big farm, so I must have been very lucky to get away with my poor knowledge of agriculture" rather than any trawling through your profile.

You later clarified that the farm in question was not in East Anglia but a mixed livestock holding in Scotland. As someone with an interest and experience in agriculture, though more from policy rather than practical application I am happy to discuss your reflections, particularly in a thread called "Bananas".

I am happy to give you the benefit of the doubt on your assertions that you are not Wales-Bales. It would take a massive lack of self-awareness to continue with the pretence of inventing a like-minded chum and keep that going for a few weeks, even going to the length of replying on your behalf from his account. Not that I think that is beyond him but it would be very sad even for him.

Still you seem to have hit the ground running. Not that you care but I like others have WB on ignore to avoid my confusion more than anything!

[Wales-Bales]

I fully understand your angst about people thinking you are a 6ft 4 inch white rabbit called Harvey who hangs around with Wales Bales. I just want to talk agriculture with you!

That sounds like a decent chat up line, I'll have to try it sometime.