The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board is facing an uncertain future.
In October, chairman Nicholas Saphir said it was “ready and willing to change” in the face of mounting farmer unrest over how it spent their compulsory levy.
But despite a new five-year strategy unveiled in December, his pledge couldn’t stop a majority of growers voting to ditch the contentious charge.
Some 61% voted to abolish the horticulture levy, and 66% to ditch the potato levy – placing over £14m of AHDB’s funding, nearly a quarter of its annual income, in doubt, along with its role in the two sectors.
Growers had grown tired of an “expensive compulsory levy body which offers little in return and doesn’t understand the realities of the marketplace”, said Lincolnshire farmer and vote organiser John Bratley.