FARMERS must win the battle for the hearts and minds of consumers in order to weather the crisis in agriculture, the director of a university farm advised the conference.
Prof Gareth Edwards-Jones, of the university of Wales, said social factors were more important than technology or government policy in driving change.
"What consumers do and how they think affects the whole of farming," he said. While farmers should embrace technology wholeheartedly, they should also keep close track of public opinions and changes in lifestyle.
"Consumers are concerned about different things from ten years ago," he said. "Public attitudes change over time and farmers should direct their whole marketing to battle for the hearts and minds of consumers. It is not a simple advertising battle; we have to do something more subtle."
The industry must use spokesmen with whom the public could identify. "Why do we have people on TV wearing tweed jackets, leaning on four-wheel drive vehicles instead of someone the urban person can identify with?"
Better debate about food and the countryside should also be encouraged, as there were many misconceptions about food production and rural life, particularly from town dwellers.
The public should be made aware that higher food production costs in Britain reflected its minimal environmental damage and high standards of animal welfare.
Agricultural policy had largely failed the business and changed so rapidly that farmers should not worry about it.
"Most agricultural policy is aimed at solving problems caused by last year's policy," said Prof Edwards-Jones. "Farmers should not worry about it and should put more effort into worrying about technology, global marketing and social trends."
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