If DEFRA didn't know what people thought of its reform package before the Dairy Inustry Association held its seminar on CAP reform then it certainly did afterwards. Although outspoken quota broker Ian Potter wasn't there to deliver his speech in person on account of an urgent and unforeseen hospital visit on the morning of the seminar, his savage words still reverberated around the top floor of 93 Baker Street, courtesy of a stand-in. Sitting on the front row to hear them was Andrew Slade, head of DEFRA's livestock division. He didn't seem to physically wince during Potter's blitzkrieg - but he could have been forgiven for doing so. Potter is often accused of firing off two barrels when one will do, or firing one when none would be in order. But this paper, said his spokesman, was the equivalent of an explosion in the cartridge factory. If DIAL's objective in holding the seminar was to directly or indirectly tell DEFRA some home truths about what the implications of its decision on dairying will be, then it couldn't have wished for a more successful seminar.
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