Over The Gate

News from farmer networks Issue 7 November 2017

Collated by Paul Harper, paul@thefarmernetwork.co.uk

The DHFP has under gone and survived yet more changes in the staff. Although a small team,

for 6 months it was me!! Thankfully David Atwell has been recruited as training coordinator. He

is working four days a week and having to learn the peculiarities of Dartmoor Hill farming

quickly! As one of our funders, The Heritage Lottery Fund wanted some heritage training and

involvement with volunteers to take place alongside the farming elements. David is skilfully

bringing this together.

A bee course, which has been over-subscribed started last weekend and will continue next summer. We are also

looking at the role and training of volunteers. Particularly in the stone walling and hedge laying areas. We are

working with several other groups who deliver similar, and trying to bring a coordinated

approach to delivery.

Statutory training is still being undertaken by farmers, and has included spraying and dipping

to animals in transit and telehandler.

We are working with Devon YFC to deliver farm book keeping (following a very successful

course two & three years ago) and also health and safety awareness events.

We were privileged to be asked to coordinate one of the Prince’s Farm Resilience

Programmes on Dartmoor. It is a programme of 1:1’s, 5 business workshops delivered by

national experts and an alumni programme delivered in 1 year. The programme aims to give

to the farms participating the encouragement, support and knowledge to improve their

business’ long term viability! A very successful welcome meeting with 45 people present from the 20 farms signed

up, plus Maddie from the Prince’s Countryside Fund team, who is leading on the resilience programme attended.

I and two farmers from Dartmoor attended the Burren winterage conference in October, quite an eye opener! We

have been hearing a lot about payment for reward type schemes for future agri-environment. The programme on

Burren has been running a while and it was very interesting to learn more about it. And its then you realise not one

of the farmers is a ‘full time professional’, they had second jobs (builders, etc.). It is immensely helpful to learn first-

hand from both the leaders of the programme and the farmers as well as hearing in the pubs from the public what

they think!! Playing skittles with pumpkins is a great way to break the ice with the locals!! The trip has enabled the

three of us to hopefully bring a more realistic approach to the idea of reward payments. There are many unknowns

ahead, but one thing is for sure we need to value farmers!

Sandra Dodd, Dartmoor Hill Farm Project Officer, High Moorland Office, Old Duchy Hotel, Princetown, Yelverton,

Devon PL20 6QF

Tel: (01822) 890913

E-mail: hfp@dartmoor.gov.uk

Website: www.dartmoor.gov.uk/hillfarmproject

Exmoor Farming Communities back the Exmoor Ambition

Around 80 mainly upland farmers attended an Exmoor Ambition meeting of the

Exmoor Hill Farming Network (EHFN) recently. The meeting discussed the

development of proposals for farming support schemes and the environment

through a reshaped agricultural policy as the UK prepares to leave the European

Union.

The ‘Exmoor Ambition is to:

Develop a locally delivered mechanism that secures and enhances the many benefits that

Exmoor’s farmed landscape gives to Exmoor communities and the nation.

Demonstrate to others the value of approaches piloted on Exmoor and develop a pilot that

would be of interest in other English uplands, other protected landscapes and more widely.

As the UK prepares to leave the European Union, the government has a unique opportunity to

reshape how to maintain the benefits that upland areas can deliver. Dave Knight Chairman of the

EHFN said: “The Exmoor Ambition event was a tremendous success - easily our best attended

meeting to date, and it demonstrates the credibility of the Network that so many people recognised the

importance of what we are proposing. “The Exmoor ambition event goes to show the continuing

confidence and trust within the Network as the "go to hub" for Exmoor's farming community. Following

our Exmoor Ask paper last autumn, the proposals put forward have been a year in the making. There

is a huge amount more work to do, but the ringing endorsement from the event attendees shows that

we're on the right track.”

Robin Milton, Chairman of Exmoor National Park

Authority commented, “A unanimous vote

concluded a fantastic evening of debate by

farmers at the recent Exmoor Hill Farming

Network event where integrating farming and

environmental management was recognised as a

major asset in determine future policies. “Exmoor

farmers are ready to take up the post-Brexit

challenge with an Exmoor Ambition offer to

government.” The Hill Farming Network will now

finalise the Exmoor Ambition proposals with the

National Park Authority, with the aim of

presenting them formally to the Government in the New Year.

Beyond 2020: Views of Farmers in Exmoor National Park about Farm Funding After the United Kingdom Exits the European Union Nigel Stone kindly presented his report at the Exmoor Ambition meeting earlier this week. For those of you who are interested to read the report in full. Please see link: http://www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/living-and-working/info-for-farmers-and-land-managers/beyond-2020 For further information please contact Katherine Williams Network Officer on 07970 795808 or

KWilliams@northdevonplus.co.uk

This summer has been so wet, finally this week (3rd of November) the last of the spring barley has been combined

and baled, the maize has been done, even the odd field of silage has been cut, yet it is still mild enough for cows to

be outside during the days and the grass is still growing.

TB remains a huge problem, as always, I recently attended a County Farm tenants meeting in mid Cornwall and there

must have been 25 farmers there, at least 50% were under TB restrictions. I think that measure is probably true for

the whole county. One particular issue which is affecting a small proportion of those affected is those farmers that

need to get out of milk production “now”. Whether that is because of health issues or debt, yet they continue to

have 2-3 cows or young stock go down every 60 days. They need two clear tests to be classed as TB free, then they

can move cattle free of testing for 60 days, without the need for herd test. Once that period is over any movement

off the farm to another farm cattle need to be tested and of course any animal going for slaughter will be tested for

TB.

If the probability of going down with TB is 1 in 2, then your chances of going TB free on two consecutive occasions is

not good, the same as tossing a coin and getting two heads in a row. For those farmers desperate to cease milking

the process works like this, the farmer has 30 days in which to sell any cattle to farmers looking to replace cattle

following a TB test even a failure. It is then up to DEFRA gives them a license, this is not always guaranteed

depending on the severity of the outbreak, how new it is and the strain.

Monday 1st test Day 1

Thursday 2nd test Day 4

Gone down with TB Day 4

Move of infected animals Day 10

Obtain clearance from DEFRA to allow movement Day 15

Farmers wishing to buy need 5 working days Day 20

License covers weekend days Day 22

Auctioneer cannot arrange sales because of commitment to existing sales

Sorry Missed your chance Day 30.

For those farmers needing to give up it would seem the only recourse of action is to send the lot to the slaughter

house and receive 30-50% of the value of a dairy cow. Beef young stock could be sold through the Orange market

and may be the dairy heifers could be retained with the hope that you might go free at some point in the future

To end on a positive note

This year a local milk processor decided to buy direct from suppliers and set up a pool of farmers to give them 53

million litres from some 38 farms. They are keen to pay a premium for butterfat and protein as their business is

Rodda’s Cornish Clotted Cream. To be fair for many small famers milking 100 cows all year round calving it has been

a life line and for those farmers milking Channel Island cows, they have seen a real uplift in their price. The larger

farms milking 300 cows where too big to be part of the milk pool, if they left their milk supply would affect the

company too much, hence the concentration of small farmers. They are picking milk up from a 30 mile radius of

Redruth which covers an area down to Lands End, the Lizard and up to Truro.

Edward Richardson, Farm Adviser and Rural Outreach Worker edward@farmcornwall.co.uk

It was rewarding to meet so many networks at the PCF- led meeting at Stratford on Avon last June. There are many synergies and common themes amongst us and we approach our task in a variety of ways. We also face the same pressures in terms of funding and delivery. The four recommendations detailed in the PCF notes from the meeting make interesting reading. They talk of bringing networks together, promoting the benefits of farmer- led local support, developing programmes and shared resources, developing our own in- house skills and monitoring network sustainability. We recently consulted members to gauge their thoughts on potential areas of support that may be required post- Brexit. The most common themes were as follows: -

Improvements in quality, efficiency, knowledge and technical skills.

Better use of agri - technology.

Support for young people in the industry.

Investment in marketing. There was also a strong school of support for networks. Some farmer members suggested that we could be a useful vehicle at a local level to improve trust and collaboration between the farming community and government agencies. Some also thought that networks could be useful deliverers acting as facilitator’s on grant schemes, stewardships working alongside NGO’s. It occurs to me that there may well be the opportunity to further support each other in future through an association of farmer - led organisations. We regularly consult our members in Cumbria and the Dales to ensure that we are delivering what is needed. I suspect that many of us receive similar requests for help and advice. As such we may be able to deliver a strong message on behalf of our farmers as to where support is most needed, especially if those messages are common to all parts of the UK. Even better if Government support can be targeted to help networks

deliver exactly what farmers need. I would be interested to hear the views of others. At the time of writing we have yet to hear back from DEFRA’s Future Farm Productivity Department. They contacted the Farmer Network in June to say that they would be interested in our members’ views on where future support might be needed and how networks might help with delivery. We were told that their directors would be interested in a private visit to Cumbria including some farm trips to members’ holdings. This has still not happened, though we are still hoping that this may happen in future. Meanwhile we continue to immerse ourselves in a number of projects across Cumbria and The Yorkshire Dales, with increasing interest in farmers trying new ideas, being able to test if they work before changing their management practices. We have also been surprised at the level of interest in The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme to help farmers improve their business management skills, including sharing financial information. Feedback suggests high levels of concern about future income, especially after a really wet summer that is causing severe hardship on farms with heavy soils. Thanks to The Prince’s Countryside Fund for enabling this project work to take place – where would we be without them? Our membership continues to rise and we are now pushing on having reached our target of 1,000 members in August. We are currently advertising for further administrative support at Head Office and we are constantly re - appraising our member benefits offer to ensure that we are providing what is needed. Prepared by Adam Day MRICS FLAA, Managing Director adam@thefarmernetwork.co.uk www.thefarmernetwork.co.uk 01768 868615

The Warwickshire Rural Hub CIC supports farm and rural business development in Warwickshire and beyond by delivering up to date information via its website, monthly E-newsletter and social media accounts, and organises practical workshops and networking events. Environmental Farming Group – Moth event An evening moth event was held on 15 July when Warwickshire Butterfly and Moth Group identified moths caught on a farm in South Warwickshire and gave a presentation on the life cycle of a moth and their importance to our biodiversity. Over 30 members were in attendance and the event was concluded with a pork bap supper supplied by host farmer Tom Newbery. Farm Diversification In November 2017 the Hub organised a second event in conjunction with Warwickshire County Council which focussed on the funding and support available for farm diversification schemes. A speaker from a successful diversification project in Warwickshire gave the background to their decision to develop a new business stream and information on their journey to success. Staff from RDPE were on hand to speak to farmers on an individual basis to offer advice on the way forward. Woodland Event Warwickshire College Moreton Morrell hosted our Woodland Event in November 2017. Tim Shardlow from Nicholson’s Nurseries gave a presentation on Priorities for management in farm woodlands that haven't been touched for a long time, benefits of management for wildlife (and game birds), woodland creation and grants available, tree diseases- what to look out for, planting - what species to choose and felling licences - when they are needed. This was a very popular event with over 50 people in attendance. The event will be followed up by an outdoor session next spring. Farm Safety Talk A talk on Farm Safety by Nuffield Scholar James Chapman was organised in association with Kenilworth and District Agricultural Society in November. Ten years ago James Chapman's life changed forever when he had a farming accident and lost his left arm. Since his accident, James has used his experience to help promote farm safety. He spoke about his aim is to bring together all the good work that has been done around the world into one project and bring about change. Future events The Rural Hub is working with Crime in Rural Communities to organise 3 rural crime prevention events in December 2017 and January 2018. Hub Sponsors & Patrons We continue to seek new sponsors and other sources of funding to enable us to continue our work with our ever-growing membership, which now stands at over 2040. Contact: Jane Hampson, Hub Co-ordinator, Warwickshire Rural Hub CIC Email: info@ruralhub.org.uk Website: www.ruralhub.org.uk Follow us on Facebook “Warwickshire Rural Hub” Follow us on Twitter @warksruralhub

Upper Teesdale

Agricultural Support Services Ltd (UTASS)

Diane Spark, 07968 874968 www.utass.org

Some years ago the NFU was instrumental in setting up the Farm Safety Partnership in

response to agriculture’s poor safety record. The industry’s long term tenure of top spot in

the fatal accident statistics was an unacceptable position for an organisation that prides

itself on looking after its members.

Rick Brunt, CEO of the Health and Safety Executive acknowledged at the October Council

meeting that there had been some progress over the 5 years since the partnership had been

formed. However, the key statistics of fatal accidents per 100,000 workers was still 10 for

agriculture against 2 for the construction industry and a national average of 0.5.

He was concerned that the causes of fatal accidents were still the same as 40 years ago,

namely falling off ladders, falling through roofs, tractor accidents, machinery accidents and

overhead power lines. The unguarded power shaft regulation was introduced in 1957 but

deaths were still occurring due to broken or absent power shaft guards. He was keen to

increase HSE awareness training to accelerate progress in reducing these appalling statistics.

However, this is only part of the picture. Agriculture has been shedding staff for years. Many

farmers are working long hours with more lone working. This, combined with the

uncertainties and inevitable changes associated with Brexit, produces a dangerous cocktail

of stress and anxiety leading to distraction and potentially accidents.

The importance of mental well-being in an industry such as ours, is increasingly being

recognised both within and from outside: mental well-being must be a key strand running

through every aspect of all the organisations that support farmers and their families. If it is

not part and parcel of our everyday work as well as HSE awareness training we are unlikely

to make farming any safer as a profession.

Richard Betton

Farm Liaison Worker.