Young Farmers ClubsBicton merger

Farming incomesSoils

Cattle foot health

The RuralBusiness School

Issue 47 - AprIl 2015

Post-grad success for RBS

HE Advice Days:Duchy - 25th March, 6pm-8.30pmBicton - 25th April, 9am-2pmDuchy - 10th June, 10am-3pm

April 2015 | The Rural Business School | page 3page 2 | The Rural Business School | April 2015

ARABLE: “Crops have come through the winter looking well. It’s always good to have some real winter weather and the sharp frosts combined with the application of Fox to Osr have given good control of the charlock. As we move into spring the first application of Nitrogen + sulphur has been applied to Osr. This year, due to aggressive pricing by uK ammonium nitrate manufacturers, I have used urea. With 20mm of the rain on the day following application it might have been an inspired choice. The crop is showing signs of uptake already and the healthy green colour is more encouraging than the post winter purpling. First dressings to winter barley and wheat will follow as soon as conditions allow and then it will be time to drain the anti-freeze from the sprayer ready for this year’s chemical programme.  The other key task is to get to grips with the rpA Bps computer programme; initial attempts at the mapping modules have proved to be rather frustrating ….. well that’s the polite, printable version!

Mike Hambly, Westcott Farm Partnership, Callington

BEEF & LAMB: “Good prime cattle prices are steady. steers and

heifers over 30 months of age are not in such demand however and are incurring deductions. Cull cow numbers have tightened and outlets are competing for them, boosting some prices. Organics, both prime and cull cattle, can realise premiums. The trade for hoggets strengthened during February. New season lambs are coming forward and we are looking at the marketing opportunities for the coming season. Cull ewe trade is a little stronger.” (23-02-15)

Sue Rowe, CQLP

MODERN TECHNOLOGY: Here we go last minute.com or pen to paper in my case. I write it the old fashioned way and then the wife e-mails it to the Duchy College office that is if the internet is working! We are so reliant on computers and the internet nowadays. We rear calves on automatic milk machines where they have an electronic tag which enables them to be fed; this tag can also be linked to the office computer. On the arable side of the business, the fields are electronically mapped for variable rate fertiliser applications and the tractors have Gps Auto steer. We have solar panels on the calf shed roofs and these are also linked in to the computer and alerts us to any faults

which may arise; this same technology will also apply to our new wind turbine. Neighbouring farmers will also be able to use the wind turbine as a monitor for spraying days.

Moving on to our beef enterprise, the cattle came in last autumn in good condition. We have had our silage analysed which has meant we have fed less concentrates due to the silage being high in protein. This year we would have been better feeding more corn to the cattle due to the price of barley being around £110-£120 per tonne, but Angus don’t need the concentrates. There are going to be interesting times ahead with the beef price - the sales over the counter are slowing, but numbers of finished cattle coming forward are also slowing. Oh the internet is working again, emails are coming through, what is it beef price?, grain price? solar panel faults - oh no it’s only Argos, modern technology where would we be without it....

Graham Whiting, Beef farmer, Looe

As all in farming are only too aware, these are very challenging times due to lower prices for key outputs such as cereals, milk and meat. Many producers are aware of their current costs of production and are able to quantify the effect of falling prices on their profitability; nevertheless, it is always valuable to keep an eye on what is happening across the whole sector and benchmarking against averages may be a useful start in searching any areas of weakness remaining in an individual business. please see page 19 where our Farm Business survey team brings you the latest forecasts of farm business income for dairy, lowland grazing and cereal farms.

Although for many businesses, short term adjustments may have to take priority at the current time, long term issues should not be neglected; organisations such as the rural Business school need to be working to ensure that all opportunities to improve the future sustainability of the agricultural sector in the south west are exploited. The proposed merger of Bicton College with Duchy College’s parent grouping, The Cornwall College Group (TCCG) is on course to be completed by 31st

March and offers a huge opportunity. As was highlighted in our last issue, this will serve to benefit the sector through the provision of more relevant, more flexible and a greater choice of training and so ensure that all entering the industry are more skilled and knowledgeable and therefore more capable of meeting the challenges and exploiting opportunities in the future.

The aim is to ensure that a sizeable ‘world class’ knowledge hub is formed, which will not only build on current strengths in education and training, but should also be able to attract a significant programme of applied research to the south west. Although we regularly report examples of good work taking place e.g. the work of the HGCA with cereal varieties appropriate to the south west, a locally-based and relevant research programme reflecting the economic importance of farming to the south west, has been largely lacking for the past generation; a rejuvenated programme is vital to inform and improve further the already successful knowledge transfer programmes operating in the region to the benefit of farmers.

Important though this work will be, we recognise that there are other important elements to the future success of the agriculture sector. An important part of the development of those coming into the industry is the role played by the Young Farmers Clubs (YFCs), through their training programmes in leadership, public speaking as well as in the development of practical and social skills. Many of these aspects are developed with the land-based colleges and we highlight the huge contribution of the YFCs in this issue (page 4).

Current government policy is all about ‘sustainable Intensification’ of agriculture, which means that a significant part of research and skills funding is being put in place to support this concept. The concept was outlined by sir John Beddington at the 2011 Bishop Bill lecture here at Duchy College. We will be holding a lecture on the same subject in April to review the development of the policy over the past four years tease out what this means in practice to the farming industry. If you wish to attend, or find out more, please contact the rBs.

Paul Ward

Director: Richard Soffe FRAgS 0845 458 7485 www.ruralbusinessschool.org.uk

ContentsIndustry Comment 3Young Farmers Clubs 4RBS News 19RBS Projects 21News 23-29Diary Dates 30-32

Editorial

The state of farming in the south west - your views.

Here we list some of your comments on the current state of agriculture in the westcountry.

For more informationIf you would like to share your views in a future issue, please contact Becky Butland on 0845 458 7485 or email gc@duchy.ac.uk.

Industry Comments

“Significant programme of applied research.”

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Young Farmers Clubs in the south westYoung Farmers is one of the largest rural youth organisations in the UK dedicated to young people who have a love for agriculture and rural life. Led by young people, for young people, Young Farmers’ Clubs provide their 25,000 members aged 10 to 26 with a unique opportunity to develop skills, work with their local communities, travel abroad and take part in a varied competitions programme.

By joining a Young Farmers Club, you open the door to a world of opportunity where you can meet new people, learn skills, help the community, travel abroad, compete in a wide range of competitions and training at county, regional and national level, including sports, crafts and life skills. And above all – have a great time doing it.

You don’t need to be involved in farming to be a Young Farmer! Today members are from all walks of life but share a common interest in the rural environment and enjoy sports, outings, interesting talks and demonstrations, travel, disco’s and much more...

There are 624 Young Farmers’ Clubs in england and Wales, of these 117 clubs are in the south west.

each club is ‘run by the members for the members’, allowing members to make their own decisions, have their say on activities,

competitions, finances and election of officers. each club affiliates to its County Federation which in turn is affiliated to the National Federation.

Competitions are at the heart of YFC with a varied competitions programme being carried throughout the year with something for everyone. Competitions range from entertainments such as pantomime to sports, arts and crafts.

Competitions are a brilliant motivator for members to have a go at something new for the benefit of their club to gain county, regional and national recognition but also to themselves by learning new skills and

life experiences.

each year the programme includes a mix of traditional rural and agricultural activities, sport, art, life and vocational skills, as well as competitions that help develop the public speaking talents for which YFC members have become renowned.

Fundraising within Young Farmers is always high on the agenda with thousands of pounds being raised for various charities every year through a range of events and fund raisers. Young Farmers is also a registered charity for young people. Fund-raising develops many skills through creative

Young Farmers Clubs

thinking, organisational skills, financial skills and leadership to name a few.

Training in Young Farmers can be anything from leadership skills to stock judging to flower arranging. Members are responsible for their own

activities to ensure the continuity and vibrancy of within club.. Organising their own programmes reflects the diversity of the clubs’ membership and meets the changing needs of members.

Many programmes will

include demonstrations and evenings where members are encouraged to join in such as willow wreath making or sheep shearing. Competitions also encourage a diverse training programme with many clubs putting in hours of training for different competitions

such as Tug of War or public speaking. The National Federation and County Federations organise many training events for their members too for their members to get involved with and gain skills for life and future careers.

In Devon, we have such a varied and diverse range of competitions within our Federation, all of which allow our members to develop skills and confidence. some of our competitions are as follows: speaking competitions, debating, stock judging, farm skills, cookery classes, animal health competition, farm business development competition, pantomime/acting performances, grassland projects and many different types of sports.

In conjunction with Bicton College, and now Duchy College, we run a ‘skills for life’ programme. This allows members to learn new skills and obtain many recognised qualifications. For example, Foot trimming, Herdsman course, DIY AI, equine First Aid, Hedge

laying, traditional Devon skills etc. last year over 400 members achieved a recognised qualification through these courses.

We are a registered charity ourselves; however, we raise money for other local and national charities. In 2013 we raised over £100,000 which we donated away to good causes in Devon and beyond. A lot of members raise money through holding events such as bingo, quiz nights, balls and sponsored individual events.

Many clubs throughout Devon help their local communities with projects such as, painting the local primary school, clearing river banks, building a foot bridge. We also sit on local commitees to put across the views of the younger

rural generation.

As a county, we are the only Federation in the country that runs our own travel scholarship programme. Through fundraising, we have sent members to countries such as America, Zambia, russia and New Zealand. From these opportunities, members can travel the world, learn about different cultures, learn about agriculture and meet fellow young farmers from many

different countries around the world.

We have a large presence at agricultural shows ranging from local one day shows to the Devon County show. At the 2014 Devon County show, we won the gold award for the best feature. every year we hold an agricultural debate which we discuss many different topics and we

Devon Federation of Young Farmers ClubsThe Devon Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs was formed in 1932. We are a members-run, members-led, democratic organisation. We currently have over 1,500 members (the highest it has been since 2001) and we currently have 38 clubs; the newest of which was opened in 2013. Our motto is ‘Fun, Learning, Achievement’.

Devon’s After Dinner Speaking winners 2015

“Public speaking talents.”

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attract many influential individuals to speak on our panel, for example, peter Kendall (NFu), David Heath Mp, Adam Henson (BBC Countryfile).

The New Devon YFC HeadquartersDevon YFC have been searching for a new location for our county headquarters, which is currently based on the site of the old cattle market in exeter. With the market repositioned many years ago, we find ourselves in an area that has been redeveloped all around us, limiting our ability to expand our services to our membership.

With the lease hold reaching its term end, the council grants reducing and the current building in need of significant repairs, we looked to purchase new headquarters. We now find ourselves in a very fortunate position where we have obtained a building and the land on which it sits.

We are delighted to have secured a building in the village of Cheriton Bishop, which is very much the centre of Devon and the south west of england. This offers us a number of great opportunities with its fantastic road links and parking, making it very accessible to not only our thriving membership, but also to companies

and businesses who we hope to attract to use our facilities.

The building enables us

to expand in every way possible. With the scope to enhance our skills and training programme to the rural youth and to

provide the membership with further services like a greater competitions platform. We are also able to secure a more

I currently work alongside Duchy College, the rural Business school and Bicton College in both my working role and my position as Chairman of Devon YFC.

I joined Whimple & Broadclyst YFC nine years ago and I have taken part in nearly everything that YFC has to offer. I have done many club and group roles and more recently I was Competitions Chairman for Devon. I live on my family’s dairy and beef farm in Clyst Hydon in east Devon, where I try and help out when I’m not busy at work or YFC!

I work as an Office Administrator at the Vale Veterinary Centre in Cullompton and during the past few years we have been heavily involved in working with the rural Business school and Duchy College implementing the Healthy livestock Initiative (sWHlI) in the east & Mid Devon area.

Though training courses, funding and support we were able to make many farmers aware of the diseases that could arise in their animals, and offer them advice to control or eradicate such diseases to make their livestock healthier. We are proud to continue our relationship with the College and the rural business school, to offer farmers training by our vets that will allow them to gain new skills.

In my position as Chairman of Devon Federation of Young Farmers’ clubs, I also have the opportunity to work closely with Bicton College. We are extremely lucky in Devon to have a Bicton skills for life

officer working in the Devon YFC office arranging short courses for our members. We currently have over 1500 members ranging from 10 to 26 years old. During 2014 we had over 400 members attending courses such as DIY AI, B+e training, first aid and sign language events. This has allowed our members to gain many skills that will benefit them in their working life.

I am really excited to hear the plans for Duchy College and Bicton College, and I look forward to continuing working with them both in the future.

Caroline TrudeDevon YFC Current County Chairman

Caroline Trude

self sufficient future, with the opportunity to gain additional revenue

by leasing parts of the large building.

We are hoping to lease these rooms out to local and regional farming charities

in the hope of being able to create this building into a rural hub. We hope this will benefit not only the young farmers, but a large part of the

rural community and people working in the agricultural industry.

Our priority now is to raise the funds as quickly as possible to repay our loans and to make any necessary alterations to get our centre up and running and fully benefiting our membership. The target we need to achieve is £400,000.

The members of our Federation have already shown great enthusiasm for the project by holding fundraising events across Devon. We are also looking to agricultural and related businesses for financial support to help us with this project. If you would like more information, please contact Nick Creasy on 01392 272189.

every club is run ‘by the members for the members’ and each is run slightly differently. some clubs focus more on the social side of life, others have a strong community focus; it is up to each club’s members to decide what they are all about and what they enjoy doing.

The federation’s membership comprises over 700 members aged 10 to 26 sharing an interest in the countryside. YFC provides a framework within which its clubs can offer their members a wealth of new experiences and opportunities for personal development and achievement, a

much-needed social and educational network and a safe environment for activities.

At the Cornwall YFC county office, based on the royal Cornwall showground at Wadebridge, there is a small but dedicated team to back up the Club officers and organise the County events. The team includes elected members (County Chairman, Vice Chairman, etc) that will represent the members’ voice at the National Federation meetings. The remainder of the team are employed to organise County events, competitions and a robust training programme. There are

also over 100 associate members, aged 27+, many of whom are involved in the running of the clubs and Cornwall YFC.

Competitions are the life-blood of YFC and offer fun, learning and achievement for members who want to learn new skills or

hone existing ones. The programme is set by the national competitions steering group, to an overall theme which changes each year, and aims to cater for

Cornwall Federation of Young Farmers ClubsCornwall Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (CFYFC) is the largest rural youth organisation in Cornwall. It heads a County body of 20 Young Farmers’ Clubs (YFCs) located from Stratton in the east to St Buryan in the west and is dedicated to supporting young people in agriculture and the countryside.

Cornwall YFC members successfully achieve NVQs in Leadership and Management in partnership with Duchy College

Devon YFC new headquarters

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the diverse interests of the YFC membership. Competitions vary from public speaking and performance arts to agricultural skills and rural crafts.

personal development and training is an essential component of any youth organisation and YFC is no different. Training ensures that young people are given the opportunity to learn new skills, develop existing ones and gain personal confidence and ability. CFYFC training helps to ensure the effective running

of clubs by preparing young people for their roles in running them. Further training is offered through the ‘Club Development programme’, where members are able to develop leadership capacity and gain Institute of leadership & Management qualifications and the ‘skills’ programme whereby members can develop personal and business skills.

A large part of life in YFC involves working with the local community by providing services e.g.

dung sales or farm fun days which in turn raises money that clubs often donate to local charities. CFYFC has a strong reputation when it comes to donating money and regularly raises £50,000 annually.

But perhaps the first reason why young people chose to join YFC is the legendary social life which often follows a hard day’s work of competing or fundraising. A network of 25,000 YFC members across england and Wales as well as countless more around the globe makes for a

vibrant organisation.

Membership is steadily increasing and there is a significant increase in the number of junior members joining. CFYFC is constantly reviewing and evaluating its role within the rural youth and agricultural sectors ensuring it is able to continue to meet the needs of today’s members. The Clubs within Cornwall YFC relish the opportunity to work with other organisations within the county to the mutual benefit of both parties.

I completed my foundation degree in rural environmental Management at Duchy College before completing the full degree at Cornwall College, Camborne. Alongside my course, I undertook several vocational courses run by the College as I felt these were important additions to complement my degree course.

In 2008, I started working for Cornwall YFC as a

Training Co-ordinator, working with Duchy College to deliver vocational training courses to YFC members. This role developed into the Club Development Co-ordinator role, where I started a programme which enabled YFC officers to gain NVQ qualifications in leadership & Management and gain recognition for the many hours of hard work they each give to running their clubs.

I am now lucky enough to be County Organiser at Cornwall YFC. We still have a strong connection with the College. Jenni has taken the role of YFC training Co-ordinator and has been delivering training on team leading with the support of the esF project.

The link between Cornwall YFC and Duchy College is invaluable. YFC members have the

opportunity to take part in training and development that they wouldn’t be able to if the strong relationship didn’t exist.

Kelly EvansCornwall YFC County Organiser

I have been farming for the past five years, coming from two farming families, farm work has always been close to my heart and an ambition of mine. I have been working for Colin and steven Bone on their dairy and beef farm in Madron near penzance for the past 14 months, having moved from another local farm for more responsibility and a new challenge. I am involved in all aspects of the farm work, tractor operating, yard work,

calf and beef rearing and relief milking.

I have been involved in Young Farmers for over a decade with my local club, st Buryan YFC. I am a previous club chairman and I am now the current chairman of Cornwall YFC. Having been elected onto the G.p. exec and Finance committees, being county chairman quickly became an ambition of mine. This came around quicker than planned when I was elected to vice-chairman

after only five month as junior-vice chairman due to the loss of our then current vice chairman.

I have recently taken advantage of gaining training through Duchy College by completing an A.I course last year. If I could go back I would change what I chose to do in college and study an agriculture-based course like many of my friends did.

I think the key links

between the YFC and all rural based colleges are very important and in Cornwall YFC we employ a member of staff (Jenni) part time to ensure we continue to capitalise on training and educational opportunities that Duchy College continue to offer us.

Young Farmers is a youth organisation that strives to improve and teach new skills to our members and we look forward to any continued partnerships together.

William JelbertCornwall YFC Current County Chairman

Growing up on my family’s dairy farm on the North Cornwall coast, I always knew I wanted to go into farming. When I left school I went to Duchy College to do a National Diploma and then went on to complete a Foundation Degree in Agriculture and then went on. When I finished my course, I worked on dairy farms relief milking and as a stockman. I also travelled to New Zealand where I worked on a large sheep station.

Once back in Cornwall, I returned to the rural Business school at

Duchy College where I completed my Degree in Agriculture. I continued milking during this time and when I finished my degree I got a job with the WhiteGold service and as an assessor for red Tractor Farm Assurance. This led me to be offered an interview with Dairy Crest where I now work as a Farm Business Manager (currently on maternity leave).

As well as the College and farming, Young Farmers has played a big role in my life, joining as a quiet 13 year old, I went on to become

County Chairman for Cornwall. public speaking competitions being my passion over the years, I was lucky enough to be part of two national winning teams. I attended the Oxford Farming Conference, NFu Conference and also many other fantastic opportunities I would not have experienced were it not for YFC.

The combination of Young Farmers and Duchy College has given me the knowledge, know-how and confidence I now use in my day-to-day work and life.

Now a mum of one, I am getting married later this year, you could say I owe my personal happiness to Duchy as well, as Mark and I met when we were studying for our National Diplomas back in 2000.

Jen WhiteCornwall YFC County Chairman 2009-2010

Jen White

Kelly Evans

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In this highly competitive world the benefits of collaboration can be forgotten. Not so here at Kingston Maurward College. serving our communities in many ways we continue to work with other colleges and Duchy is one such where we worked together on the Healthy livestock and the skills rDpe funded projects which together brought benefits to Dorset farmers as well as those in Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire, someret and Wiltshire.

Kingston Maurward College also works closely with Dorset Federation of Young Farmers (YFC) providing an office base and sharing a member of staff. There are nine Clubs in Dorset with

nearly 300 members. The importance of the Young Farmers in the personal development of our young people is plain to see when you watch those in the cast of the pantomime competition, change into confident and self-assured beings.

YFC teaches them responsibility and they learn the ability to get on with people from all walks of life, especially as the benefits of being part of a club are now being shared with those who are not necessarily from a farming background but live in and share our rural idyll.

Often the charitable fundraising done by the YFC can be forgotten

when the pictures of National or area competitions are regarded! letting their hair down is definitely part of it, but really and truly it’s a minor part when lifelong friendships and even marriages are formed. Wareham and purbeck club have won the National cup for the most charitable funds raised per member across the nation. This was a whopping £300 per member!

We have just run all our public speaking and Brainstrust competitions along with our member of the year competitions. The calibre of our young people is truly

amazing. This should be highlighted to a greater degree by our press.

This is education in the real sense of the word – which all goes towards achieving our mission to provide inspiring and challenging education and training opportunities to equip our learners with the knowledge and skills to succeed in life and work!

Wiltshire Federation of Young Farmers Clubs has had a fantastic year. We now have 421 members, the most in over a decade. Fundraising has been excellent – we are fully self-funding (no government funding or grants) and have managed to raise more than we need to run the County office.

Attendance at County Competitions is good. We have entered 30 of the 35 National competitions with 48 members competing in 13 National competition finals. A Great achievement from such a small County.

This year Wiltshire Federation of Young Farmers Clubs will be celebrating their 80th Anniversary. To launch the Anniversary year, members have “bared all” for a calendar that includes dates of the year’s celebratory events. The photographs in the calendar include members from most clubs in the County, illustrating various activities associated with YFC and rural life, from shooting and stock judging to public speaking and tug of war. Our ‘Cream of the Crop Calendar 2015’ supports Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

The first event of our Anniversary Year was our plough service on sunday 11th January 2015, 7pm at Cyriacs Church, lacock, where Bishop Bill (retired Bishop of Truro) joined us and took the rural Address.

Our Annual rally is being held on sunday 3rd May at Widleys Farm, sherston. This year we will be holding a past members’ trophy. We would love to have teams from any of our present and previous clubs attend to compete in eight competitions from cookery and flower arranging to conclude with a team event in the main ring.

We will finally be holding a Celebratory weekend in July (10th to 12th) which will include an Anniversary Dance, a fun and games picnic and a Tea party. I know quite a few of you are past Young Farmers and we would love to receive any copies of old photographs or memorabilia that you may have stored in your attic of your Young Farmers days (please email them to wiltshireyfc@live.co.uk).

I hope that some of you will join us for our celebrations and look forward to seeing you during the coming year.

CornwallContact Kelly evanse-mail office@cornwallyfc.co.ukWWW www.cornwallyfc.co.ukphone 01208 893080

DevonContact Nick Creasye-mail nick@devonyfc.co.ukwww www.devonyfc.co.ukphone 01392 272189

DorsetContact Tracy Hounsomee-mail office@dorsetyfc.org.ukphone 01305 263947

GloucestershireContact Carrie Bonelle-mail organiser@gloucestershireyfc.co.ukwww www.gloucestershireyfc.co.ukphone 01452 526032

SomersetContact Gillian Dossone-mail Gillian@somersetyfc.org.ukwww www.somersetyfc.org.ukphone 01278 691711

WiltshireContact Helen Darville-mail wiltshireyfc@live.co.ukphone 07957 951994

Wiltshire Federation of Young Farmers ClubsBy Helen Darvill, County Organiser for Wiltshire

Young Farmer County Contacts

Dorset Federation of Young Farmers ClubsCollaboration is the name of the game!

Dorset YFC members taking part in a first aid course

Caroline Trude (3rd from right), currently Devon YFC chairman and Catherine Ede ( 4th from right), currently Cornwall YFC Junior Vice-chairman celebrate the award of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize to Duchy College’s Rural Business School last year at Buckingham Palace.

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This postgraduate qualification incorporates taught elements delivered at plymouth university and an extended research phase, culminating in a dissertation, which Becky utilised to analyse the data generated through the Healthy livestock project’s work on Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD).

BVD is estimated to cost the uK’s cattle industry some £40 million per annum, but it could be controlled and eradicated. Healthy livestock established a regional control programme in the south west between 2010 and 2014. Becky’s study aimed to establish the level of risk or entry and spread of BVD on farms participating in this programme and determine any common risk areas on these farms. participating herds were categorised as red, amber or green for the level of risk of BVD entry and for BVD spread following the completion of a risk assessment

questionnaire. The data were analysed to identify common risk areas for BVD entry and spread within both dairy and beef herds. These risk areas were then used to provide summarised advice suitable for farmers to improve their level of risk management on their farm for both BVD entry and spread and control BVD on their farm.

Becky said, “It was an excellent opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the underlying science and then to be able to analyse data from the work with which I was involved on a day-to-day basis, to produce a dissertation which is not only useful for planning future approaches to BVD prevention and control, but more importantly providing practical advice to farmers.”

paul Ward, Healthy livestock manager said, “It has been good to see how Becky took on the challenge of

her research Masters project, making use of unique data generated from the first regional project to prevent and control BVD in england taken up by some 1,700 herds. With her farming and YFC connections, Becky’s achievement will be of huge value to the livestock farming sector in the south west”.

Becky was supported by a Director of studies based at Duchy and a supervisor from plymouth university’s academic staff, along with guidance provided from within the Healthy livestock project and its partners.

Director of studies, Dr Hayley randle,

commented, “Becky has done a fantastic job of utilising real, live data in order to provide useful information which will enable farmers and associated personnel to further improve their risk management of BVD on farm. like many of our students Becky has juggled a full time job with her studies, the melding of both aspects of her BVD work through her research Masters has been beneficial to all concerned.”

Becky gains the first ResM in Agriculture from Duchy College

Becky Butland

For more informationPlease contact Duchy College on01579 372327 or uni@duchy.ac.uk

Becky Butland of the Rural Business School’s Healthy livestock team has gained the first Research Masters (ResM) degree in Agriculture through the College’s Post Graduate Node, which is carried out in partnership with Plymouth University. Becky was one of the first cohort of students to study at postgraduate level at Duchy College, with five others gaining a ResM in Equitation Science. This is a huge achievement by Becky, who has managed to achieve this whilst at the same time working full-time on the Healthy Livestock project as a training coordinator, mainly working with farm vets in Devon and as a technical specialist, along with compiling this publication (The Rural Business School).

Jonathan Lloyd-Jones – Bicton President

I was born in london, then moved to North Yorkshire and attended Ampleforth College. I later relocated to Adelaide, Australia for three years where I taught Outdoor Adventure. I decided to make this my career, and came across Bicton on the internet when searching for Instructor courses. My classroom is basically white water kayaking, mountain walking in Wales and mountain biking on Dartmoor!

For the student union president role, I was interviewed by the Deputy principal and Director of student services, and then elected by staff. I do it to establish a sense of community and to get students involved – for example, getting people to go and watch rugby home games!

Day-to-day, I get involved with weekly activities that are laid on, like 5-a-side

football matches on a Tuesday evening and organising the Christmas Ball. I attend student services meetings, chair the student Council and generally liaise with people across the College with various matters that affect students.

What I enjoy most about the president role, is being able to represent students (I act as the go between, between staff and students) and being able to portray the College as a business.

Tony Woolman – CCSU President

It has been such an interesting and very surprising journey for me that has led into the unexpected Office of president of The Cornwall College students union. It was something that was never planned.

I left school at 16 with little, well no significant academic achievement. However, I worked fairly non-stop for 37

years before eventually deciding to come back into full time education at the tender age of 57 – to undertake my first academic degree. In those 37 years I had three major changes in career. I began as a photographer in the commercial and advertising industry. Then from the basis of a lot of volunteer work I was doing, I went to leicester polytechnic to study a two year full-time course in Community and Youth Work studies gaining a national certificate.

I then held several jobs over a number of years in the field of youth work. I worked on housing estates, adventure playgrounds, youth centres – mostly in this country, but also I worked two years in sri lanka as a youth worker with the YMCA through Voluntary service Overseas. I have worked as a detached worker in leicester finally being an area youth worker over the Mendips in somerset.

I came to the role of president at The Cornwall College students union (CCsu) because `it was there’. I had decided three years earlier to give up full time work to undertake an academic degree. I completed my three-year Honours degree in social sciences in 2014. I

Student Union Presidents

Tony Woolman

Jonathan Lloyd-Jones

“...direct consultations with the College Principal... have been productive.”

April 2015 | The Rural Business School | page 15page 14 | The Rural Business School | April 2015

have learned in life that sometimes it is best to follow your instinct and also to `take a chance’. seeing the posters inviting nominations to the students union was one of those times.

I thought why not? Being a students union president in my 60th year seemed like a nice ambition to go for – and, well, here I am – enough students at the predominantly Fe college thought an old geezer may have something to contribute!

I set out some ideas of what I wanted to achieve and a core idea was to try and develop a stronger infrastructure within the students union that

would make it easier for students to see what we were about – and secondly – make sure we were fit for purpose to reflect students’ need to comment on the new four-year strategy outlined in The Cornwall College Group (TCCG) strategic Intent document.

This is a transition year really as we need to take proposals for change to the CCsu annual general meeting which will be at the end of the academic year; we have some new ideas and are planning to create a more functional structure that is more transparent to students regarding what a students union can and should be about. We aim to work as a partner

to TCCG, but to be the `light in dark places’ when students are not comfortable with their experience or education within TCCG.

Over the past term, CCsu students have requested and received direct consultations with the College principal over issues they were concerned about. These consultations have been productive and students have felt they have been listened to and recognised as a partner in their own educational journey. They have felt their voice has been respected.

Coming up in the next term we have a series of Higher education student union training

events, and we have plans to run our first all-college students Conference at the end of February. The CCsu also wishes to engage students in the process building up to the uK’s National elections next May, both by engaging students Voice in direct debate with prospective candidates plus to work alongside the national objectives of increasing voter registrations.

I enjoy the dynamic conversations that happen with students who care about their college – and the enthusiasm that The Cornwall College Group express in their attempts to bring a revolution to students learning for real work in the south west.

Judith Abideen – FdSc Food Studies

“I was concerned initially about being a mature student, but it’s not an issue at all. There is such a wide range of people on my course – the mix makes it so interesting as everyone brings

something different to the group.

Whatever your personal situation as a mature student, the college is very supportive and accommodating of the challenges that returning to education later on in life brings.

It’s been such a positive experience for me so far, both intellectually and for my own self-esteem. It’s never too late to realise your dream in life, I haven’t regretted a moment of it!”

Laura Fox – FdSc Conservation and Countryside Management.

“I’ve always been interested in wildlife from a young age. When I left school, I decided that the one thing I really wanted to do was to

aid in the conservation of the natural world. That’s why I chose to study environmental Conservation at Duchy College. It really gave me an insight into the way we manage habitats for biodiversity and changed the way I thought about conservation.

I met many like-minded and passionate people who all wanted to do something good for the world. The teachers were wonderfully enthusiastic and engaging about their subjects. I enjoyed my time there so much

Laura Fox

Judith Abideen

Student case-studies

I didn’t want to leave! I ended up staying to study a couple more years at Duchy, and earned a Foundation Degree in Conservation and Countryside Management. From there, I was able to proceed to Cornwall College and top-up my Fdsc to a Bsc.

I’d first found out about the environmental records Centre for Cornwall and the Isles of scilly (erCCIs) while studying at Duchy College. I learned that wildlife recording plays a vital part in conservation – we need species and habitat data in order to know where we need to focus our efforts and how best to manage areas for wildlife.

I quickly decided that erCCIs would be a great place to work, and applied to volunteer there. It turns out that even voluntary positions are in short supply at erCCIs, and I had to prove my abilities and interest in wildlife. Fortunately, I had my Foundation Degree from Duchy College to

back me up, and so I was accepted into the team.

Two years of volunteering later, a paid position became available for a Wildlife Information Officer, and I was offered the job! I now spend my time advising people on managing their land for wildlife, how to identify species, what wildlife can be found in their area and answering a variety of other wildlife questions. It’s a job that I really enjoy as I can really help make a difference. I am very grateful to Duchy College for giving me the direction, knowledge and expertise I needed in order to get here”.

Nicola Congdon – Animal Management City & Guilds Extended Diploma Level 3 “Having completed the level 3 diploma in Animal Management, I progressed to Fdsc Zoological Conservation at Newquay. The Animal Management course helped me to gain vital life skills that can be used in the field of work and applying these skills

in work experience locally and in south Africa.

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Duchy College and achieved a lot over the two years I was there in a range of subjects. I’m glad I took this course as it has helped with the overall route I’m looking at doing once I graduate”.

Charlotte Pellow – Work based Horse Care Diploma Level 2“My time at Duchy College was very helpful - I was given confidence in what I was doing and shown how to expand my knowledge in the equine industry. I was also taught new ways of thinking, and someone was always available to help explain and take the time to help if I was having difficulty with either the theory or practical

work. Duchy gave me the confidence I needed for my workplace.”

Charlotte’s employer and owner of Boskell riding Centre, Marsha Yelland said, “Boskell is a family-run business that has been operating as a riding centre for 22 years. We currently have 32 horses and ponies, ranging from six months to 34 years. We teach all abilities from beginner to more advanced rider, and all of our staff are qualified according to their specific role within the company. We have found it of great benefit to have an apprentice, as we can train them in their working environment and their time at college means they are always bringing new ideas back to the yard”.

Charlotte PellowNicola Congdon

Farmers Weekly 190mm wide x 64mm h

- Expand your mind to the current issues facing the rural industry - Develop your leadership skills- Advance your strategic thinking- A masterclass in leadership

For information on the course please contact: Course Director: Richard SoffeEmail: leadership@duchy.ac.uk Web: www.duchy.ac.uk/rbs Tel: 0845 458 7485

A Masterclass in Leadership

The Challenge of Rural Leadership Course

January 2016

April 2015 | The Rural Business School | page 17page 16 | The Rural Business School | April 2015

The spearhead Academy was launched in 2013 and offers students from the uK and europe an opportunity to gain a recognised agricultural qualification before progressing on to an advanced apprenticeship with spearhead International.

Among the visitors to stoke Climsland was executive Assistant to Board of slovakia, Andrea Kecskésová, who said, “This was my second visit to Duchy College and it´s always a very positive experience for me. I really like the mentality of local people as well as the beautiful nature. What I enjoyed about the trip was the warm welcome of the Duchy College staff and the walk on the campus.”

spearhead International is a european farming group supplying food processors, manufacturers and retailers. In the second year, students progress on to an advanced apprenticeship and travel to Central or eastern europe for blocks of farm employment, preparing them for a

future role within the group.

Andrea continued, “studying abroad always has plenty of benefits for the students. They learn how to behave in an international environment and how to accept the cultural diversity of nations. Working for spearhead International offers a lot of opportunities to meet co-workers from other countries, so it´s a good start for the youth. The students also improve their english language skills which are really needed these days. Duchy College offers a lot of practice, like tractor driving, tele-handling, ploughing, milking etc. I miss this practical side in the slovak educational system, because our colleges offer mainly only theoretical skills.”

Andrea also praised the work being done in the uK to encourage more young people into an apprenticeship, “I like the idea of apprenticeship, that means the students learn quite early how to feel responsible about the work performed.

The spearhead Academy students are allowed to gain experiences related to farming in england, Czech republic, slovakia, poland and romania which is the largest benefit of this programme.”

During the programme of study at Duchy College and the employment phase in europe, students will cover: agriculture, including farming systems of england and eastern europe, crop husbandry for large scale arable cropping and basic livestock skills, machinery, including maintenance, workshop and employability skills as well as gaining a full tractor-driving licence plus first aid training, employment rights and responsibilities, and much more.

Agriculture Work-based learning Course Manager at Duchy College, roger Clark explained, “students taking part in the spearhead Academy will obtain a recognised agricultural qualification before embarking on the advanced apprenticeship in their second year. The idea is to provide each individual with the right skills and experiences to succeed in the workplace.”

World class apprenticeship praised by overseas visitorsTeams from a multinational company have praised the work being done by the apprentices studying at Duchy College Stoke Climsland. Teams from Spearhead International, one of the largest food producers in the world, have been visiting the campus in South East Cornwall on a fact-finding mission and chatting with students.

For more informationOn the range of agriculture, horticulture and food courses on offer at Duchy College please visit: www.duchy.ac.uk or call 0845 60 50 455.

Students from last year’s Spearhead Academy cohort are now working in mainland Europe

Duchy College offers training and skills in the food industry from entry level, skills qualifications, apprenticeships right up to degree programmes, all of which are designed and delivered to try and help the industry to meet the significant skills gap. The Food Department also has professional consultancy services on offer. Called the “Food Innovation service”, our consultants have technical industry and laboratory services available, as well as food production premises for hire.

Apprentices in the food industry are starting and completing their studies throughout the year and Apprenticeship uptake from both employers and students is increasing in all sectors. recently there have been some fantastic successes – with an Apprentice shortlisted for the Apprentice of the Year Award. We always have an open list of Apprenticeship vacancies, and we have a fantastic support team in place who can help either a potential

business or a student to figure out whether an apprenticeship is right for them.

There are a variety of short courses available from interesting one-day courses on cheesemaking and bakery which are open to anyone who is interested (see pages 30-32) through to specific training for working in the industry such as Food safety Management. recently, partnering with etheringtons Butchery Academy, we are able to offer a knife-skills training day for aspiring butchers, professional chefs, apprentices and ‘foodies’.

Our degree programmes continue to attract learners from a wide variety of backgrounds to study at a higher level. Our groups of students are often made up of

mature students who have selected the food sector as a second career path, or who have worked their way up in the industry and want to gain a qualification for further advancement.

The flexible programmes are designed to suit these learner, and who better to comment on how successful that is than in the words of a recent alumni student…

“The support, commitment and personal approach conveyed by all the staff at Duchy College helped me to reach my full potential and gain a first class honours degree. The skills, determination and self-confidence I gained through Duchy will stay with me for life and has enabled me to gain a graduate job at Falfish, an international company based in Cornwall just two months after completing my degree. All of what I have achieved to date would not have been possible without the encouragement provided to me by all my tutors at Duchy College,”

Jess Inkster, Falfish.

The Duchy College Food Department is always interested to hear from potential candidates who think that the food sector might be the career for them.

Innovations and opportunities in the food industry with Duchy CollegeThe south west has a vibrant food manufacturing industry ranging from micro-businesses and on-farm diversifications producing high quality artisan products, through to major multinationals manufacturing much-loved national and international brands. In the midst of all this activity is the Duchy College Food Department supporting the industry in its training and education requirements.

Jess Inkster, Falfish

“Our degree programmes continue to attract learners.”

For more informationContact Laura Black, team lead for Food Science and Innovation on 01579 372366 or laura.black@duchy.ac.uk

April 2015 | The Rural Business School | page 19page 18 | The Rural Business School | April 2015

RBS News

Forecasts of Farm Business Income by type of farm in England – 2014/15

Key points • Average Farm

Business Income is expected to fall or remain broadly similar across all farm types. This is due to lower prices for key outputs such as milk, cereals, and meat, offset to some extent by lower input costs, particularly for animal feed, fuel and fertiliser.

• The single payment for 2014 was around 7% lower than in 2013 primarily due to a stronger pound.

• These Defra forecasts are provisional, and based on information available up to January 2015 and are likely to change significantly when all the data has been collected by the autumn of 2015

On cereal farms average

incomes in 2014/15 are expected to remain similar to those seen in the previous year at around £50,000. Cereal and oilseed rape values for the 2014 harvest have been considerably lower than those for the 2013 harvest as a result of record harvests around the world, plentiful global stocks and a stronger pound. However the return to more normal cropping rotations, with a larger proportion of higher yielding winter crops, is expected to have offset these lower prices. Total input costs are also forecast to be similar to the previous year with lower input prices for items such as fuel and fertiliser being offset by increased volumes due to the increased area of

winter crops.

Average incomes are expected to fall by around 11% on dairy farms in 2014/15 to £78,000. Milk prices fell considerably during the second half of 2014; in December 2014 the average uK milk price was 18% lower than a year earlier. However, for the year as a whole (March to February) higher prices in the first half of the year together with high volumes, will have partially offset the reduction seen in recent months.

The average fall in milk price for 2014/15 as a whole is therefore expected to be 6%. Volumes of milk production have also increased with producers responding to the high prices seen in late 2013 and the early part of 2014. At the uK level, milk production for 2014/15 is currently 7% ahead of last year.

Farming incomes for 2014/15By Mark Fogerty, Senior Research OfficerThe Farm Business Survey team at the RBS is busy collecting data from farms for the 2014/15 year. A large number of our co-operators have their year ending at December; for this study, and we are close to finalising the figures for the earliest accounts we collect. An important part of the process of verifying the data is a detailed discussion of how the performance of the business may have changed in the last twelve months compared to the year before and we often look at the predictions of incomes produced by Defra as an initial guide. A summary of their latest figures is given below which they published in late January 2015.

Getting paid while you learn might sound too good to be true, but as an apprentice you really do get the best of both worlds. If you have the dedication to succeed in the world of work, then an apprenticeship could be for you. Apprenticeships are available to anyone over the age of 16. As an apprentice you will:

Earn real wages Gain new qualifications and industry standard training Gain new knowledge and skills

Agriculture Jenkin R N & D – Helston R J & C Monies – Zennor Trelan Farm – Helston Chyvarloe Farm Ltd Helston J C Boaden & Son Skewes Farm – Helston Steve Perry (Dairy Farm) – Crediton Kinzere Ltd – Boscastle The Barton Farm (Heddon & Son)– Bideford Coombe Farm (P Rogers) – Totnes Dufty Brothers – Okehampton J F Walker – Bridgwater J M & P N Hardwick – Holsworthy Bowgyheere Farm – Penzance Trecorme Farm (Richard Renfree) - Callington Stone Farm - Peter Blake – Torpoint Lutsford Farm – Graham Heard – Bideford Michael Brend - Barnstaple Isles of Scilly Travel – Isles of Scilly Higher West Kitcham – Launceston P & C Wyatt – Axminster D G Hale Lodgeworthy Farm – Beaworthy Higher Hacknell Farm – Umberleigh Prison Farm – Princetown East Browns Farm – Torrington C Highmoor Lantuel Farm – St Wenn W J Heard – Bideford Eversfield Organic – Okehampton

Food & Drink W T Warren – Penzance Tamar Valley Butchers – Saltash Complete Meats – Axminster M C Kelly Ltd – Crediton Burrow Farm – Exeter Treleaven Luxury Ice Cream – Bodmin Blakes Bakery – Liskeard Well Hung Meats Co Ltd – Buckfastleigh Cornish Gouda Ltd – Looe Warrens Butchers – Launceston C & E Retallack – The Lizard, Helston Game & Wildlife Southern Partridges Ltd – Barnstaple Horticulture Newquay Garden Centre – Newquay Christine Kirk, Awliscombe – Honiton Countrywide Ground Maintenance – Saltash Goonhilly Earth Station – Helston Brookside Flower Farm – St Austell Warnes Plants – Hayle Trevena Cross Nurseries – Helston Seaways Farm – Penzance Cathedral – Redruth Eden Project – Par, St Austell

Equine Woodwick Farm – St Ewe, St Austell

“Incomes are expected to fall by... 11% on dairy farms.”

April 2015 | The Rural Business School | page 21page 20 | The Rural Business School | April 2015

Output from beef, which is a significant enterprise on many dairy farms, is also expected to be lower due to a fall in finished cattle prices. Input costs are also expected to fall, particularly for feed, reflecting lower cereal and soya prices. Current indications are that volumes of purchased dairy feed are unchanged compared to last year which may reflect the quality of conserved forage as well as an increase in average herd size.

Average incomes on grazing livestock farms (lowland and less favoured area) are expected to increase slightly in 2014/15, albeit from a low base. Despite higher throughput and heavier carcase weights for finished cattle and sheep, average prices have been lower thus

reducing enterprise output. prices for yearling store cattle have been similar to the previous year but throughput has also been lower, possibly reflecting reduced productivity from 2013 as well as a smaller beef suckler herd.

Total input costs are expected to fall for both these farm types, more than offsetting the lower output from livestock enterprises and thus resulting in higher incomes. The increases are marginal and amount to a 6% increase for lowland Grazing livestock farms and a 14% increase for lFA Grazing livestock farms. Feed costs are likely to reflect lower volumes as well as prices due to more favourable grazing and forage harvesting conditions during 2014.

Any individual business is unlikely to perform exactly as the average is expected or predicted, but it is important to know the likely effects on each of our businesses of the challenging economic environment we all work in for planning purposes, if nothing else.

As a small lFA Grazing livestock farmer, I am pleased to see a predicted increase in my income, but I still need to improve my performance and by

benchmarking my figures against those produced by the Farm Business survey I can identify the areas of weakness within my business.

The rural Business school will soon be publishing it’s Farm Management Digest that contains the benchmarking data from the south West data within the Farm Business survey so if you would like a copy, please contact Becky Butland on 0845 458 7485.

The course was run as a collaborative event between regen Ag uK, an organisation that promotes farming practices that build soils and regenerate ecosystems, and the rBs, with funding through rDpe. The course attracted farmers from across the uK, with delegates travelling from Aberdeen, Cambridge, sussex and Northumberland (on a saturday!) to hear Joel speak at Bicton.

Joel started the day by explaining about the living soil and highlighting the amazing diversity of life that is found within soil. He showed the three sides of the soil health triangle, the physical, chemical and biological health and stressed that all three were of equal importance when making management decisions on-farm.

Joel explained that what

drives a healthy soil is the soil organic carbon fraction which is where the physics, chemistry and biology of the soil all meet. soil plays a vital role in crop production and nutrient supply. The biology found within the soil performs multiple functions including nutrient cycling, disease suppression, aggregation of soil particles to form micro and macro pores to allow infiltration of water and carbon sequestration.

All the biological populations that live within the soil form the ecosystem which

is termed “the soil food web.” A healthy soil food web which helps improve resilience and grow profitable crops is one which supports a diverse range of biological populations within it, including populations of protozoa, bacteria, algae, nematodes, arthropods, animals, birds and plants.

This diverse world which exists beneath our feet and is so crucial to maintaining life as we know it on earth, is also largely unknown to us. With all the scientific

Leading soil expert comes to Bicton EaRTH CentreBy Becky WillsonOn Saturday 21st February a group of farmers, advisors, researchers and others met to hear about nutrient and soil management from leading soil expert Joel Williams. Joel is a dedicated soil enthusiast who integrates understanding of the physical aspects of soil chemistry and nutrient balancing with the biology (the Soil Food Web) and presented a full day workshop at Bicton. Joel has a keen interest in managing soil microbial balance as well as plant and soil nutrition to optimise plant immunity, soil health and carbon sequestration.

Joel Williams at Bicton EaRTH Centre

RBS Projects

Now available at:CambourneCallingtonSt Austell BaySaltash

Course areas include:• Animal care• Arts & crafts• Computing & the

web• Cookery

• Dance & Music• Fitness• Floristry• Food• Gardening• Jewellery • Just for fun

• Languages• Lifestyle• Machinery• Photography• Special interets• Woodwork• Workshop crafts

Short evening and weekend courses

To book call 0845 22 32 567 www.cornwall.ac.uk/leisure-courses

“The course attracted farms from across the UK.”

page 22 | The Rural Business School |April 2015

News

April 2015 | The Rural Business School | page 23

Bottling the wind | New scientist, 1st November 2014To go green, the uK will have to make the most of wind power and engineers are racing to do that. By 2020, the uK will need to produce 20% of its energy from renewables to meet the terms of an agreement with the eu. Given Britain’s climate, most of this is likely to come from the wind. There are now 4,500 wind turbines on the mainland. The challenge is in storing the energy for when it is needed. One way being developed at Nottingham university is to store compressed air underwater. More traditional methods are to develop storage in batteries including large scale lithium-ion batteries or utilising sodium, which is cheaper than lithium. scottish and southern energy are looking to use pumped hydropower i.e. gravity to store wind power, where water is pumped uphill and stored in a reservoir; when its needed it is released and turns turbines to produce electricity.

Fat chance of advice | New scientist, 14th February 2015Government advice may be a fat lot of good. A recent study by the West of scotland university claims that dietary guidelines issued on fat intake to reduce heart disease were not supported by clinical trial evidence. uK guidelines since 1983 have advised that fat should make up 30% or less of an individual’s diet and saturated fats should be limited to 10% of energy intake.

Flies aren’t all bad | New scientist, 10th January 2015The common housefly spreads disease, but may also help us fight it. Cornell university research shows that houseflies have a significant number of antimicrobial peptides in their saliva; indeed fly larvae have been used to treat wounds, because of this. If the gene which makes this could be isolated, these antimicrobial peptides could be produced in large quantities in laboratory conditions and so provide new tools to combat disease.

advances that we have made, we still only understand less than 1% of what goes on in soil, what’s there and how it functions. This is something which has not been a priority in recent years, with research focussing strongly on soil chemical and physical factors and “neglecting” biological ones. Joel concluded the morning session by urging the researchers among the group to not waste any more time.

After a break, Joel continued discussing the benefits that come to the soil food web from using organic manures and compost, and how to stabilise nutrients and optimise crop supply. Joel explained the benefits from applying compost, as compost is “alive” and as such a living fertiliser. Quality compost is teeming with beneficial microbes, many of which are the same species that are found in soils.

Applying compost therefore is a great way to inoculate soils with beneficial microbes (and as such increase biological populations). Compost also adds organic matter to the soil,

something which is great for our soils as it improves not just soil structure, but soil strength, moisture regulation and nutrient retention as well as adding slow release stable nutrients to the soil.

Organic manures again are a valuable source of organic matter and nutrients, and have the beneficial advantage of being inoculated with microbes from the animal’s digestive system which will increase soil biological populations. Composting is an ideal way to cycle waste materials and produce a valuable soil conditioner that is much more than just carbon and nutrients.

The final session of the day looked at nutrient cycling in soils, and how to make the most of soil by understanding soil nutrients and amedments. Joel questioned the audience about how efficient we were in terms of nutrient delivery to the crop- with small percentages of our applied nutrients actually being taken up by the crop (40-50% N, 10-20% p, and 40% K).

Joel also explained the

importance of ground cover with green crops, as living soil cover keeps the root exudates constantly flowing into the system, which feeds the soil microbes. some key concepts were also explained. Firstly, from the point of benefitting soil biological populations, every single time any nutrients are applied, they should be combined with a carbon source, as the carbon binds to the nutrients, chelating and stabilising them, buffering them and improving uptake by plants. secondly, excessive nutrients can interfere with healthy soil biological function.

Nutrients should be applied in a timely and appropriate fashion to ensure that surplus nutrients are not flushing through the system and having a negative effect

on soil life. Critically including carbon in your fertiliser programmes will increase nutrient efficiency and microbial health irrespective of your production system.

It was a full and informative day with everyone finishing the day a little brain weary, but overwhelmingly positive about the event. One attendee commented, “It has been an inspirational day. Joel has been a truly knowledgeable speaker who has challenged my traditional thinking and made me look at soil and fertiliser completely differently. It has highlighted the critical importance of soil management and has increased my understanding of life below ground and how to help them to work for me and my farm.”

COMING SOON PAYE & VAT TrainingDuchy College rural Business school

is working with a leading accountancy firm to develop one day training

workshops covering these difficult but vital topics.

To register your interest pleaseCall: 0845 458 7485

Email: rbs@duchy.ac.ukVisit: https://www.ruralbusinessschool.

org.uk/registration-of-interest-form

Trailer Handling & Reversing

The aim of this course is to give you the confidence and skills needed to tow a trailer it does not lead to a qualification or test.

(Please check www.gov.uk to establish if you need to take a test) This is a practical course that will help you to handle and manoeuvre a

trailer with increased awareness and confidence.

Thursday 23rd OR Friday 24th April 9am - 4pm

£59 per person Please wear sensible boots or shoes and warm waterproof clothing. Lunch is included

Introduction to Lamb and Pork Butchery

A one day hands on course in butchery. The course will include demonstrations followed by practical sessions. You will also learn how to make sausages, You can purchase the half of lamb and/or pork you

have butchered to take home for your freezer

Tuesday 12th May 9am - 5pm

£85 per person Lunch and cut resistant glove included. Protective clothing supplied

Venue Duchy College, Stoke Climsland, Callington, Cornwall PL17 8PB

Booking is essential

To secure your place at these events please email rbs@duchy.ac.uk, call 0845 458 7485 to pay by debit/credit card or complete the booking slip and send

with your payment (cheques payable to ‘Duchy College’) to Duchy College, Rural Business School, Stoke Climsland, Callington, Cornwall, PL17 8PB. Advance notice:

Kate Hovers, an internationally renowned sheep vet and a former president of the sheep Veterinary society will be speaking at the invitation of launceston Farmers Club & Castle Vets on Wednesday 29th April. please contact Castle Vets on (01566) 772211.

page 24 | The Rural Business School |April 2015 April 2015 | The Rural Business School | page 25

News continued from page 23

Friendly fungi could help barley grow | Farming Futures, 20th February 2015Trinity College Dublin researchers have reported that laboratory experiments have identified potential symbiotic relationships between barley plants and fungal ‘endophytes’, commonly found in soils; these endophytes were effective in suppressing disease and so could seriously reduce chemical use in the future. They still need to see if this holds true in field trials.

Green dream | New scientist, 14th February 2015Farming crops under artificial light is claimed to be environmentally friendly. Indoor farms around the world are growing food such as salads and spices in artificial light, often referred to as urban farming. light-emitting diode (leD) lighting has made sunless farming possible, because less heat is generated than was the case with sodium lights used in the past. Many more plants can be grown in a small space than with conventional farming. Although leD lighting is cheaper, the cost of lighting is still high, so staple crops are unlikely to be grown this way, but high value crops close to market are possibilities. Claims are being made that greenhouse gas emissions are low in this system, but the conversion of fossil fuels or renewables into electricity and then into light is very inefficient. To provide the electricity from solar panels would require 13 times the area of the sown area, which obviously need to be sited somewhere. There is potential, but more development is required before these systems are more widely adopted.

Milk’s bone benefits questioned | New scientist, 1st November 2014According to a study at uppsala university in sweden, drinking milk in large quantities may not be as good for bones as previously thought. The study tracking 100,000 people aged 39-74 years old, over 20 years found that the more milk they drank, the more likely they were to die or have a bone fracture during the study period, contradicting previous similar studies. Women stating they drank 600 millilitres of milk per day doubled their chance of dying and had 16% more chance of fracturing a bone than those drinking 200 millilitres per day during the study. Men’s risks were

sheep dipping courses to enable farmers to achieve the necessary ‘safe use of sheep Dip’ licence – a requirement for the purchase of sheep dip – are now being held across the whole of the south of england by British Wool Marketing Training ltd (BWMT). BWMT has become an Assessment Centre for the “safe use of sheep Dip” licence through the National proficiency Tests Council.

legislation now requires that at least one member of those involved in any sheep dipping operation must hold a licence. The day-long courses involve a discussion session, explanation of the regulations and an on-line assessment (GOlA) test to ensure each applicant is fully conversant with the regulations, followed by an oral test involving the protective wear that

must be worn during the dipping operation. Courses are held on-farm and can cater for around seven individuals.

The rural Business school in partnership with BWMB are looking to deliver the course on 10th April 2015 (TBC). The cost is £255. please contact Kath strang on 07814 226383 for more information and/or to register your interest. Further courses can be arranged at locations to suit, where there are sufficient enquiries.

Sheep dipping courses meet rules on dip purchase and safety

Free range Dairy Network Community Interest Company (CIC) has been set up by joint directors Carol lever and Neil Darwent as a way to instil badly needed value in British milk. Instead of chasing volume and cheaper milk prices, Free range Dairy wants to add value to milk and reward farmers for a clearly

defined farming system.

The three core principles underpinning Free range Dairy are a fair price for farmers, freedom for cows to graze and an affordable healthy product for the

customer.

Free range Dairy will be independently audited and will use the Free range Dairy pasture promise label as a way to differentiate the milk and educate consumers. recent market research paid for from Defra and rABDF collaboration fund has shown that consumers want to buy milk from cows that graze and are willing to pay more for it - all positives for dairy farmers after years of price volatility and the uncertain future ahead when milk quotas end this April.

Free range Dairy wants to work with all farmers who are grazing their cows whether farming conventionally or organically. However, they would particularly like to appeal to the more mainstream farmers who have an average herd size, seasonal grazing for at least six months and house their cows in winter. It is these farmers who have been the

backbone of the dairy industry for many years, but the ones most feeling the squeeze as the price of milk continues to drop.

One of the core standards to achieve the pasture promise label is the six-month grazing minimum (180 days and nights). even if farmers cannot make this standard at this point, they can join and work towards it with our soil and pasture workshops.

Neil Darwent, director and BBC Outstanding Farmer of the Year 2014 recalls a farmer at a meeting telling him, “In some ways you are in an

enviable position as you have the market ready and waiting for this milk, but, it could fail if farmers are too hesitant to join, which would be a real shame.”

At the Free range Dairy meeting hosted by Duchy College the directors wanted to emphasise that the more farmers join, the quicker this will happen.

Free Range DairyBy Carol LeverThe Rural Business School hosted a meeting in January at the Rosewarne campus where directors Neil Darwent and Carol Lever updated progress on ‘Free Range Dairy’ since one of their initial meetings to promote the idea visit two years ago at Stoke Climsland.

Neil Darwent and Carol Level, directors of Free Range Dairy Network CIC

For more informationTo find out more about Free Range Dairy and how to join go to www.freerangedairy.org

Free Range Dairy cows

For more informationFor information about other BWMB courses in the south west visit their website at http://www.britishwool.org.uk/coursedet.asp?area= 6&pageid=59

page 26 | The Rural Business School |April 2015 April 2015 | The Rural Business School | page 27

NATIONAL UPLANDS CONFERENCETues 12 – Thurs 14 May, 2015

News continued from page 25

lower. This is only an association and does not prove that milk is causing the effects, stated the researchers.

OpenPlant project | The Biologist, January 2015synthetic biology is defined as the engineering of biological systems to create useful products. A £12m project on synthetic biology has been awarded jointly to Cambridge university and the John Innes Centre in Norwich. The project will look at improved nitrogen fixing and photosynthetic capabilities.

Organic milk doesn’t increase milk’s nutritional value | Farming Futures, 20th February 2015In a review of almost 200 scientific studies, researchers at Wisconsin university showed that experiments comparing organic and conventional milk have not agreed on any significant nutritional differences between the two milks. Other factors affect milk’s composition much more. Most of the apparent difference between organic and non-organic milk really came from being mainly grass-fed rather than cereal-fed.

Turbocharge our plants | New scientist, 4th October 2015plants gained their photosynthetic machinery a billion years by enslaving bacteria that had the ability to turn sunlight into chemical energy, but these enslaved cyanobacteria have had little scope to improve. Meanwhile free-living relatives of these bacteria have evolved unfettered. scientists have long wanted to capture the benefits of the more efficient free living bacteria to upgrade crop plants. The first step forward has been made by rothamsted research and Cornell university, who have replaced a key enzyme in tobacco plants with a more efficient version from a cyanobacterium. There are huge potential gains for agricultural crops, where yields could be boosted by up to 25%. such plants could need less water as they will be able to retain moisture through not having to have their pores open so much. Turbocharged photosynthesis should be available for crops in a few decades, if not sooner.

A three day conference drawing together the many different interests in the uK’s uplands will take place at Newton rigg College in May.

Organised by The National Centre for the uplands (NCu) which is based at the Cumbrian College, the event will focus on agriculture, uplands economics, game management and conservation. Dates are Tuesday 12, Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 May.

Douglas phillips, Head of the NCu said: “This will be our second conference and our theme is uplands land use and multi-functionality – theory, practice, and synthesis? We start from a stand point that there is no “quick fix” instead we need to use our combined expertise to piece together the complex uplands jigsaw to create a sound economic model encompassing all interests.”

More than 18 speakers will attend over the

three days, including: the Foundation for Common land, eBleX, the NFu, Defra, Natural england, the ClA, rspB, Moorland Association, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and representatives from several National parks. His Grace The Duke of Westminster will speak on Wednesday. An insight into the practicalities of working within the uplands will be given through a range of case studies.

Wednesday will also feature the College’s popular Grassland North event, which is expected to attract around 5,000 farmers and industry representatives. Delegates will also have the opportunity to attend.

For more informationTo register please contact Jen Parry at Newton Rigg College on 01768 893400 or uplands@newtonrigg.ac.uk

We covered all aspects of trimming from the very early lesions through to more complicated lesions with a view to encouraging weight relief of the injured claw.

The trimming technique was based around the 5-stage Dutch trimming method – this technique aims to preserve the heel, reduce weight bearing at the sole ulcer site and maintain a good angle at the toe to ensure efficient and maximal weight bearing and even foot wear – the foot angle is a key point to ensure cows are not rocking back on their heels after trimming which then reduces toe wear causing increased toe length which presents a problem in terms of weight bearing at the sole ulcer site.

A key take-home message was to ensure that lesions are detected and treated early – this reduces the recovery time which ultimately has positive impacts on yield, fertility and longevity in the herd. recent studies have shown that administering non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (pain relief ) as well as blocking the foot to help reduce weight bearing on the affected claw will greatly reduce the time taken to restore normal foot health and therefore should have a positive impact on yield.

Mobility scoring your cows (e.g. Dairy Co’s 4 point 0-3 system) will revolutionise your treatment regime and picking up cows’ feet at the score 2 stage before they become score 3 is more likely to allow you to get the foot right in one trim rather than four or five. At Torch Farm Vets, we provide a regular mobility scoring service to assist our clients’ herd management.

Another way of thinking about foot lesions (sole ulcers in particular) is to compare them to your mastitis cows – catching a sole ulcer early (whilst it is still a bruise) will be far quicker to recover than treating it at a later stage when it becomes an open wound which is super-infected with digital dermatitis. This is the same as when you treat your cows for mastitis – you would treat mastitis at the first incidence of disease rather than wait until the disease has caused severe or chronic udder damage and we should probably be thinking of treating foot disease in the same way.

All in all, really good courses with plenty of practical help to ensure cows are getting their pedicures in a timely fashion!!!

Two-day foot trimming courseSophia Elworthy BVSc MRCVS

Healthy Livestock

Two very successful two-day foot trimming courses were held at Ashridge farm near Littleham early in the New Year. The courses were run by Torch Farm Vets with partial funding from the Rural Business School through the national roll-out of the South West Healthy Livestock Programme. The courses were fully attended with Steve Bradbury the lead tutor. Small group sizes with lots of hands-on trimming on a real farm with real cows provided excellent experience of how to approach feet lesions regularly encountered by all of us on a day-to-day basis.

“Ensure lesions are detected and treated early...”

page 28 | The Rural Business School |April 2015 April 2015 | The Rural Business School | page 29

News continued from page 27

What’s the beef? | New scientist, 24th January 2015eating meat has been linked to cancer, heart disease and obesity and environmental concerns around the carbon footprint associated with its production have all led to concerns about the world’s increasing appetite for meat. recent research, however, indicates that cutting down on meat consumption may do us more harm than good. The problem with many of the earlier studies was that they were based on what people said they ate rather than what they actually ate and no account was taken of other ‘lifestyle’ factors of participants e.g. smoking, fitness, body mass index or education level. recent large scale studies taking these other factors into account have found little or no connection between meat consumption and cancer or heart disease; the one exception was processed meat where increased consumption was linked to early death. One of the other reasons for reducing meat consumption was that it is an easy way to reduce saturated fat consumption, but recent more rigorous research has also seriously questioned the link between saturated fats and heart disease; in any case, cuts of meat have become much leaner over the last few decades.

The fact that some 32 % of greenhouse gas emissions arise from rearing livestock, and a third of cultivated crops being fed to them have raised public concern. public perception is turning, however, with the knowledge that much grassland cannot be used for crops and only ruminant livestock can utilise this and turn it into food. It is estimated that two-thirds of current world meat production could be produced from grassland and crop residues.

Meat is an excellent source of vitamin B, zinc and other minerals such as iron; ironically it may be the iron-rich component, haem, the non-protein part of haemoglobin - which transports oxygen in the blood and gives meat its red colour- which promotes tumour growth by oxidising fats. so there may still be some risk, but the recent studies have shown that eating no meat at all had a higher risk of early death than those who ate no meat at all. This may be because meat is so rich in protein and essential amino acids that is a more certain way to achieve requirements than depending on plant-based foods. Meat eaters who consumed lots of fibre had a lower death risk than those who ate very little meat.

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Call 0845 458 7485 to place your advertisement or e-mail gc@duchy.ac.uk

Cheques payable to ‘Duchy College’.We reserve the right to refuse submissions. Advertisers are liable in law not to mis-represent any offerings for sale, under the Business

Advertisement Disclosure Order. We accept no responsibility for the contents of these advertisements.

You can now claim Dairy Pro CPD points through The Rural Business School. Please contact BASIS to claim your Dairy Pro CPD points.

The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the views of the Rural

Business School, Duchy College or the Cornwall College Corporation.

Higher Education Advice Days

Duchy- 25th March, 6pm-8.30pm*

Bicton - 25th April, 9am-2pm

Duchy - 10th June, 10am-3pm*

*Booking essential, please contact the He admissions team on dce.admissions.office@duchy.

ac.uk or 01579 372358

BOSAHAN PEDIGREE SIMMENTALS Est 2006

EBLEX WINNERS 2013 & 2014

MEMBERS OF PCHS &FARM ASSURED

BEST CORNISH LARGE AND OVERALL HERD 2014

2ND DRAFT OF FEMALES PLUS BULLS WORCESTER SALE MAY 2015

Bosahan Erin Angelika

Visitors welcome

Contact John Olds mobile: 07890384094 e-mail: oldsbosahan@aol.com

www.bosahan.org.uk Bosahan Simmentals

south west estates are varied in size and range from 50 to thousands of hectares. Many have still-water bodies within them; primary utilisation appears to be flight ponds, followed by trout fishing. ponds, or larger water areas, provide a range of potential benefits to the modern diversified farm or estate from directly reducing water supply costs, to providing a valuable habitat for native wildlife, to potential opportunities in tourism and/or recreation. In addition, the creation or reintroduction of ponds could significantly reduce agricultural pollution into open watercourses, as each year approximately two million tonnes of topsoil are washed from farmers’ fields as sediment, with nitrates and phosphates also being lost (Castle, 2012).

The creation of ‘winter fill’ ponds, rather than direct stream abstraction is often the only effective way to increase the water supply, and abstraction licensors support the former rather than the

latter. In the first instance, restoration of water areas, or the creation of new ones (designed in a way which meets the desired use), may assist in a number of ways. The area could be utilised for stock watering, washing yards, crop irrigation and fire-fighting. Areas such as these could also be used in conjunction with conservation, fishing and shooting. utilising the water area for fish will possibly require licensing by the environment Agency or Defra, depending on whether it is used as a coarse fishery, a coarse fish farm (carp, tench), or a salmonid farm (trout, salmon).

Whatever the diversification, planning is essential. The first step is to identify an idea that will work. Therefore, researching the local (and possibly also the wider) market is necessary to ensure viability. Create a business plan, as this can be critical to obtaining any financial support that may be available. The business plan must include marketing the product. Any

diversification will require an investigation into any legal requirements and training will be very useful – sometimes necessary. It is worth checking with organisations such as the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC), Defra, rDpe, the National Farmers union, and Natural england as funding may be available

for diversification projects.

reference:

Castle, p. (2012) Farm ponds Cut Agricultural Water pollution (2012)

Available at: http://www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/releases/pr449814.aspx

(Accessed: 15th Jan 2015)

A liquid asset?By Chris Vaughan, Programme Manager for FdSc Estate and Farm Enterprise Management, Duchy CollegeDiversification for an estate or farm can be useful. It can utilise under-used resources such as unused buildings or water bodies. It may also meet a local demand for a product or service that is not currently being met. Branching out from traditional farming or estate management enables new money-making activities.

Foundation Degree Science (FdSc) in Estate & Farm Enterprise

Management

HE Open Evening25th March 2015 (18:00 to 20:30)10th June 2015 (10:00 to 15:00)

For more information please contact Duchy College on:

01579 372327 or email uni@duchy.ac.uk

April 2015 | The Rural Business School | page 31page 30 | The Rural Business School | April 2015

NpTC safe use of veterinary medicine

07 & 08/04/15

9am-5pm

DCs Cornwall £195 rBs

Junior tractor driving 07 & 08/04/15

9.30am-4pm

DCr Cornwall £135 rBs

safe use of pesticides – grandfather rights

09/04/15

9am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £200 rBs

Junior tractor driving 09 & 10/04/15

9.30am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £135 rBs

sheep dipping BWMB course

10/04/15

9am-5pm

TBC TBC £255 rBs

Beekeeping for beginners

11-25/04/15

9.30am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £165 rBs

Tractor experience day

11/04/15

10am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £115 rBs

Designing with plants: how to plant your garden

16/04 – 21/05/15

7pm-9.30pm

DCr Cornwall £250 rBs

Training you and your gundog

18/04/15

1pm-4pm

DCr Cornwall £25 rBs

Chainsaw occasional user – City & Guilds NpTC level 2

21 & 22/04/15

9am-5pm

AC Garage services Yard, Broadway road, Kings-teignton, TQ12 3pJ

Devon £305 rBs

Cattle foot trimming 21 & 22/04/15

9.30am-4.30pm

Axford Farm, st Germans road, pl17 7Hu

Cornwall £250 rBs

Introduction to floristry

21/04-12/05/15

6.30pm-8.30pm

DCr Cornwall £85 rBs

Cheese making 22-24/04/15

9am-5pm

DCs Cornwall £450 rBs

Trailer handling and reversing

23/04/15

9am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £59 rBs

Diary DatesCourse title Date/Time Venue County Cost Contact Course title Date/Time Venue County Cost Contact

Cattle foot trimming 23 & 24/04/15

9.30am-4.30pm

Axford Farm, st Germans road, pl17 7Hu

Cornwall £250 rBs

Trailer handling and reversing

24/04/15

9am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £59 rBs

Basic car maintenance 25/04/15

10am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £65 rBs

Gluten free cake baking

25/04/15

10am-3.45pm

DCs Cornwall £55 rBs

Further horticultural approaches to gardening

29/04-20/05/15

6.30pm

DCr Cornwall £85

Introduction to beekeeping

03/05/15

9.30am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £60 rBs

safe use of pesticides – grandfather rights

07/05/15

9am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £200 rBs

pest control awareness and management

08/05/15

10am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £75 course only.

£100 to include edexcel qualification.

rBs

Creative cookies with royal icing

09/05/15

10am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £60 rBs

Introduction to lamb and pork butchery

12/05/15

9am-5pm

DCs Cornwall £85 rBs

safe use of pesticides – grandfather rights training pA1/6

14/05/15

9am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £200 rBs

Training you and your gundog

16/05/15

1pm-4pm

DCr Cornwall £25 rBs

local shellfish workshop

26/05/15

9am-2.30pm

DCs Cornwall £75 rBs

Keeping pet chickens 27/05/15

10am-4pm

DCr Cornwall £45 rBs

page 32 | The Rural Business School | April 2015

Key to iconsFor more informationPlease call 0845 458 7485 or email rbs@duchy.ac.uk for more information. Our full list of events is available at: www.ruralbusinessschool.org.uk

Key to abbreviationsDCR - Duchy College Rosewarne DCS - Duchy College Stoke ClimslandESF - European Social Funded (eligibility rules apply)FF - full fee

Agriculture general Dairy Beef Sheep Poultry Arable/Crop

Production

Resource Management Machinery Pets CPD Countryside Rural Crafts

Equine Leadership & Management

Food & Drink Forestry Horticulture General/

Other

Course title Date/Time Venue County Cost Contact

Introduction to cheese making

28/05/15

9am-5pm

DCs Cornwall £80 rBs

Intermediate beekeeping

14-28/06/15

9.30am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £125 rBs

Floristry for summertime

20/06/15

10am-4pm

DCr Cornwall £85 rBs

Cattle foot trimming 30/06 & 01/07/15

9.30am-4.30pm

TBC Mid-Cornwall

£250 rBs

Cattle foot trimming 02 & 03/07/15

9.30am-4.30pm

TBC Mid-Cornwall

£250 rBs

sugar paste modelling workshop

04/07/15

10am-4pm

DCs Cornwall £58 rBs

Introduction to horticulture – summer school

08-29/07/15

10am-2.30pm

DCr Cornwall £175 rBs

sausage making 14/07/15

9am-1pm

DCs Cornwall £55 rBs

Floristry for occasions and parties

22/08/15

10am-4pm

DCr Cornwall £85 rBs

Deer butchery course 08/09/15

9am-5pm

DCs Cornwall £99 rBs

20th Challenge of rural leadership

10-23/01/16

8.30am-10pm

Dartington Hall, Totnes, TQ9 6el

Devon price on application

rBs