This month we look forward to the Virtual Business and Policy Conference. I would argue there has never been a better time to run this conference with the Agriculture Bill still going through parliament, a no-deal Brexit looming as well as Covid being thrown into the mix.

By the time this newsletter lands in your inbox, we will have held our first virtual conference. The Women in Dairy Conference on Wednesday (30 Sept) was a massive success attracting over 100 delegates, which is in line with the face to face event we have held in the past.

We had a great line-up of speakers and it was fantastic to enjoy some social time in the evening with a glass of wine and the free cheese packs that were supplied by Quicke’s.

Dairy farmer Karen Halton from Cheshire has scooped this year’s prestigious Dairy Industry Woman of the Year award at the virtual Women in Dairy (WID) conference held on 30th September.

Karen is the fourth woman to win the award, sponsored by HSBC UK, beating off stiff competition from two other finalists: Abi Reader from Glamorganshire, and Hannah Lawrence from Haverfordwest.

The last six months have been completely dominated by Covid-19 issues but at last discussions are moving back to Brexit, now less than 12 weeks away and many things are still incredibly unclear. The GB/Northern Ireland issue is still very unresolved whilst if there is No Deal then there will be real implications for dairy trade.

A renowned researcher who has been instrumental in driving forward the genetic development of UK dairy cattle has been awarded the prestigious Princess Royal Award.

Professor Mike Coffey, team leader of the Animal Breeding and Genomics Team at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and head of EGENES, was presented with the award by Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal on 14th September 2020.

A last-ditch attempt to get dairy workers included on the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) Shortage Occupation List (SOL) has been rejected following a four-month consultation.

The news released 29/09/2020 revealed occupations should as butchers, bricklayers and welders would be added to the list, but that farmers would not.

DEFRA are required under UK law to complete an annual survey for the presence of bluetongue virus. APHA complete this survey in the areas of the country most at risk of having been exposed to potentially infected midges blown over from mainland Europe. This survey is part of the evidence that DEFRA use to demonstrate that UK livestock remains free from bluetongue.

As bluetongue continues to circulate in France and Belgium, the modelling completed so far indicates that the areas of UK most at risk of having had incursions of infected midges are Suffolk, Kent, Essex, Hampshire (incl. Isle of Wight), East Sussex, West Sussex and Dorset.

If there is one thing that COVID-19 has taught us it is that we can stay connected efficiently by using technology. It has been a lifesaver for many businesses and organisations and at RABDF it is something we are using on an almost daily basis.

Earlier in the year we took the decision to move the annual Women in Dairy Conference online. We have hosted webinars before, but this will be the first time we have held a full one-day conference virtually.

We have a great line-up of speakers and already have a good number of delegates signed up, so it is on track to be a success.