Dairy industry organisation, the Trehane Trust, is encouraging applicants for its 2021 dairy awards that it funds through the Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust (NFST).
The Trust offers support to successful candidates who apply to carry out a study tour on a subject of particular interest to themselves and their career development and that is of relevance to the industry.
After months of waiting following Defra’s announcement last year about exit payments to farmers in England, last week (19 May), they launched a 12-week consultation. Although the devil is always in the detail, which the consultation doesn't contain, it does outline plans for two exit payment schemes that it hopes will allow farmers in England to retire with dignity and free up land for new entrants to farm.
The two schemes it proposes are:
A lump sum exit scheme to offer a lump sum payment to help farmers to retire in a planned and managed way.
Delinked payments which involve separating direct payments from the amount of land farmed, from 2024. This will simplify the process for farmers, allow them to focus on running their business and encourage them to take up the government’s new environmental land management schemes, which will reward sustainable food production and environmental improvements.
If retiring is something you are thinking about in the not too distant future, then this is your chance to get involved and have your say. The government is trying to co-design this system with the industry. This is your chance to make your views known and help direct how the exit payment plans will work. Please feel free to get in touch with us directly if you have any feedback on the consultation by email office@rabdf.co.uk.
You can read more at https://www.rabdf.co.uk/latest-news/2021/5/19/farmers-views-sought-on-exit-payments-consultation
In other news, we are delighted to be progressing full steam ahead with plans for Dairy-Tech 2022. We have seen a record number of stand sales as well as an unprecedented amount of new product launches. We have an early bird discount offer running until 27 June, but with so few stand spaces left it’s important for any exhibitors wishing to book to get in touch now. You can do so by emailing charlesneale@rabdf.co.uk
After 18 months of no face-to-face events and prolonged social distancing, I think it’s important (as long as rules allow and it is safe to do so) to get back to face-to-face events. Our events have always proved popular and they provide one of the best platforms to share ideas and learning among our peers. As mentioned in last month’s Milk Digest plans are full steam ahead for the Gold Cup event at Robert Sloan’s farm in August and we hope to be bringing you more live events as the year progresses. Keep posted on our events page at https://www.rabdf.co.uk/training-events
We hope you are all keeping well an enjoying some sort of normality as restrictions ease.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
All the best,
Matt
How to get in touch
Email: Office@rabdf.co.uk
Call: 02476 639 317
HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was not only a keen conservationist but passionate about rural life. He was involved with the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers for many years, starting with his presidency of the organisation in 1965, going on to serve the title again in 1973 and 1974.
Life is finally returning to some sort of normality and as such, we are delighted to have a date for our first face to face event in over a year. The Gold Cup event on the Sloan family farm in Auchinleck, Ayrshire, will finally take place on Thursday 5th August.
It will be one of the first opportunities the dairy industry has had to meet since the start of the pandemic. We expect, as is always the case with our Gold Cup events, there will be a large attendance with folk keen to interact after such a long spell with no events and social interaction.
It has been quite a busy month news-wise here at RABDF. If you have not yet seen it, we released the results from the labour survey we conducted at the end of last year. The idea of the survey was to get an understanding as to what/ if there is a labour issue on dairy farms, why there may be a problem recruiting labour and the reliance on foreign labour.
We had a busy start to 2021 with last minute plans being put in place for Dairy-Tech Online and compiling the official event guide, which will appear in this month’s British Dairying.
Uptake for the fortnight-long event has been tremendous with bookings reaching a thousand in the first couple of days of registration. There really is something for everyone with some big industry names kicking off the event including Farming Minister Victoria Prentis and AHDB Chair Nicholas Saphir.
As some may be winding down for Christmas the opposite is true at RABDF with operation Dairy-Tech Online in full swing.
We are in the process of finalising the exciting line-up for the fortnight of activity which kicks off on 3 February and runs until 17th. It is jam packed with some great speakers and topics…
