Note from Matt - February 2022

2022 is pressing on at some speed, with January turning out to be an exceptionally busy month for the RABDF team. Event management has been the name of the game since returning after Christmas, with a lot of work involved in moving Dairy-Tech 2022 to the new date of 7 April.

However, the new date change means we have longer days and hopefully better weather allowing us to use additional space outside following a complete sell-out for indoor stand space. We look forward to welcoming you in April.

We have also been busy planning a unique event for livestock producers on regenerative agriculture. Although still in the early planning stages, the on-farm event will focus on the basic principles of regenerative agriculture, offering an arena where the whole industry can come together and address the opportunities, facts, and science surrounding its principles and see it in action.

We are still finalising details on location and dates, but we hope to share more news with you in next month's Newsletter.

There are several reasons why we have decided to design an event on this topic. Firstly, regenerative agriculture has been gaining attention from producers, retailers, researchers, and consumers as one of the responses to the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Greater focus is also being made on farming principles with the Environment Land Management (ELM) schemes.

In addition, we believe livestock farming has the unique opportunity to be part of the global climate crisis solution, with 65% of UK farmland best suited for growing grass for animals to eat, offering high rates of carbon sequestration.

It's also important not to forget the benefits to landowners, with regenerative farming found to increase productivity, farm sustainability and water quality, to name a few.

We have also been busy with our Women in Dairy events. It has been great to get back to conducting face-to face events with three scheduled this month, including the first meeting of the new Sussex and Kent Women in Dairy Group. All women involved in dairy, from farm to farm office and throughout the industry, are welcome. You can find out more about the group and what's happening in your area at www.womenindairy.co.uk

If there's a topic you would like to see us focus on or provide an event on, then please don't hesitate to share your thoughts.

It's great to get back to face-to-face events and see new and familiar faces. We hope to see you soon.

Best wishes,

Matt

Note from Matt - January 2022

When we sent out the January Milk Digest, it was hoped to be the last Newsletter before the long-awaited Dairy-Tech 2022. However, with cases of Omicron increasing over the festive period, we decided to postpone the event to 7 April 2022. Whilst it wasn’t an easy decision, we feel it was the right one in the interests of visitors, members, exhibitors, speakers and staff safety.

It does mean we have to wait a couple of months longer for the event. However, it is still being held before fieldwork begins on most farms.

The weather should also be better and days longer, meaning we can maximise some more of the outside space that Stoneleigh Park offers. We have lots of new products being launched at the event and some very timely sessions. You can view the full line-up at https://dairy-tech.uk/

The postponement also means our Gold Cup finalists have to wait a bit longer to find out who will be lifting the infamous trophy. The plan is to hold the open day at the winner’s farm in the summer. You can view the six finalists vying for this year’s title at https://www.rabdf.co.uk/gold-cup-comp .

We have been asked by the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee to update them on the labour situation in the dairy industry. We are in the process of speaking to a cohort of farmers but would welcome feedback from more farmers who are struggling with labour on their farms. The more people that get in touch and share their experiences, the more chances we have of the government sitting up and listening to the needs of the industry. In addition, we are always interested in hearing your thoughts or success stories on how we can overcome the labour issue in our sector.

While we are pushing the government for help, we feel a large chunk of the solution lies with us, the industry. We need to be shouting and promoting jobs on dairy farms as a viable, rewarding and progressive career. Dairy worker jobs offer very competitive pay, and when the right set-up is in place, a fulfilling and rewarding career can be carved out on a farm. It is something we will be looking at closely in the coming months. We cannot rely on foreign labour; we need to be recruiting skilled individuals into roles on dairy farms from our domestic workforce. You can get in touch by emailing office@rabdf.co.uk.

We hope you are all keeping well and covid-free and we look forward to welcoming you to our events very soon.

Best wishes,

Matt

Note from Matt - December 2021

As some may be winding down for the Christmas period, it is all systems go for the team at RABDF. We have been working hard putting the final details together for the recording-breaking Dairy-Tech 2022 on 2 February. We have the highest number of exhibitors recorded at the event with almost 300 and more than 80 new products launches.

We have some exciting speakers lined up in our Dairy and Innovation Hubs with talks on regenerative farming, the latest update on emissions, use of data and the latest technology, and the usual foot trimming demonstrations. Tickets are available now at the discounted rate of £17, and for members, you will, of course, receive your two free tickets to the event.

After two years with almost no events and limited social activity, it will be fantastic to see people flock through the doors at Stoneleigh Park once again. More information about what's on can be found at dairy-tech.uk.

As well as Dairy-Tech 2022, we have just finished our virtual Business and Policy Conference. We had some great speakers discussing everything from food labelling and standards to the very popular session on emissions and the latest news on permitting and the covering of slurry stores.

From the emissions session and the number of questions asked, it's clear the level of concern over what is coming down the line in the next three to five years. However, rest assured, as an organisation and working with the wider industry, we are doing everything we can to make sure the systems introduced are fair and will have the most positive impact on reducing emissions.

Our Chairman Peter Alvis has been heavily involved in developing a tool kit that allows farmers to input basic data relating to housing type and management, slurry storage and spreading.

It was developed in response to the Government's plan to introduce permitting for dairy and intensive beef farms by 2025, with concerns permits based on headage or output may not be the most effective and fair approach.

The toolkit uses a risk-based approach to assess the emissions risk. It would evaluate each farm based on size, the farming systems and practices used, and create a score for the farm. This would allow farmers to see the effect adapting or changing practices would have on their emissions risk. They could then adopt the most appropriate risk reduction technique for their farm.

Although the tool kit is still in development, its planned release is next year. You can read more at rabdf.co.uk/news

Hopefully, as we approach the end of 2021 and the start of 2022, we can look forward with some positivity. While the pandemic is not going away soon, we are hopefully past the worse. So let us hope 2022 will bring much positivity to the sector and, most importantly, good health and happiness.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

From Matt and the RABDF team

Note from Matt - November 2021

Note from Matt

At the end of last month, we submitted some evidence to the Efra Committee asking about the labour shortage in the dairy industry. It is a topic we have been banging the drum about for years, with our first survey to understand the scale of the problem conducted in 2014. We have since run three further surveys. Each survey has indicated the labour issue on dairy farms is getting worse.

We knew Brexit would have repercussions for the industry. Without success, we have tried countless times to get dairy workers listed on the Migration Advisory Council's (MAC) Shortage Occupation List.

The Government is now looking into the issue with more sectors being affected. We are more hopeful the Efra Committee will listen to our concerns compared to the MAC. We will keep you posted.

Access to skilled foreign workers is vital for our industry. However, we cannot shy away from the fact we all need to take responsibility to try and solve the problem. However, that's not going to be an easy process and won't be solved overnight, which is why we need support from these EU workers until a solution is found.

Someone shared an observation with me recently about how the labour problem seems to impact farmers less in West Wales. He explained there seems to be more of a community approach whereby the dairy unit is milking the cows, youngstock are contract reared on other farms and contractors are brought in to help with silage making, harvest etc. Whilst I appreciate this wouldn't work in peri-urban environments, it is an interesting concept and one that is perhaps worth looking at.

As this newsletter hits your inbox, the climate change conference, COP26, is taking place. As I mentioned in last month's Milk Digest, we would urge you to spread the positive facts about emissions from the dairy industry, which you can find at www.rabdf.co.uk/emissions and below. In next month's newsletter, I am sure I will have lots to talk about, including how agriculture faired. Hopefully, we will come out of it relatively unscathed.

That's all for now.

Best wishes,

Matt

Note from Matt - October 2021

In last month’s Milk Digest, I talked about a dedicated emissions area on our website we were developing containing a whole host of information, downloadable infographics and facts. The page is now live at www.rabdf.co.uk/emissions. The more people that can spread the word using these resources, the better.  

So, whether you are a farmer, an industry organisation or someone interested in the sector, please get behind this and promote accurate facts about UK dairy emissions.

Agriculture is hitting the headlines again, with labour shortages in agriculture coming to light. News that farmers have to slaughter pigs on farm due to staff shortages in the processing plants is atrocious. Not only is this devasting to the farmers from a financial point of view, but the emotional impact must also be hard to manage. I hope the situation can resolve itself soon and normality can return before it is too late.

Foreign labour is very much still at the top of our agenda. Rarely a day goes by when we are not working on something to do with the issue, whether that be talking to the government and other industry organisations and gathering supporting evidence. We accept we have to try and encourage more of the domestic workforce onto farms, but that takes time. In the meantime, we still need access to foreign workers to help fill the gap. Hopefully, the penny will drop soon as more of these stories come to light.

On a more positive note, we were thankful to the HRH Princess Royal when she presented the Royal Dairy Innovation Award winners NovaPro with their award at her country residence, Gatcombe Park, last month. The award winners were joined by representatives from the RABDF and award sponsor CIEL Livestock. Now the countdown is on for the next Dairy Tech event in February. Stand sales have soared, and we are almost at capacity. So, February 2 2022, is shaping up to be a good event.

That’s all for now,

Matt