Undeterred by settling flurries of snow in the late afternoon, over 70 farmers made their way to the Rudyard Arms for the Green Futures event at 7.00 p.m. on Tuesday 5th February. Speakers from the Farming Advice Service, Environment Agency, Natural England, The Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative, the NFU and the CLA entertained and informed the audience on topics of contemporary concern, regulation and opportunity. Implications embraced both the “national” and the “local” and acknowledged the uncertainty engendered by the protracted negotiations over the EU budget.
Locally, some farms fall within the target area for the Capital Grants Scheme through the Catchment Sensitive Farming Delivery Initiative which has a brief window of application opportunity during March and April. Bob Marsden, Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer, will be in Leek Market on Tuesdays through the application period to inform and assist farmers with their applications. Some farms within the Churnet Valley project area will move out of the Nitrate Vulnerable Zone. It was pointed out that this has not happened yet and will not happen until the new regulation has been agreed at EU level. This is anticipated by the end of March. As such, all farms within the Churnet Valley project area remain in the NVZ at the moment and currently need to comply with the NVZ regulations. There are opportunities for farmers to engage and encourage future generations to involve themselves in agriculture through apprenticeships which will normally pay the farmer £1,500 to take on an apprentice who would then be employed on the farm and trained to national qualifications.
The Green Futures event was the first of this year’s events to be staged for farmers in the area. An on-farm event focused on extended grazing, grassland management and soils is planned for the end of March. Any farmer looking to a living from milk and conscious of the value of grass to the economics of the business will want to attend this event. Contact the Staffordshire Rural Hub for details on telephone: 01785 255305.