Regional Director: Robert Sheasby Regional Public Relations Officer: Carl HudspithTel: 01695 554900Email: north.west@nfu.org.uk
At the end of an another eventful week in the world of farming & horticulture, we present a bumper edition of our North West Update packed with news, views and events from the North West read more..
Free range egg producer named as Cumbria’s new NFU county chairman read more..
Latest news and events from the NFU North West read more..
News and views from the NFU North West read more..
News & views from the NFU in the North West read more..
The NFU has said today’s decision from Defra to commit to two pilot areas for badger controls as part of its plan to tackle bovine TB is the right way forward. read more..
It's the end of another busy farming week in the North West and as ever the NFU is here with our round up of the essential news & views affecting farmers and growers in the region. Can you afford to be without our NFU North West Update? read more..
There has recently been a theft from a farm in the south Wirral area where industrial heaters have been taken. read more..
The latest news & views as it affects farmers & growers in the North West. Plus your weekly run-down of the essential events in the region's rural calendar. read more..
NFU Cumbrian County Chairman Robert Craig explains why he’s worried increasing confusion surrounding a proposed cull of badgers is being seized upon by those with an agenda against farmers read more..
Simplification, commonality, improved competitiveness and increased market focus are principles that should be applied when reforming the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), but the European Commission’s current draft proposal fails to address any of those tests NFU’s CAP expert Gail Soutar told 75 North West members. read more..
The latest news and views for farmers in the North West read more..
NFU President Peter Kendall sets out the NFU’s thoughts and feelings on the European Commission’s proposed reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy from 2014 onwards. read more..
The latest news and views affecting farmers and growers in the North West Region. Plus the essential listings of events in the rural calendar read more..
Huge areas of productive agricultural West Lancashire land in the Lower Alt with Crossens area will be lost if farmers don’t make their views and ideas forcibly known to the Environment Agency, the NFU is warning. read more..
Boundary Commission proposals to change the constituency boundaries in Cumbria would be detrimental to the county’s farmers the NFU is warning. read more..
While other EU member states eye up the next reformation of the CAP as their chance to recouple a percentage of their Single Farm Payments, NFU livestock board chairman Alistair Mackintosh is warning Defra’s Farming Minister, Jim Paice, to recognise the competitive disadvantage this could put English farmers. read more..
The essential news & views for farmers & growers in the North West together with latest happenings in the rural events calendar read more..
The issues of the day from the North West plus the essential listings of events, shows & meetings in the region's countryside calendar read more..
January’s impending ban of conventional battery cages used for egg laying hens in the EU prompted the BBC’s One Show programme to look into how the UK’s poultry industry could be put at a commercial disadvantage by imported non-compliant eggs. read more..
Farming makes stacks for the economy and gets the North West working.
It may surprise you to know that the North West is the largest food producing region in England and Wales. Overall, the agriculture and food processing sectors generate an impressive 12% of the region's income. To put that into pounds and pence, that's a colossal £9.5 billion - £1 billion of which comes directly from farming.
So farming generates a lot of wealth for the region, but that's not the best bit. Through choosing local produce, you can help the money generated locally to stay in the area, benefiting the North West directly rather than it ending up elsewhere.
And farming isn't just about food. Through diversifying their businesses, many farmers now provide sport, leisure and retail outlets for their local communities. These innovative enterprises bring around £31 million a year into the region - boosting the local economy and creating jobs.
The agricultural sector of the North West has more than 22,000 farming and related businesses employing some 40,000 people. A thriving food and drink industry has grown up alongside our agriculture and horticulture industry and major brands such as Kellogg's and Heinz are based in the region. The combined agricultural and food processing sector employs around 103,000 people, which is 3.5% of total regional employment.
Farmers also play a vital role in maintaining the region's landscape which is a major part of the North West's tourism offer. Next time you are walking through the Lake District National Park, or drinking in the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, think about the role that farming plays in maintaining our rural environment and preserving it for future generations in the North West.
The NFU runs an online Fodder Bank to help farmers deal with shortages and surpluses of cattle feed and bedding. To see the North West listings please click here.