Hundreds of members attended to hear from a top line up of speakers and to find out how the NFU is working on their behalf at county, regional and national level.
Events kicked off at the John Innes Centre in Norwich on 1 November, with the meeting taking place 100 years to the day since the first NFU Norfolk AGM in 1919.
Tony Bambridge was elected headquarters council delegate for the next two years with Nick Deane and Jamie Lockhart continuing in their roles as county chairman and vice chairman respectively.
NFU President Minette Batters and AHDB Chairman Sir Peter Kendall addressed the meeting, paying tribute to the work of the NFU in the county over the past 100 years.
It was a full house at Bedford Rugby Club for the Beds & Hunts annual county meeting, with members turning out in force to hear from guest speaker Peter Garbutt, the head of sustainable sourcing for McDonald’s.
Peter gave a fascinating insight into McDonald’s supply chains, which prompted a great deal of discussion among members. Members re-elected Kevin Morgan-Jones as council delegate, along with Lawrence Poulter and Tim Burton as crop and dairy board representatives respectively.
NFU President Minette Batters addressed the Cambridgeshire meeting at Ely City Golf Club, speaking about the NFU’s key policy challenges, including access to labour, trade and regulation.
She also challenged members to engage with prospective parliamentary candidates during the General Election, to explain the role farmers and growers play in producing food, managing the environment and underpinning the rural economy.
Cambridgeshire YFC, RABI, Beds & Cambs Rural Support Group and the Cambridge Farmers Trust all contributed to the meeting by explaining their activities over the past year.
The Essex annual county meeting took place at the Lion Inn, Boreham, with NFU Vice President Stuart Roberts as guest speaker. Reports were received from County Chairman Patrick Wreathall, Council Delegate Robert Stacey, County Network Manager Adam Scott, County Adviser Jake Richards and Simon Dixon Smith on behalf of the Essex members’ trust, which has successfully gained charitable status.
The meeting elected Christy Willet as the incoming NFU county chair as well as Ian Frood to the regional livestock board, Tom Bradshaw to the combinable crops board and Jason Painter to the dairy board. Revd Janet Nicholls, the rural chaplain for Essex, was among those attending.
The guest speaker in Hertfordshire was outgoing MP for North East Bedfordshire Alistair Burt. A good friend of the NFU, Alistair spoke openly about his experiences in parliament since the referendum and why it was important to invite all parties out on farm during the election campaign to ensure all understood the importance of British agriculture.
After a wide-ranging question and answer session with Alistair, the meeting took place, with reports from Chairman Jamie Burrows, Council Delegate Will Dickinson and County Adviser Rosalind David. Representatives from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office and Herts Police also provided a review of their work with the NFU over the past year.
Suffolk played host to the 99th annual county meeting by hearing from NFU Vice President Stuart Roberts over breakfast at the Cedars Hotel, Stowmarket. Topics included net zero aspirations, the state of the current political landscape, how to engage more with the public and the NFU’s key areas of focus for the coming year.
The meeting also heard from Police and Crime Commissioner Tim Passmore, Suffolk young farmers, as well as the county team. Plans are now under way for the centenary meeting in 2020.
Collections at the six meetings raised £2,255 for charity, with half of the money going to RABI and the rest to Beds and Cambs Rural Support Group, East Anglian Air Ambulance, and the Farming Community Network.
RABI regional manager Lucy Bellefontaine, who spoke at the meetings, said: “RABI is very grateful for the support and generosity that the NFU and its members give the charity.
“The AGMs are a great chance for me to raise the awareness for the charity and remind the meeting what it is that RABI does and how we can help, especially with the current wet weather, and the stresses and strains modern day farming brings to individuals and families.”