It was a real pleasure to see so such a fantastic turnout at Kingston Maurward for an evening kindly hosted by the Cattistock Hunt for Dorset farmers and their families. Baroness Minette Batters spoke about her time as NFU President, the Farm Profitability Review and her new book.
With the Budget approaching, and against the backdrop of mounting challenges for farming, Minette’s passion for agriculture and determination to champion British farmers provided a timely reminder of the NFU’s role:, with our current officeholder team working to make sure your voices are heard, your businesses are backed and your produce is championed in the rooms where changes can be made.
Planning for the new membership year:
Much of this month has focused on planning for the year ahead: identifying and planning our engagement with the organisations, projects, MPs, rural issues with which we need to engage, while ensuring our events and activity deliver genuine value for you, your business and the wider farming community.
Our next major event is the Dorset NFU Annual Open Meeting at the Dorset Museum on 11 November at 6.30pm where we will welcome Vice-President of the NFU, Robyn Munt as our Guest Speaker. This year, the museum are kindly opening their doors to attendees from 5.30pm, giving you more time to explore before the meeting begins. We are once again putting together a Dorset-sourced meal for everyone to enjoy. Invitations, along with the agenda and positions for election will be emailed shortly, but you can find further information and reserve your place here: NFU Dorset annual general meeting 2026 – register now – NFUonline - I hope to see many of you there!
MP Engagement:
Engagement with Dorset MPs has also been a priority this month. Following the ‘debacle’ that was the SFI Window 2 application process, I wrote to every Dorset MP to share members’ frustration, disappointment and concern about the impact of missing out on an agreement and to share the NFU’s asks.
If you have been affected, I do urge you to write to your MP, many have asked for case studies from within their constituencies, the more they hear from farmers the more they take notice. Our NFU office holder team continue to press government on this matter, and we are urging for the 2027 SFI to be rolled out in spring, you can have your say on the proposed approach here: NFU seeks member feedback on approach to SFI27 application process – NFUonline
We have since have met with Vikki Slade MP (Mid-Dorset & North Poole) and Simon Hoare MP (North Dorset), kindly hosted by David Green and the Davies family respectively. At these meeting, members spoke openly about future farm support, profitability and business resilience, planning barriers and investment confidence, bovine TB and other local concerns. These conversations help MPs understand the realities facing farmers and ensure rural businesses are represented in Westminster.
Meetings and activity:
In my role as Co-Secretary of the South Dairy Board, I attended the Dairy Industry Dinner and Dairy Show at the Bath & West Showground. A highlight was the panel chaired by National Dairy Board Chair, Ian Harvey, exploring future milk supply, fertility, disease and herd-replacement challenges, with representatives from Wyke Farms, First Milk and the George Farm Vets.
This month, Tim and I also visited Coastland College (Kingston Maurward) to discuss the agricultural courses and tour the facilities. It was encouraging to hear from Marie Taylor and Kate Barfoot (Head and Deputy Head of Agriculture) about closer engagement with local farmers, the relaunch of the apprenticeship scheme and the plans for the farm going forward, now this has been taken back in hand. The investment in livestock, machinery and facilities was great to see, and we look forward to working with both staff and students more closely moving forward.
Finally, the Dorset NFU Management Team met to review the year and agree priorities, events and activities for 2027. We considered how to strengthen rural relationships, promote British food and farming, and focus our advocacy where it can make the greatest difference.
If you would like to become more involved with Dorset NFU, sector board meetings or other local activity, please get in touch. There are many ways to contribute, and we would be delighted to hear from you.