Your Gloucestershire county NFU update

Severn Trent Water have launched a bowser giveaway for farmers to help manage water demand, with priority given to those with livestock in water-stressed areas, to help store enough water and support animal welfare during potential hot weather periods. 1,100-litre bowsers are being passed on to farms in need as water company upgrade their equipment.

If you’re farming in the Severn Trent region and have dairy cattle, hatcheries, poultry sheds, or beef, sheep or pig herds, you’re welcome to apply. These will be allocated on a first come first serve basis. 

You will need to fill out a quick form with your farm details, including your address, herd or flock size, and let them know about any water supply problems you’ve had before. 

From 20th April 2026, the new form will be the primary route for submitting requests for advice and consent relating to protected sites. This will replace the current system of email and manual submission to Natural England. 

The new online form will provide a way to:

• apply for SSSI consent
• request advice about proposed land management activities
• check whether consent may be required before carrying out works
• apply for permissions required under Agri-environment scheme agreements where activities may affect SSSIs

You can find the new Defra form here: Before you start - Give notice and get consent for a planned activity on a SSSI - GOV.UK

You can find further information on this change here and additional guidance on Sites of Special Scientific Interest here.

New NFU Officeholders
Following Conference 2026, NFU Council members held their annual AGM which saw Tom Bradshaw re-elected as President and the election of two new members on to the national officeholder team. Paul Tompkins was elected in as NFU Deputy President and Robyn Munt elected as Vice-president. Meet the new team here.

Carriage of Dangerous Good – Continued Exemptions for Agriculture
In February it was announced that there would be continued exemptions for agriculture in the Carriage of Dangerous Goods regulations following hard NFU lobbying. More information on this NFU win and to check that you are compliant can be found here.  

Make a Pledge for Safety
The NFU is asking farmers to make a pledge on one thing they would do differently to make their farm business safer, after the HSE’s latest work-related fatality figures revealed that agriculture has the highest rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers. Make your pledge here.

The Environment Agency has released a video for farmers and contractors on slurry store construction and SSAFO regulations. It explains slurry and silage storage management, the benefits of getting it right, and how to stay compliant. Please click below to watch the video.

For more information: 

Farming Rules for Water: Guidance on Farming Rules for Water – NFUonline

SSAFO Regulations: Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil storage – what you need to know – NFUonline

As you are hopefully now aware, the rules for using rodenticides are changing and unless you have taken the Rodent Management Course and have the certificate from an approved provider, you will no longer be able to purchase rodenticides from 1 January 2026.

NFU has worked with Lantra so that we can provide this exam to our members at a discounted price of £95 + VAT.

Our exam date for November is now fully booked, however if you would like to take this exam with NFU, please register your interest and we will look to run another session early in the New Year.

The CPRE are currently in the process of looking for land for hedgerow laying and planting and individuals who would be happy to host their sessions.

For planting, they would be looking for land that is clear and accessible (mowed or unplanted) that they can plant a new hedge into, or gaps within existing hedges that they can fill. They generally aim to do approximately 100m in a planting day, but this is  dependent of the number of volunteers present. If you have more than 100m, then CPRE could organise multiple days throughout the season to continue the work.

For laying, the land criteria has a few more requirements. In specific, it requires an existing hedge that has at least 2 plant species present and, is less than 14ft tall with stems that are not too thick, so that they can be easily moved by the volunteers.

If you have any questions or would like to get in touch about participating in the project, please contact Eve from CPRE at [email protected]. 
 

Hi, my name is Grace, and I’ve recently stepped into the role of Assistant County Adviser for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. I joined the NFU in November 2024 as a Regional Administrator, and I’m delighted to now be taking on this fixed-term secondment role for maternity cover.

I grew up in rural Somerset and later studied Criminology at Oxford Brookes University, graduating with a BSc in Criminology in 2024. During college and university, I spent my summer holidays and Christmas breaks working on a local dairy farm and with a rural events company in Devon. Those experiences really sparked my interest in agriculture and made me realise it was the industry I wanted to be part of.

In my spare time, I’m an active committee member of my local Young Farmers Club, where I regularly take part in a wide range of activities — from Tug of War and the YFC Pantomime to organizing events and supporting local fundraising initiatives. I also play netball and enjoy running!

Although I don’t come from a farming background myself, working across different areas of the agricultural sector has made me passionate about encouraging young people into the industry—especially those who may not have considered it simply because they didn’t grow up on a farm.

I’m really looking forward to getting out and about in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and working more closely with members and stakeholders on the issues that matter most to them.