Your Leicestershire, Northants and Rutland county NFU update

Marie Charles

Marie Charles

LEICESTERSHIRE, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE & RUTLAND COUNTY ADVISER

Harvest has truly started, with the warm weather having kick-started earlier than usual.

The LNR NFU calendar was busy in June, with two main events taking part in LNR – our pre-harvest health and safety event and our county meeting with NFU President Tom Bradshaw!

Health and safety event

We organised the Pre-Harvest Health and Safety Event, kindly hosted by Simon and Anna Smith at Lyndon Farms.

Members were welcomed with bacon rolls (and iced coffee as it was a hot day!) before going round the four stations:

  • Sarah Stevens, NFU farm safety and transport adviser, held a session on the guidance on legal trailer weights, age restrictions and speed, as well as showing attendees how to check a trailer safety check
  • Leicestershire and Rutland Police Rural Crime Team gave an update on how to prevent farm theft during harvest season
  • Jason Powell from National Grid covered how to prevent machinery coming into contact with overhead power cables, and what to do if you hit or see someone hit one
  • Leicestershire Fire Service gave some practical tips on how to prevent machinery overheating and what to do it a fire starts 

Members went away with a training certificate, as well as BASIS and NRoSO points. 

LNR June county meeting

On 30 June, we were very lucky to welcome NFU President Tom Bradshaw to LNR for our county meeting.

We kicked things off in the afternoon with the Next Gen Forum. We invited young members across LNR to attend this discussion with Tom, chaired by Oli Lee, NFU Midlands Livestock Board chair. Many topics were covered, including the new government reshuffle, the SFI 2026 scheme and fairness of the supply chain.

We followed the forum with a barbecue for all members, during which Tom gave us all an update on current NFU work and recent key wins, followed by a Q&A. It was, all-in-all, a very successful event! 

July and August will be quieter with events with many people harvesting, but your NFU LNR team is keeping busy. 

Next week (commencing 13 July), we are meeting with the leader of Leicestershire County Council and will present to him our key asks. We will meet with the Leicestershire County Council rural estate management team too to talk about everything county farm related. 

We will also be reaching out to MPs during the summer recess and organise some meetings and on-farm events ahead of Back British Farming Day taking place on 9 September. 

Stay connected - join the NFU LNR WhatsApp group

Join our county WhatsApp group to keep up to date with the latest news and events.

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Local news

Severn Trent’s Environmental Protection Scheme (STEPS)

STEPS 2026 is here

Familiar to many farmers, land agents and estate owners across our region, STEPS is part of our Farming for Water catchment management programme.

STEPS provides practical funding and expert advice to help farmers make improvements that work for their farms and support local water quality.

Every farm is different, and STEPS is designed to help farmers identify the right action for the right farm. Like STEPS 2025, STEPS 2026 is based around 6 core objectives, all of which are designed to support your farm and benefit water quality. 

Last date for application will be 11 December 2026.

For more information about STEPS and to apply please use the link attached.

To find your catchment click here

Apply here

Local news

Anglian Water Farmer Training Grant

The grant is available to all farm/amenity land management businesses in the Anglian Water region.

It's aim is to raise knowledge of land management practices, with a focus on improving water quality, with particular focus on:

  • soil management
  • nutrient use efficiency 
  • reduced pesticide use / IPM e.g. FACTS, knowledge exchange events such as Groundswell

One grant of 50% of the training / event cost, up to a limit of £600 is available per farm / amenity land management business.

T&Cs - applications must be approved before course / event is booked and payment made.

  • One application per business for a single attendee from that business
  • Excludes legally required training e.g. PA courses and NRoSO annual update courses
  • Successful applications will be notified within 2 weeks of application being received
  • Successful applicants contact details will be shared securely with Ricardo Ltd to enable payment
  • Proof of payment must be submitted to Ricardo Ltd before 1st March 2027 or grant funding may be lost

Application closing date 18 January 2027. The grant is budget restricted and will be granted on a first-come, first-serve basis for relevant applications, and could be closed at any time.

www.anglianwater.co.uk/business/help-and-advice/catchment-services 

Take part

Local news

Rutland Neigbourhood Mental Health Cafe

Drop in support for when you're struggling to cope, supported by Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland NHS

Times

Thursday - 5.30pm - 8.30pm

Sunday - 4pm - 7pm

Venue

Pepper's - A Safe Place, 2a High Street, Oakham, LE15 6AL

Contacts
Mobile 07955 344126 or email [email protected]