The extremely warm weather has certainly brought challenges, with yields below those of previous years and livestock farmers struggling to find enough grass to feed their stock. Hopefully we will be getting some more rain in the next few weeks!
All the members I have spoken to are now feeding winter forage, which will place additional cost pressures on businesses in the coming months. Alongside this, we have seen an increase in field and machinery fires compared with previous years.
We are extremely grateful to the fire crews across Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland for their hard work, as well as to the farmers and land managers who have supported them during these incidents.
Blakesley Show
August kicked off with a fantastic day at Blakesley Show on 1 August, where we spent time speaking with members. We also welcomed Northamptonshire PCC Danielle Stone, Sarah Bool MP and Stuart Andrew MP for discussions about the issues affecting the farming community.
Among other things, we discussed the funding needed to tackle rural crime and the importance of reforming the planning system so that farmers can build vital water storage infrastructure.
We also met with the Northamptonshire Police Rural Crime Team for an update on rural crime across the county.
One particularly positive development is that the team is looking to adopt the EyesOn app. This would provide a direct, two-way communication channel with the farming community and help to improve intelligence sharing. The app would also enable users to report crimes directly, helping to ensure that more incidents are recorded. We will keep members updated on when this goes live.
Back British Farming Day
Back British Farming Day returns on 9 September, and we will be engaging with councils across LNR.
Meetings are planned with councillors from Leicestershire County Council, North Northamptonshire Council, West Northamptonshire Council and Rutland County Council.
We are grateful to the members hosting these visits. Welcoming councillors onto farms provides the perfect opportunity to demonstrate first-hand the challenges facing our farmers and rural communities.
We will also have a stand at Melton Mowbray Livestock Market on Tuesday, 8 September, alongside the farmers’ market. This will give us an opportunity to engage with members of the public, raise awareness of British farming and champion local food production.
Next county meeting
Our next county meeting will take place on 22 September, and we are delighted to welcome Scott Pepe, NFU Head of External Affairs, as our guest speaker for the evening.
Scott will provide an update on everything happening in Westminster and give us some insights on the new Labour government under Andy Burnham.
Keep your eyes on your inbox for the invitation - and we will be enjoying a hog roast afterwards.
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