County show
Once again, this year’s county show was a great success; thank you to all who visited the NFU/ NFU Mutual marquee and took time to speak to us.
Thank you too to Paul Tompkins, NFU deputy president, who stepped in to attend at the last minute, when NFI Vice-president, Robyn Munt, was unable to be there, and to the Staffordshire group secretaries, regional and policy colleagues and RABI volunteers who hosted visitors to the marquee.
A massive thank you as well to the staff and members of the Staffordshire and Birmingham Agricultural Society who work so hard every year to make the show such a great event.
Congratulations to Leek, Waterhouses and Rushton Spencer Group Secretary, Alan Dickinson, and Lichfield, Rugeley and Tamworth Group Secretary, Simon Spencer, who both received SBAS long service awards, marking 26 years’ and 25 years’ service respectively.
Staffordshire Local Nature Recovery Scheme
After months of delays the Staffordshire Local Nature Recovery Scheme public consultation is finally open and runs until 5pm on Monday, 27 July 2026. The county council will be holding three drop-in consultation events for farmers and landowners around the county:
- Thursday 11 June – Westwood Golf Club, Leek – 10.30am to 2.30pm
- Thursday 18 June – Darnford Moors Gold Club, Lichfield – 3pm to 7pm
- Friday 19 June – Stafford County Showground (Boden Room) – 10.30am to 2.30pm
The council will have four laptops and screens at the drop-in events to sit with farmers and go through the mapping, with help from Chris Seabridge and Associates. They also hope to have example printed maps if time allows.
Further information can be found online
Rural crime
The NFU Mutual has recently published its annual Rural Crime Report, based on the figures for 2025. It shows the cost of rural crime has again fallen in the past year, by 21% across the Midlands, but has raised concerns about “worrying increases” in key areas with agricultural and livestock thefts on the rise. You can read more about this at:
I have asked the NFU Mutual if it’s possible to have a breakdown in the crime figures for Staffordshire. Please remember, I meet regularly with Staffordshire Police, so if you do have any concerns about rural crime, please let me know and I can raise them.
SFI to open soon
Defra have confirmed that they are inviting a small number of farmers who are eligible for window 1 to apply from around 18 June, to test the application service; before an anticipated wider roll-out for SFI 26 window 1 from 30 June 2026 for small farms and farms without an existing ELM (Environmental Land Management) revenue agreement.
The NFU will continue to provide the latest information and updates on SFI on our dedicated online page.
Cheadle, Eccleshall and Stone win!
Finally, congratulations to Danni Mulligan and the Cheadle, Eccleshall and Stone Branch team, for their recent win in the annual skittles match against Stone YFC and Stone YFC Advisory.
After many years of trying, they have finally wrestled the trophy away from the Stone YFC Advisory team!