Recent and forthcoming meetings
bTB meeting
On 30 April we held a well-attended meeting at the county showground to discuss bovine TB, with a focus on the government’s TB Strategy and discussion on how we can protect the gains made, in terms of a reduction of TB, now that wildlife control has come to an end.
My thanks to NFU TB Adviser Mike Weavers, and Farm Clinical Lead Vet for Glenthorne Vets Emma Crust, for their presentations and to the members who attended and contributed to the conversation.
Several members are already using the ibTB - Mapping bovine TB (bTB) in England and Wales map as a resource to help inform their purchasing decisions.
We continue to await the publication of the Government’s bTB Refresh Policy; however one thing we do know is that Defra has recently awarded a significant contract, worth over £15 million, to establish a new BVFF (Badger Vaccination Field Force) in England, aimed at expanding badger vaccination against bTB as part of a shift away from culling.
Initially, three areas have been chosen, these are in Shropshire, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire, although there is potential for more areas to be set up if there is sufficient interest. More information on this can be found online.
STAG meeting
Our next meeting will be a continuation of the event we held in March to discuss water resources.
Whatever sector you’re in, water is vital for your business. We cannot take water for granted and your abstraction, including from boreholes, may be at risk in the future, so we need to plan now for a changing climate.
WAGs (Water Abstraction Groups) are forming across the Midlands to provide a stronger, coordinated voice for agricultural abstractors and to support practical action on water resilience.
There has been sufficient interest to launch the STAG (Staffordshire Trent Abstraction Group), covering all of Staffordshire, but we still need more members to get involved. STAG is a not-for-profit network for Staffordshire agricultural and horticultural businesses that rely on abstracted water.
The meeting will be held at 7pm on Tuesday 19 May 2026 at Oakedge Shooting Ground, Wolseley Bridge, Stafford, ST17 0XS. More information on this can be found online.
Health and Safety
On 7 May we joined forces with Warwickshire NFU and held a farm health and safety event, kindly hosted by John Plumb at Southfields Farm.
The meeting gave members an opportunity to hear from National Grid, NFU transport on safe loads (trailers) and fire and rescue services.
My thanks to John for hosting, all of the speakers and to Startin Tractors for providing a tractor and trailer for the event.
Health and safety is always a difficult topic to address; however, in the last ten years, almost one person a week has been killed as a direct result of agricultural work. Many more have been seriously injured or made ill by their work.
In Britain, there were 23 worker fatalities in 2024/25 and a fatality rate roughly 21–22 times higher than the all-industry average. The most recent HSE figures are even worse, with UK farm fatalities for the 2025/26 reporting year rising to 34. Since 1 April this year there have been at least six deaths on-farm due to accidents, that’s one per week. This is an issue that we must come together as an industry to address.
Please take time to look at the NFU’s Take 5 Stay Alive campaign or the Yellow Wellies resources.
Mental Health Week
We're coming to the end of Mental Health Week 2026, which started on 11 May.
I’ve been involved in the farming industry for more than 40 years, and the number of crises I’ve witnessed in those times are too numerous to mention. I know from first hand experience how tough things can be.
Over the last few years, in particular, there has been little respite and with the current cost pressures caused by the conflict in the Middle East, already tight margins are being squeezed even further, not helped by the reduction of BPS payments to a negligible level.
Your NFU is working with the government at the highest level and regularly feeding back to its banking contacts to ensure farmers are supported after new analysis from the Bank of England highlighted the financial strain farmers are under as fuel and fertiliser costs continue to fluctuate.
It’s no surprise that these ongoing pressures are having a detrimental impact for many in our industry, but there is help available: There is an excellent booklet published by Yellow Wellies, called ‘Mind Your Head’, with hints and tips of how you can look after yourself, as well as contact details for organisations that can help you. There are also some great tips and resources on the Mental Health Awareness website.
Please take care of yourselves and those around you and keep talking.
County show
One place you can meet socially and have a chat is the NFU and NFU Mutual marquee at the county show in a couple of weeks’ time. The marquee will be in its usual spot, with RABI keeping the refreshments flowing, and Paul Sargeant and his team providing delicious hog roast baps on both days of the show.
On the Wednesday of the show, we will be welcoming our recently elected NFU Vice-president Robyn Munt to the show. Robyn will be at the show all day, and speaking at the drinks reception, which will be held at 5pm in the marquee, to which you are all welcome.