Your Suffolk county NFU update

Ella Thackray

Suffolk County Adviser

Hear the highlights from the last month in Suffolk.

As we head into Autumn, we head into AGM season here at the NFU. Over the summer your Suffolk County Committee have been planning how we can strengthen the NFU's presence within the county. The decision has been made to open up all branch meetings, so you are able to attend whichever event is of interest regardless of the host branch. We will be circulating a full calendar in future monthly County Voice Newsletters.

Branch AGMs

Bury st Edmunds, Haverhill, and East Cambridgeshire Branch - Monday 2 November, 7pm at Bury st Edmunds Rugby Club with guest speaker from Lovewell Blake Accountants
Contact to register: [email protected]

Diss Branch - Tuesday 3 November, 7:30pm at Diss Golf Club with guest speaker NFU Charles Hesketh
Contact to register: [email protected]

Suffolk Coastal Branch - Wednesday 11 November, 7:30pm at Halesworth Golf Club with guest speaker
Contact to register: [email protected]

Ipswich Branch - Tuesday 1 December, 10am at NFU Mutual Ipswich Office with guest speakers from Ceres Rural and Hectare Trading
Contact to register: [email protected]

Stowmarket and Sudbury Branch - Jan/Feb - TBC

Suffolk County AGM

Our Suffolk County AGM is coming up on the 4th November at Fynn Valley Golf Club. Breakfast will be served at 8:30 and we will be joined by Robyn Munt, NFU Vice President, to hear about how your NFU has worked for you over the past year. This is also an opportunity to raise any questions and discuss your issues and concerns directly with your officeholders.

Book your place: NFU Suffolk annual general meeting 2026 – register now – NFUonline

Rodenticide Management Training

Changes have been made to the requirements for buying rodenticide. In order to continue to be able to purchase professional-grade rodenticides, the new requirements mean farmers and growers will only be able to provide proof-of-competence in one of the following two ways:

Complete a CRRU-approved training certificate every five years.
Complete a CRRU-approved training certificate once, and be a member of a CRRU-approved CPD scheme.

The NFU are one of the providers of the Rodent Management Level 2 Certification. Our next course is on the 1st December at Claas UK, Saxham.

WATO Training

Required for transporting livestock over 65km (40 miles) on journeys of up to 8 hours. Available to NFU Farmer and Grower members and those linked to a membership.

Includes training materials and multiple-choice tests (paper based)
Takes approximately half a day to complete
Certificate is valid for life

The NFU are one of the providers of the Welfare of Animals in Transport Certification. Our next course is on the 1st December at Claas UK, Saxham.

Event

GRIP training for NFU East members

Farming families in Norfolk and Suffolk are being offered a practical day designed to tackle the conversations most keep putting off.

The one-day GRIP workshop (Goals, Reality, Insights, Planning) is deliberately small, with a maximum of 20 people.

It covers how to handle difficult conversations and disagreements without them blowing up, why people resist change and what to do about it, and how to get family and staff pulling the same way.

Everyone leaves with a workbook and their first steps written down, plus an optional follow-up session.

Amy Hughes, who leads the session, said: “Most farms aren't short of good ideas, they're short of conversations that go anywhere.

“It might be who's in charge of what, whether to spend money on a new shed, a change the younger generation wants and the older one won't hear of, or who takes over.

“It's so common for the same argument to go round for years, and it's not because anyone's being awkward.

“When someone digs their heels in, it's usually because the change feels like losing control, certainty or a bit of who they are. Once you understand that, it gets a lot easier to move things forward."

The workshop is on Tuesday 10 November at Elveden Village Hall, near Thetford, starting at 9.30am.

Places are subsidised by AHDB Beef & Lamb through its Roots to Resilience programme, and numbers are limited.

Priority goes to English beef and sheep farmers, and a CPH number is needed to book. CPD points are available.

Start date

10 November 2026 at 9:30am

End date

10 November 2026 at 4:30pm

Location

Elveden Village Hall near Thetford

Book your place

Event

Red Tractor Autumn Member Meeting

This autumn, Red Tractor is getting out and about to meet members face-to-face to hear what's happening on farm and talk about the issues that matter to you.

These member meetings are an opportunity to meet the Red Tractor team, hear the latest from the scheme, including the Standards Review, ask questions and, most importantly, share your views directly with them.

Start date

24 November 2026 at 1:00pm

End date

24 November 2026 at 3:00pm

Location

Claas UK, Saxham