Your Suffolk county NFU update

Ella Thackray

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. 

Register: Register for NFU East Training - WATO and Rodent management

 

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. 

Register: Register for NFU East Training - WATO and Rodent management

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

Register Here

Local news

Call for landowners to display free wildfire signs

Wildlife Wise and SFRA (Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service) have launched a campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of wildfires, and are inviting landowners to offer their support by displaying signage across the county.

Last year, from January to mid-November, SFRS attended 310 fires in the open at varying levels of severity, an increase of 105 incidents compared to the previous year.

The campaign aims to protect wildlife in coastal, heathland and woodland habitats by raising awareness of how fires in the open start and how they can be prevented.

To support the campaign, landowners are invited to display signage in visible locations on their estates to make the public aware of the dangers of lighting disposable barbecues and campfires outside designated areas, and of the steps they can take to help prevent wildfires.

Get your free signs

Local news

Bolton - Farmers Friday Recycling Deal

FARMER'S FRIDAY
Bolton's Committment to Support Local Farmers

Bolton Recycling & Waste Management have partnered with Suffolk Young Farmers on a new promotion for free desposal recycling and have extended the offer to NFU members.

Bring in the following recycling on a Friday and they will make a payment per tone to Suffolk Young Farmers:

  • Cardboard
  • Clean Fertiliser Cans (HDPE Drums)
  • Clean Fertiliser and Seed Bags (Woven PP Sacks)

You will be suppled with a Waste Transfer Note each visit to ensure your compliance.

Loads can be mixed but must be bagged seperately.

The following grades can be delivered; however, they will be chargeable a thte time of visit or via regular account:

  • Bailing Twine
  • Silage Wrao
  • Crop Cover
  • Crop Fleece

You can deliver via tractor and trailer or wby 4x4 and trailer - but the offer is only on a Friday!

Address: Bolton Bros, Bramford Road, Great Blakenham, Ipswich, IP6 0SL.

Before your first visit, you must contact Boltons so they can link your account with the YFC promotion. 

Contact Boltons to book in your first visit: 01473 830948 or [email protected]