Your Wiltshire county NFU update

The Wiltshire & Swindon Local Nature Partnership (LNP) has now been launched, bringing together partners to drive landscape scale nature recovery, water resilience and community engagement across the county. The LNP recognises that farmers are central to delivering this change and is keen to ensure they are fully involved in shaping ideas and projects on the ground. Simon Smart sits on the LNP board, providing a direct link into the farming community. Members are encouraged to feed in any views, priorities or concerns via the board or through your county advisors Katie and Grace to help ensure the LNP reflects practical, on the ground delivery.

If anyone has any questions, please get in touch.

Eurasian beavers have been living wild in Wiltshire since the late 2000s, and have become established across the county, predominantly in the Bristol Avon catchment, and more recently in the Hampshire Avon catchment and river Kennet.

Simon Smart (Smart Land Management and Ecology) and Gareth Harris (consultant ecologist and county recorder for Wiltshire Mammal Group) have launched an advisory service to provide advice, information and help to landowners in Wiltshire who are once again learning to live with beavers.

They are planning a series of events in 2026 in collaboration with organisations such as Beaver Trust and Natural England, we will share any updates on this when we hear more.

Please get in touch if you need some help, via the website or email [email protected]

Wiltshire YFC County Chair, Hermione Moore, attended the NFU Conference at the ICC in Birmingham by the kind invitation of NFU South. She has kindly provided a brief overview of Day One of the Conference.

The conference was focused on Building Farming Resilience. The first address from Prof Tim Lang was around ‘Are we taking food resilience seriously?’ was insightful. His research sheds light on what we as farmers need to do to ensure we are secure for the future.

Following this Harry Smit a Food System Analyst addressed the conference on ‘Farming residence: An international Perspective’. He compared food production in the UK to that around the rest of Europe and further afield highlighting how we should focus on markets closer to home.

Dimitry Grozoubinski, ExplainTrade Director and Gail Soutar, NFU Head of Trade and Business Strategy spoke about Building Farm Business Resilience. Finally Political Keynote, Defra Secretary Emma Reynolds made announcements on the SFI, innovation and productivity grants to close out the day.

Overall, it was an eye-opening day for me. It really outlined the need for change within British Agriculture in order to ensure we are resilient for the future.

You can still watch the sessions on NFU Online.

New NFU Officeholders
Following Conference 2026, NFU Council members held their annual AGM which saw Tom Bradshaw re-elected as President and the election of two new members on to the national officeholder team. Paul Tompkins was elected in as NFU Deputy President and Robyn Munt elected as Vice-president. Meet the new team here.

Carriage of Dangerous Good – Continued Exemptions for Agriculture
In February it was announced that there would be continued exemptions for agriculture in the Carriage of Dangerous Goods regulations following hard NFU lobbying. More information on this NFU win and to check that you are compliant can be found here.  

Make a Pledge for Safety
The NFU is asking farmers to make a pledge on one thing they would do differently to make their farm business safer, after the HSE’s latest work-related fatality figures revealed that agriculture has the highest rate of fatal injury per 100,000 workers. Make your pledge here.

Wiltshire Council has launched Digital Wiltshire, a new online portal designed to keep residents and businesses informed about the progress of gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure being upgraded across the county.

This new portal supports delivery of the government's Project Gigabit programme, which aims to deliver full fibre connectivity upgrades to rural and hard-to-reach areas by 2032.

Through Digital Wiltshire, users can access:

• interactive mapping: View Building Digital UK open market review (OMR) information on fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) upgrades as we receive it, including 'Ready for Service' (RFS) status.
• connectivity classifications: Understand coverage categories (White, Grey, Black, Orange) and what they mean at premises and location level.
• guidance and support: Access FAQs, check availability, and find links to national resources such as Building Digital UK, Ofcom, and Think Broadband.
• community engagement: Participate in surveys for example to report mobile 'not spots' and share experiences to help gather evidence to improve coverage.

See ARCGIS: Digital Wiltshire(opens new window) for more information. If you have any enquiries email [email protected]

Wiltshire Council need as many people as possible, particularly those living and working within rural Wiltshire to report mobile ‘not spots’ as they encounter them. They are trying to target all parts of Wiltshire as widely as they can. Please use the below link to submit. 

Please note a mobile ‘not spot’ is either a non-existent service or a service that is regarded as poor.

Mobile Connectivity in Wiltshire - to submit mobile ‘not spot’ locations

The future aim is to create a clear, interactive map showing where coverage gaps have been reported across Wiltshire and which mobile network operators were notified, in order to try and improve or remove ‘not spots'. 

Wessex Water will once again be offering fertiliser spreader calibrations to those with arable land or managed grassland in SGZ catchments in Dorset (excluding Poole Harbour) and Wiltshire. The calibration of fertiliser spreaders will be undertaken by an SCS engineer in accordance with the Agricultural Engineers Association, National Spreader Testing Scheme (NSTS) and the service will be carried out by an engineer accredited by the Agricultural Engineers Association.

Wessex Water will cover the cost of a fertiliser spreader calibration carried out between 15th January – 30th June 2026 with up to three nitrogen-based products.

To apply for this funding, please follow the link below and complete the application form. Once completed your details will be forwarded to SCS, who will be in contact with you to arrange your test. On successful completion of the fertiliser calibration a NSTS Certificate will be awarded for that machine. 

Link to register for a fertiliser spreader calibration: Fertiliser spreader calibration application form

Link to map of eligible catchments: Eligible catchments for fertiliser spreader calibrations

The Environment Agency has released a video for farmers and contractors on slurry store construction and SSAFO regulations. It explains slurry and silage storage management, the benefits of getting it right, and how to stay compliant. Please click below to watch the video.

For more information: 

Farming Rules for Water: Guidance on Farming Rules for Water – NFUonline

SSAFO Regulations: Silage, Slurry and Agricultural Fuel Oil storage – what you need to know – NFUonline

The Government is trialling a replacement Nutrient Management Planning tool (to replace PLANET/MANNER NPK) and they are calling for farmers to test the beta version, please see below for more information on the planning tool and how to get involved.

What’s involved?

As part of the Private Beta, you’ll get early access to the tool and help shape its development by:

•       Using the tool to create nutrient management plans and log fertiliser applications

•       Taking part in short diary studies and 1:1 interviews to share your feedback

•       Receiving support from our team throughout the process

Who can take part?

Defra are looking for farmers and advisers in England and Wales with experience in arable, grassland or mixed farming. You don’t need to have used PLANET or MANNER-NPK before.

Interested?

If you’d like to join the Private Beta you can join via this link, it should take roughly 5-10 minutes to sign up: https://defragroup.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cwN96PqObXkBjzU

Hi, my name is Grace, and I’ve recently stepped into the role of Assistant County Adviser for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. I joined the NFU in November 2024 as a Regional Administrator, and I’m delighted to now be taking on this fixed-term secondment role for maternity cover.

I grew up in rural Somerset and later studied Criminology at Oxford Brookes University, graduating with a BSc in Criminology in 2024. During college and university, I spent my summer holidays and Christmas breaks working on a local dairy farm and with a rural events company in Devon. Those experiences really sparked my interest in agriculture and made me realise it was the industry I wanted to be part of.

In my spare time, I’m an active committee member of my local Young Farmers Club, where I regularly take part in a wide range of activities — from Tug of War and the YFC Pantomime to organizing events and supporting local fundraising initiatives. I also play netball and enjoy running!

Although I don’t come from a farming background myself, working across different areas of the agricultural sector has made me passionate about encouraging young people into the industry—especially those who may not have considered it simply because they didn’t grow up on a farm.

I’m really looking forward to getting out and about in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and working more closely with members and stakeholders on the issues that matter most to them.