Over 65 members attended to hear from guest speakers and get a glimpse of farming life at Manor Farm in Durham.
The day kicked off with a talk from Clare and Stewart who gave an insight into their business, their passions, their aspirations and also their businesses’ adaptation plans which are essential in order to tackle the changing climate and industry challenges.
Members were then treated to a farm tour, on three tractors, which enabled the first guest speaker, Tabitha Acton from the Soil Association, to speak in tandem with Clare in the field on soil health, herbal lays and grassland management, whilst viewing the sheep and cows.
After lunch, NFU Sustainability and Climate Change Adviser Dmitry Feoktistov, updated attendees on the work the Climate Team are doing and encouraged members to get in touch or invite him out on farm so he has real life examples when representing members at meetings and events.
This was followed by a talk from AHDB Senior Environment Manager Mary Vickers, who spoke about the recent Environmental Baselining Project, explaining how carbon stocks are being assessed and the role of a carbon footprint in deciding how to improve the environmental sustainability of your farm. Mary used hot off the press statistics from Clare and Stewart’s farm, which allowed some debate amongst the group when she presented the findings.
Attendees were joined on the day by NFU National Livestock Chair David Barton and NFU Livestock Adviser Phoebe Traquair. David gave a brief update on hot policy topics including the supply chain, EID and the NFU’s beef vision before taking questions from the floor.
A brilliant example of how commodity boards work
Poppy Smith, North Livestock lead, said: “Our farm Walk and Talk was so well attended, and we have had some excellent feedback from those who joined us.
“The day was a really brilliant example of how our commodity boards work, leaning on expert advice from industry specialists and how discussions can help shape policy going forward. Many thanks to Clare and Stewart for a fantastic day.
“Members really enjoyed hearing from our guest speakers, but also enjoyed mixing with like-minded farming friends on farm, in the sunshine. A real heartfelt thank you goes to everyone who made the effort to come along and make the day a great success.”