The Agriculture & Rural Affairs Forum is designed to initiate debate and further understanding of key subjects for future farming.
A format has been developed to encourage greater interaction between YFC members and guest speakers and for discussion points to be captured and fed back to NFYFC, industry and policymakers. Relevant industry organisations exhibit at the event to provide further information and to gain feedback from YFC members. The forum demonstrates local food sourcing through its locally-sourced buffet, during which further conversation can take place.
Held at the NFYFC annual convention on the Saturday morning, the forum is open to all YFC members, supporters and guests. The event is supported by Defra and chaired by the current Agriculture & Rural Affairs Steering Group (ARAC) chairman.
ARAC Forum 2011
Leading industry experts will be joining YFC members at NFYFC’s agriculture and rural affairs forum held during annual convention weekend.Topics up for discussion and debate in May 2011 will be:
- Promoting British agriculture
- CEJA (European Young Farmers) and farming in Europe
- Promoting British agriculture - London 2012.
Promoting British agriculture focus for annual convention 2011
The big guns are travelling to Blackpool to help YFC members promote British agriculture.Sainsbury’s Annie Graham, Natural England’s Poul Christensen and President of the WI Ruth Bond are amongst the lead speakers at the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs’ (NFYFC) annual agriculture and rural affairs forum. They will be working with their discussion groups to devise ways of taking the topic into YFC hands.
To celebrate NFYFC re-joining CEJA (European Young Farmers) and to continue to highlight the importance of European politics, CEJA President Joris Baecke flies over from the Netherlands to discuss European farming and CEJA’s position on support for the next generation of farmers in the forthcoming Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Reform.
NFYFC chairman James Chapman and former agriculture chairwoman Katherine Sealy represented YFCs at the CEJA General Assembly in April. James and Katherine spoke with the Agriculture Counsellor at the UK Permanent Representation (UKREP) during their visit to Brussels and will encourage fellow YFC members to take an active part in CEJA.
“NFYFC represents 23,000 young people who have an interest in agriculture and the countryside. We want to make sure that we play our part in promoting our industry and are delighted to have such high-calibre speakers to spark debate and launch new challenges for YFC members. The feedback from the discussion groups will be used constructively, not only to shape future work of the national agriculture committee, but also to inform policy makers and industry organisations of our members’ concerns,” said Milly Wastie, chairwoman of the forum.
The British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB), in conjunction with NFYFC, will be using the forum to launch a new competition for YFC members to help promote British Wool Week.
A host of industry exhibitors will be joining the forum including the British Cattle Movement Service (BCMS), Lantra, NFU, Natural England, WI, DairyCo, CEJA, Sainsbury’s, Campaign for the Farmed Environment, NatWest and the British Wool Marketing Board.
The forum is being held in the Spanish Hall, Winter Gardens, Blackpool on Saturday 7 May at 11am and is sponsored by Defra and HOPS Labour Solutions. It is part of the activities at the NFYFC annual convention, which includes NFYFC competition finals, celebration of the year’s achievements, and the annual general meeting.
Am I prepared for a land-based career?
NFYFC and Lantra are working together to help YFC members improve their job skills and training for land-based industries
Lantra will be surveying YFC members during registration for the
Annual
Convention and at the ARAC Forum, but members can also fill in the
survey online: Please click http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NFYFC.
ARAC Forum 2010
The Riviera International Centre, Torquay
Your House
Cathrine Brabner, National Housing Federation, Adrian Maunders, English Rural Housing Association’s chief executive
Your Europe
CAP Reform and EU legislation: Nicola Clark, Defra, Mike Mackenzie, representative from the European Commission
Your Future
Clive Beer, head of UK professional services, Savills
European Commission invites views for CAP reform 2013
The European Commission’s website opens up the debate to the general public. Dacian Ciolos, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, has invited all interested EU citizens and organisations to join the debate on the future of the Common Agricultural Policy, its principles and objectives.
ARAC Forum 2009 programme
Winter Gardens,
Blackpool
Discussion Groups
Better Regulation
Richard Gregg – Defra – Manager of Defra’s Delivery Transformation Programme
Paul Meakin – Environment Agency – Business Communications Manager for Agriculture
Future Entrepreneurs
John Geldard – Plumgarths Local Sourcing Hub, Cumbria – farmer, retailer and entrepreneur
Tom Rawson – Clever Cow Organics, West Yorkshire – organic dairy farmer, retailer and entrepreneur
Making a Difference in Rural Areas
Madge Moore – Lantra – National Director for England
Previous Forum outcomes
2008 Forum results in How to Make a Difference guide
The guide was an outcome from the 2008 ARAC Forum when NFU/CLA office holders and politicians advised young farmers to make sure their voices were heard. The document, written in association with the NFU, is a direct response and outcome from the ARAC Forum and is a guide on the fundamentals of campaigning and lobbying from a local to national perspective. It is designed to help YFC members think about their own democracy as well as the democracy they live in.
2007 Forum results in Biofuels tour
A study tour was organised by NFYFC in April 2008 in response to a request made at the 2007 Agriculture & Rural Affairs Forum at the National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs’ (NFYFC) Annual Convention.
Members who took part in a discussion group on biofuels led by Somerset farmer and renewable energy champion Archie Montgomery, requested further information on systems in Europe. In answer to this request NFYFC, in conjunction with the NNFCC, organised a two-day study tour of German farming systems incorporating renewable technology.
The trip included visits to a decentralised oil mill in Semlow to see how farmers are encouraged to work together to bulk up oilseed volumes for a local oil processing plant; an on-farm dry-digestion plant at Hermannshof to learn about systems running solely on energy crops and biodegradable waste material as well as an on-farm wet-digestion plant. The Hermannshof visit showed how the plant generates power for the national gas grid and also uses 100% of the heat in a wood drying plant.
The group also visited the Fachagentur Nachwachsende Rohstoffe (FNR), the German Agency for Renewable Resources. Staff from the FNR and the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC), gave a series of presentations providing an update on current activity and future potential in the biomass, biofuels and biogas sectors, in Germany and the UK.
Find out more
Now, England's official information portal on anaerobic digestion, is a gateway to all the information about AD on one website. www.biogas-info.co.uk was developed by the NNFCC, with the support of Defra and DECC.
