NFU News from East Anglia 17/01/2014 Who is to be the new NFU president? In an exciting election year we have elections for all three positions and nominations are confirmed as follows: Standing for NFU President: Adam Quinney and Meurig Raymond Standing for NFU Deputy President: Minette Batters, Thomas Binns, David Brookes, Rosey Dunn, Adam Quinney Standing for NFU Vice President: Minette Batters, Thomas Binns, Jonathan Brant, David Brookes, Rosey Dunn, Robert Lasseter, Guy Smith We’re holding a regional hustings event when you’ll have your chance to assess the candidates on Thursday 30 January 2014 at the NFU Regional Office in Newmarket at 3pm.Come along and question them and listen to what they have to say. Whilst all NFU members do not have a direct vote your county chairman and council delegate do so you will be able to discuss with them your preferences. Please book via [email protected] or tel 01638 672126. For details of the candidates click here. Join us at LAMMA 2014 The NFU stand at LAMMA, 22 & 23 January, East of England Showground, will be a hotbed of activity with the SPS team on hand, specialist advisers discussing pension auto enrolment, and insurance advice from NFU Mutual. In addition, the NFU will be launching a new affinity deal with Tracker and Datatag. NFU SPS advisers Richard Wordsworth and Anna Logan will be available to answer your queries, from cross compliance to mapping to CAP reform issues they're there to help and advise on the NFU stand in hall 7, stand 714/715. Hot drinks will be on offer on the NFU stand throughout the day as well as afternoon tea from 3pm. The NFU will be hoping to replicate its success from last year, when it won an award for Best Supporting Trade Stand at the event. The East of England Showground, Peterborough, is a new location for the show, more information on which can be found here. RPA supporting farmers at LAMMA The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) will also be at LAMMA to help farmers bring their businesses into the digital age. The Agency will be promoting its increasingly popular SPS Online service at the show, helping farmers, landowners and agents apply for paper-free CAP and rural development support. Bogus ‘government gateway’ email RPA is aware of a bogus email that is being sent to some of our customers who use our CTS Online and SPS Online systems. The email claims to be from the Government Gateway and tells the recipient that a transaction or payment could not be processed. The email is being sent from the email address ‘[email protected]’. This is not a communication from the Rural Payments Agency or the Government Gateway. Please do not respond to the email and delete it immediately. The email has an attachment which should not be opened as it contains a virus. Rules for Agri-Environment Scheme (AES) amendments in 2014 Natural England (NE) has outlined detailed rules for AES amendments and land transfers in 2014, the transitional year before new schemes come into play. The basic principles in 2014 are: No new land entered into ELS (unless the land is eligible for ELS under the transition arrangements for 2014) No extension to the term of the existing ELS agreements beyond the current end date. There’s more on NFU online on AES agreement amendments and any land transfers with an AES agreements. Natural England has provided a detailed Q&A on land transfers and scheme amendments. The voice of British farming NFU East Anglia, Agriculture House, Willie Snaith Road, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7SN Tel: 01638 672100 Fax: 01638 672101 Email: [email protected] NFU News from East Anglia 17/01/2014 NVZ closed periods and rule changes in 2014 Farmers in NVZs designated prior to 2013 need to be aware that the end of the closed period for application of organic manures with high readily available-N on medium and heavy soils has been extended to 31 January. Farmers should also be aware that no more than 30m3/ha of slurry or 8t/ha of poultry manure can be spread in a single application between the end of closed period and the end of February (for all land use and soil types) and that 3 weeks must be left between each individual application. More information on the changes to NVZ rules introduced in 2014 can be found on NFU Online. Sugar Board nominations – 21 January closing date Board nominations are open until 21st January at 6pm. This year there are effectively 4 positions open (three full term and one 1 year term) due to two current board members stepping down and a new position being created upon this year’s officeholder elections. Board nomination papers can be found here nominees need to provide a short statement and 5 supporting signatures to qualify as a candidate. Suffolk PCC consults on Suffolk Constabulary Financial Plan The Suffolk Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore, is asking the NFU for views on the medium term financial plan for the county’s police force. Two options are presented; the first results in maintaining the precept at its current levels and the second would see an increase of 1.997%. With no increase the budgetary savings required would obviously be larger with a potential to impact on policing levels. A detailed assessment has been prepared and anyone interested in seeing a copy should email [email protected]. Metaldehyde update Heavy rain and land drain flow the week before Christmas saw metaldehyde concentrations in the Essex rivers, notably the Chelmer, rise considerably on 18 December. Despite continued rainfall on saturated land, these peaks were relatively short-lived and more recent results are mostly back below 0.1ug/l. The water companies will continue to monitor these sites weekly and will advise if the observed levels change markedly. The most recent results are as follows: River Metaldehyde Date Sample Change from Concentration (ug/l) previous result River Great Ouse (Bedford) 0.036 17 Dec 13 Lower River Great Ouse (Offord) 0.088 22 Dec 13 Higher River Gipping (Sproughton) 0.036 19 Dec 13 Stable River Nar (Marholm) 0.003 21 Dec 13 Stable River Colne (Colchester) 0.059 22 Dec 13 Stable River Wissey (Stoke Ferry) 0.006 19 Dec 13 Stable River Wensum (Costessey Pits) 0.011 22 Dec 13 Stable River Chelmer (Langford) 0.048 07 Jan 14 Lower River Blackwater (Langford) 0.037 07 Jan 14 Lower River Stour (Langham) 0.04 30 Dec 13 Lower River Bure (Belaugh) 0.0081 07 Jan 14 Stable River Waveney (Shipmeadow) 0.022 02 Jan 14 Stable Mimmshall Brook (North Mymms) 0.047 02 Jan 14 Stable Please continue to follow best practice guidelines click here when using slug pellets. For more information, please contact: [email protected]. The voice of British farming NFU East Anglia, Agriculture House, Willie Snaith Road, Newmarket, Suffolk CB8 7SN Tel: 01638 672100 Fax: 01638 672101 Email: [email protected] NFU News from East Anglia 17/01/2014 Waste wood use for animal bedding Following reports of chipped Grade C waste wood (basically MDF) being delivered to farmers for use as animal bedding we are reminding members that Grade B and C waste wood is not allowed to be used for animal bedding. Only clean waste wood (Grade A) can be used and requires a U8 waste exemption to be in place. The Environment Agency has provided guidance on this matter and more information can be found on NFU Online. Forestry Transition News Defra has announced £30 million to support to help meet the target of 2,000ha of tree planting, equivalent to about four million trees, in 2014/15. This investment will be split between £6 million on new planting in 2014/15 and £24 million on woodland management, including maintaining the benefits of past woodland creation projects. To meet the target of planting 2,000ha, the Forestry Commission may offer a further window for grant scheme applications this spring. Further information can be found on the Forestry Commission website. Forthcoming events Keep up to date with free events happening in your area The Farm Advice Service (FAS) runs events focusing on cross compliance and a range of environmental topics, and events are listed on its website. The Campaign for the Farmed Environment and Catchment Sensitive Farming also run free events providing farmers with invaluable advice on resource management and efficiency, reducing waste and agri- environment schemes. Visit their websites for more information. Joint Dairy and Livestock Board meeting with AHVLA TB leads The next NFU regional dairy and livestock board meetings are combining on Monday 3 February to meet with Andy Paterson, AHVLA (Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency) lead for TB across East Anglia and the south east, and Susanna Taylor, the lead TB Veterinary Officer for East Anglia. The meeting, taking place from 12:30pm – 3:50pm at Agriculture House, Willie Snaith Road Newmarket, CB8 7SN, will provide an update on current TB rules and discuss any communication issues that members may have experienced with AHVLA on TB issues. This is an open meeting to NFU members and if you plan to attend please email [email protected] or [email protected] or call 01638 672100 to book your place. Water under pressure – securing a fair share for irrigators The NFU has organised a series of meetings in each of the region’s key catchments to discuss short and long term pressures on abstraction licenses and how farmers can respond by improving the security of their access to this vital input.