News

A nationwide survey of farmers in arable and grassland regions is being carried out by the Royal Agricultural Society of England as it launches a major initiative to help improve the management of soil and water resources across UK agriculture. The RASE is asking farmers to spare a few minutes to complete the online survey which can be found on their website www.rase.org.uk and will remain open until 10th February.

Partnerships & Projects Officer: £22,221 35hrs/wk (Flexitime)

A resourceful, effective communicator to develop and implement partnerships, projects and strategies in relation to our network of voluntary organisations and will help maintain our regional profile. A minimum of 3 yrs' relevant experience, proven organisational, admin and IT skills and an enthusiasm for the arts are essential. Joining a team of six in Warwick, includes evening and weekend work.

Deadline: Noon, Wednesday 8th February.
Interviews: Monday 20th or Tuesday 21st February. (Nb this is different from some advertised information)
Application via application form only. Application pack available for download at www.liveandlocal.org.uk

HONORARY SECRETARY

The Fillongley Agricultural Society has a vacancy for Secretary. This is a demanding role with some periods of low activity but with a workload that rises to a very hectic schedule as The Annual Show (held 2nd Sunday in August) approaches.

The role would suit someone who possess very good forward planning skills, excellent organisational skills, good secretarial skills and enjoys meeting and working with new people. Some knowledge of Agriculture and Horticulture would be ideal but is not essential. However, the successful candidate will be supportive of and committed to, the objectives of the Society. Mainly, to protect and further the interests of Agriculture.

Interested? Please write with details of your experience and reasons for your interest to FILLONGLEY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, The Cliffs Farm, Tippers Hill Lane, Fillongley. Coventry CV7 8DJ or email richard@tippershill.freeserve.co.uk

The British Pie Awards are back for a fourth year and have started to accept entries.

The event, organised by the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association, will take place on 25th April at St Mary's Church in Melton Mowbray.

Pies can be entered into 18 different categories, and will be judged by a panel of celebrity chefs, experts and food writers. Closing date is: 13th April 2012

For further details and how to enter please visit: www.britishpieawards.co.uk

Rural Hub members can get a third off the price of tickets down to £10 from £15 - a saving of £5 on every ticket bought!

Award-winning grow-your-own spectacular The Edible Garden Show, UK’s most talked about event, makes a sensational return to Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire on March 16-18.
Scheduled for the beginning of the growing season, the show is crammed with money-saving ideas, a thrilling mix of celebrity gardeners, chefs, livestock experts, growers, unique products, cookery demonstrations and fun-filled interactive events for the whole family.

Voted the UK’s Most Popular Garden Event of the Year in the annual Horticultural Channel Awards - ahead of established fixtures such as The RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Gardeners World Live - this ‘must-see’ 2012 show boasts an additional exhibition hall and larger animal marquee. From bees, chickens, goats and pigs to seeds, sheds, wellies and wormeries - there is something for everyone.


Simply call the ticket hotline on 0844 338 8001 and quote the Rural Hub members’ code - (RHUB12) - to qualify for this special discount deal. You can also book tickets on-line but don’t forget to register your exclusive code.

Visit www.theediblegardenshow.co.uk for more information. Terms and conditions apply.

HEART of ENGLAND fine foods (HEFF) is once again running its West Midlands Tastiest Sausage Competition which will this year take the format of ‘One Big Sizzle Off’.

Butchers from across Shropshire, Staffordshire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Birmingham and the Black Country, are all eligible to enter their best sausages to compete for glory.

The ‘One Big Sizzle Off’ will take place on Thursday 26 January at the flagship AGA store in The Mailbox, Birmingham. This will be the 11th year HEFF has held the West Midlands Tastiest Sausage Competition to coincide with Farmhouse Breakfast Week and its ‘Shake Up Your Wake Up’ campaign.

There are two categories for butchers to enter; Tastiest Breakfast Sausage and Tastiest Speciality Sausage. These will be taste tested on the day by a panel of judges including experts from the food industry and consumers.

The deadline for entries is Friday 20 January.

For more information and to enter call Vicki Collins at HEFF on 0121 377 8724, email vicki.collins@heff.co.uk or visit the news pages at www.heff.co.uk.

Fruity juices needed for the West Midlands Tastiest Juice Competition.

Create a Cox’s Apple Juice, blend of juices or a smoothie to enter into the HEART of ENGLAND fine foods Juice Competition.

In previous years this competition has attracted an excellent amount of PR and will also be featured in the next Local Food Guide.

The competition will take place on Thursday 26 January 2012 as part of Farmhouse Breakfast Week 2012 and runs alongside the ‘One Big Sizzle Off’ Tastiest Sausage Competition, this will again receive excellent media coverage. The judging will take place at the prestigious AGA shop located in the Mailbox, Birmingham.

For further information on this year’s competition please visit: www.heff.co.uk

During Farmhouse Breakfast week (25th - 29th) Warwickshire Rural Hub and FACE (Farming and Countryside Education) would like to take a class of children onto a farm to teach them about where the breakfast they eat comes from. We would like to be able to show the children either some chickens, crops, or dairy cows. We would also like to be able to have a room/barn on the farm where we can give the children some breakfast (cereal & toast, something very simple). It will be for a maximum of 30 children.

As there is no funding for this event we were looking for a farm that would be willing to host the event at no cost. We will source the food and travel costs from other sponsors.

If anyone is willing to participate in this event and host it then please contact Carrie at the Hub Office on 02476 858242 or email carrie@rase.org.uk

Earlier this year the government announced that it wanted Britain to have the best broadband provision in Europe by 2015. The intention is to achieve a universal service commitment with 100% of premises having access to 2Mbps or above and 90% having access to Superfast broadband by 2015. Clearly, considerable improvements to the existing delivery infrastructure need to be effected in order to achieve this. It should be noted that these targets are % of premises, rather than geographic spread, so those in rural areas will be likely to achieve far lower speeds than in urban areas, although the current problems are not limited solely to rural areas.

Funding has been made available through Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) of which Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire have been allocated £4.07m, with Warwickshire receiving the lion’s share of just over £3m. This figure will need to be match funded with capital and we have made an application for this to the WCC budgets.

The areas to receive funding have been determined by calculating those properties where it is anticipated that there will be no commercial service provided without intervention. These are mainly remote rural areas, although some other areas are included owing to technical difficulties that make a commercial service unlikely

WHAT ARE WE DOING?
Warwickshire County Council (WCC) are the lead partners, with Coventry City Council (CCC) and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) in a project to provide improved broadband services in the so-called “white areas” - ie those areas that will not be met by commercial services.

The project is now becoming more clearly defined, although successive announcements from Govt do seem to muddy the waters somewhat.
We are in the process of preparing a local broadband plan, which will:
• define the geographic and consequent economic and social impacts of current broadband provision (or lack thereof)
• show what demand there is likely to be for broadband services
• attempt to show what provision is planned for the future
• identify the gaps between demand and provision and detail what will be required to achieve the targets mentioned above
• identify how communities will work to help achieve the targets
• identify what upper tier authorities and other public bodies can bring to the project in terms of aggregated spend and other resources
A key component of our bid for Govt funding and of a successful tender process will be the provision of robust data that shows:
• What is the scale of the broadband problem - geographically, economically, topographically (impact on technologies employed), socially, culturally, etc
• What demand is there
• How much would businesses/people be prepared to pay for broadband provision
• What infrastructure is currently available
• What can communities do for themselves (with technical and financial assistance)
It should be noted that we are in the unusual position of preparing a tender and at the same time preparing a business case to entice providers to bid for the provision of services in these hard to reach areas - if they cannot see a return on their investment they are unlikely to tender and so services will not be provided. For that reason demand stimulation and demand registration are key components of the project.

We are encouraging people to complete our surveys (one for residents and one for businesses) that can be found on the current project web page at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/superfastbroadband - if people both live and work in an area they can complete both. The more responses we can get, especially if we get clusters from particular villages, the better the chance of getting improved broadband in that area.

HOW ARE WE DOING IT?
We have developed an integrated communications strategy that includes a website (currently under development), regular electronic briefings, face to face meetings and PR which utilises local press and radio.

Most importantly, we need to get our message out through Community Champions - these are people who live and/or work in the rural areas and who are prepared to do anything from spreading the word, through encouraging people to register their interest in the project, to running local campaigns to really drive up demand in an area and so increase the likelihood of a potential bidder prioritising that locality for the provision of services.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
We are currently developing a range of resources that can be used by Community Champions to run campaigns in their area so that they can generate interest in the project and encourage people to register that demand. To assist with this you could:
• Email leighhunt@warwickshire.gov.uk to register as a Community Champion - you will then be sent information and collateral as it becomes available to help you to run a campaign in your area
• Email leighhunt@warwickshire.gov.ukto be added to the email list to receive regular updates on the project
• Make sure that you encourage all of your contacts to register their demand at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/superfastbroadband

How good is your broadband?
A key component of your Local Broadband Plan will be evidence of where specific problems exist across the sub-region. We therefore have to map this information and in order to do that we need your help.

If you have not already done so please complete the broadband survey that is located at www.warwickshire.gov.uk/superfastbroadband - there is one survey for domestic use and one for business use, so if you run a business or work from home please do both - and encourage your neighbours to do it as well because the more people that respond from a given area the higher priority it will be.
How close can fibre get to your property?

A (usually) simple way to improve broadband speeds is to put fibre to the BT cabinet. This is a green box by the side of the road which provides telecoms to a village or group of properties. We need to map the exact locations of these boxes so that we can establish what benefits might be gained from this type of upgrade.
Please register the location of your BT cabinet and any others you may come across. You can do this at http://4sfb.crowdmap.com/

Job Title: Regional Development Officer
Job Purpose: To provide an effective and professional service to support the sustainable development of Care Farming in the West Midlands.
Key Responsibilities:Communication, Providing Advice and Guidance, Planning and Organizing, Monitoring and Reporting
Promotion and Signposting

CFWM has a portfolio of resources and expertise to support the successful development and operation of Care Farms. The CFWM Service Development Team will continue to develop and enhance the existing resources making them available, across the Region, to the team of Regional Development Officers in order to develop and maintain a high quality, consistent, accredited standard of service across the West Midlands.

Each Regional Development Officer will be allocated a geographic responsibility for one of the following territories:
Staffordshire & Shropshire
Herefordshire & Worcestershire
Warwickshire and Birmingham

Please send CV and covering letter to enquiries@cfwm.org.uk. Deadline for submission is 30th November 2011.

£20 MILLION FOR FARMING, FORESTRY and HORTICULTURAL BUSINESSES
A new £20 million fund to help farming, forestry and horticultural businesses to become more efficient at using resources has been launched. The scheme aims to help businesses to become more competitive and more profitable, whilst reducing the impact of farming on the environment.
Farmers, foresters, woodland owners, agricultural contractors and horticulturalists can apply for grants of up to £25,000 to invest in green projects, new machinery and improvements to animal health and welfare so their businesses can grow in an environmentally friendly way.
The Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme will fund projects that:
• save energy and reduce carbon emissions;
• reduce dependence on artificial fertilizers through better use of manures;
• improve soil quality;
• improve animal health and welfare;
• save and recycle water; and
• promote woodland management by processing timber more efficiently.

For more information go to http://rdpenetwork.defra.gov.uk/funding-sources/farm-and-forestry-improvement-scheme

The application form will be available on the site from the 16th November 2011. The 1st round of the scheme is open from Wednesday 16 November 2011 until 17 January 2012
If you have further questions and your business is based in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire please contact the West Midlands RDPE delivery Team.

RDPE Delivery Team West Midlands
Defra, Government Buildings, Whittington Road, Worcester, WR5 2LQ

Contact: RDPE Delivery Team
Contact number: 01905 768854
Email: rdpedeliverywestmidlands@DEFRA.GSI.GOV.UK
Website: www.rdpenetwork.defra.gov.uk/funding-sources/farm-and-forestry-improvement-scheme

The Big Lottery Fund has launched a campaign to help rejuvenate the UK’s rural communities, many of which have been badly hit by the loss of local amenities and the economic downturn. Village SOS Active and the Village SOS Competition have both launched.

Village SOS
The aim of Village SOS is to raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities that people living in rural areas across the UK face. It aims to inspire people in rural villages across the UK to get involved and make a difference in their communities. At the heart of this is a focus upon promoting social enterprise as an engine of rural development.

In 2010, BIG awarded £2.5m to six villages who have been filmed for a BBC television series.

Village SOS Active
Village SOS Active seeks to build upon and maximise the legacy of the main Village SOS programme, particularly the captive audience of the BBC television series. The intension is that viewers will be encouraged to set up their own village enterprises and Active will help keep this enthusiasm alive while making the process of establishing a thriving social enterprise that much easier by connecting people to the advice, support and guidance they need.

Village SOS Active will provide a number of useful resources for people considering creating a social enterprise project in their own village.

Village SOS Competition
There will also be a small grants programme, known as the ‘Competition’, for exciting and original projects. The Competition is a £5.3m (UK wide) small grants programme that will award ‘prizes’ for the start-up and development of innovative and exciting community enterprises. It aims to encourage fresh thinking and showcase what can be achieved through engagement with Village SOS Active. The prizes will be between £10,000 and £30,000 for a mixture of capital and revenue, (up to £20,000 available for capital funding). It hopes to award 250-300 prizes.

For more information please go to www.villagesos.org.uk

Are you looking for timber and woodfuel opportunities?

Did you know subsidised technical advice is currently available to you?

For further information please contact
Martin B. Jones (Heartwoods Woodland Champion Advisor), The Woodland Stewardship Company Ltd on 01743 289670 or 01743 249940
or E-mail info@woodlandstewardship.com
Website: www.woodlandstewardship.com

A large number of food and drink contract opportunities have been released during July on CompeteFor by F&B contractors ARAMARK and Bon Appetit Caterers.

The contract opportunities are for food products including meat, fish, dairy supplies and cheeses, to supply ARAMARK’s and Bon Appetit’s large-scale catering operations at London 2012.

In order to bid for these opportunities contractors will have to be registered and fully published on CompeteFor.

For further details, please visit: www.competefor.com
or
Contact the Compete For Helpdesk on: 0845 2177804

Bob Slater has taken over the role of Co-ordinating the Campaign for the Farmed Environment for Warwickshire. The Campaign is a vital opportunity for the industry as a whole to demonstrate what it can do on a voluntary basis, without the imposition of even more legislation.

The main aims of the Campaign are well publicised but bear repeating:

• Ensure ELS agreements contain the right options in the right place for maximum environmental benefit
• Retain the level of un-cropped land, managing at least a third to support habitat for birds, insects, mammals and resource protection
• Increase the current level of voluntary environmental management, ie land that is not currently in Environmental Schemes, in England by at least 30,000Ha

WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Renew your ELS or consider joining the Scheme if you are not already in.

Register all your voluntary measures, wherever you farm - we can do this for you just let us know what you are doing and where. If every farm has 3-4% of arable land in Campaign voluntary measures or a combination of voluntary measures and key target options in ELS the Campaign will succeed.

If you want any advice on the best management of key target options in ELS or Campaign measures - call Bob Slater

If you know of neighbours who would like a visit or a call - let Bob know

Specific advice on ELS Options is available form Natural England - they may be able to arrange a free visit from one of their advisors or contractors

Current commercial advice is that:
• entering ELS you should at least breakeven, but
• 3-6% non-compensated managed set aside will have a considerable impact on your income even at current high price levels.

Remember that input costs are rising, particularly oil based ones, so your break even price is also rising. This makes ELS more attractive and compulsory unpaid management more expensive.

For more information please contact:

Bob Slater, Warwickshire Campaign Co-ordinator, Office: 01926 318280 Mobile: 07971 227 348.

Contact: Bob Slater
Contact number: 01926 318280
Email: bob.slater@cfeonline.org.uk
Website: www.cfeonline.org.uk

‘Young Talent of the Year’ is a series that celebrates the young working heroes of Great Britain.

Following the success of last two series, this year the search is on to find the UK's top talented young CARPENTERS, BAKERS, GARDENERS, TAILORS AND FARMERS of 2011.

This is an opportunity for people, other than dancers, singers and entertainers to finally step into the limelight. We want to showcase the unsung heroes at the heart of Britain.

We are looking for individuals aged 16-25 years who are skilled, true ambassadors for their trade and want to show the world their talent.

If you’re up for the challenge then apply NOW!

To apply please see contact details below.

Standard geographic charges apply and calls may be included in your telecom provider’s call package. Calls from mobiles may be higher

Contact number: 0161 244 3716
Email: youngtalent@bbc.co.uk

Warwickshire Rural Hub would like to welcome William Hodges as the New Arable Group Chairman. William graduated from Harper Adams University College with a BSc in Agriculture with Crop Production to follow on in to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. After 10 years he has returned to the family business of farming and agricultural contracting.

If you have any ideas regarding future meetings for the Arable Group, Soils Group or Grassland Group please see contact details below.

Contact: Jenny Gunnell
Contact number: 02476 858244
Email: jennyg@rase.org.uk

What is the Superfast Broadband Project trying to do?

Many areas of Coventry, Warwickshire and Solihull cannot get good broadband speeds. This is because the infrastructure (telephone lines and exchanges) is old and simply not able to meet modern requirements.

Their aim:
• Work with the public and private sectors to upgrade those exchanges that need it
• Work with the public and private sectors to install fibre, cable, wireless or other technologies to ensure that our most remote areas can receive superfast broadband

How it will be paid for:
• Use the combined spending power of public sector organisations to improve services to businesses and residents
• Bid for Government funding to help cover the cost of providing infrastructure to the hardest to reach areas

What do they need from you?
• In order to bid for funding they need to gather information about where the current service is not adequate
• They also need to be able to prove what effect this is having on businesses and communities
• To help with this they have compiled a simple online survey for residents and another for businesses, to complete this please go to the website

Website: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/superfastbroadband

Following the introduction to Precision Farming by Ian Beecher-Jones there is the opportunity to attend more in-depth workshops on this subject. Please register your interest for the workshops below. If there is enough interest HGCA will arrange the events for Hub Members.

Precision farming, does it pay?
What are the financial opportunities of precision farming?
The course will cover
1) How does PF work
2) The Cost: Benefit opportunities of precision farming
3) What’s variation costing me?
4) What’s inaccuracy costing me?
5) Making the decision
This course provides an overview of precision farming and the range of opportunities to explore the costs and potential benefits of adopting precision farming techniques through utilisation of the HGCA Cost: Benefit tool.

Precision farming for operators
The role of operators in a successful precision farming operation
1) The fundamentals of precision farming
2) How precision farming fits together
3) The role of the operator
4) Getting the basics right
5) Fitting it all together
This course is designed for operators new to precision arming and wanting to understand how it all works and how important their role is to making it all work.

For more information please contact the Hub Office

Contact: Jenny Gunnell
Contact number: 02476 858244
Email: jennyg@rase.org.uk

A new website has been launched to improve the accessibility of research findings for the UK’s forestry and timber sector www.woodinfo.co.uk is a partnership of public and private sector organisations working together to develop an improved service to facilitate better communication, collaboration and dissemination of research.

The partners are Forestry Commission Scotland; Scottish Enterprise; UPM Tilhill; James Jones & Sons Ltd, Edinburgh Napier University, The Scottish Forestry Trust and the Confederation of Forest Industries (UK) Ltd


Contact: The Forestry Commission
Website: www.woodinfo.co.uk

Closing date of call Friday 9th March 2012

LEADER are pleased to announce a further call for new applications to the LEADER programme for the Linking Communities and Land-based indutries Project.

How much funding is available?
This current call is for applications for funding between £5,000 - £15,000.

For full details and further information about this programme please visit their website www.warwickshireleader.net or to discuss your idea in more detail informally please contact the Programme Team: Tel: 02476 217741 email: leader@gardenorganic.org.uk

Closing date of call Friday 9th March 2012

LEADER are pleased to announce a further call for new applications to the LEADER programme for the Community Arts and Events Project.

How much funding is available?
This current call for applications is for applications between £5,000 - £15,000.

For full details and further information on the funding and how to apply please visit their website www.warwickshireleader.net or to discuss your idea in more detail informally please contact the programme team: Tel: 02476 217741 or email: leader@gardenorganic.org.uk

The Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme will fund projects that:
• save energy and reduce carbon emissions;
• reduce dependence on artificial fertilizers through better use of manures;
• improve soil quality;
• improve animal health and welfare;
• save and recycle water; and
• promote woodland management by processing timber more efficiently.

Farmers, foresters, woodland owners, agricultural contractors and horticulturalists can apply for grants of up to £25,000 to invest in green projects, new machinery and improvements to animal health and welfare so their businesses can grow in an environmentally friendly way.

For more information go to the website
http://rdpenetwork.defra.gov.uk/funding-sources/farm-and-forestryimprovement- scheme

The application form is now available on the website. The 1st round of the scheme is open from Wednesday 16 November 2011 until 17 January 2012

If you have further questions and your business is based in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire please contact the West Midlands RDPE delivery Team.
For all project enquiries - Email: Jo.Jury@defra.gsi.gov.uk
RDPE Partnerships and Programme Team Leader

The contact details for the RDPE team are:
DEFRA, Block A Spur 11, Government Buildings, Whittington Rd,
Worcester WR5 2LQ
Contact number: Office Direct Line - 01905 768854
Email: rdpedeliverywestmidlands@defra.gsi.gov.uk

A new £20m fund to boost profits for rural businesses and reduce their impact on the environment has been launched by Agriculture Minister Jim Paice.
The Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme (FFIS) forms part of Defra’s Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) and will be open to farming, forestry and horticultural businesses.
Eligible businesses can apply for grants of up to £25,000 for projects linked to Animal Health and Welfare, Nutrient Management, Water Resource Management, Energy Efficiency and Forestry.
Information about the grant including the application handbook can be found at:-
http://rdpenetwork.defra.gov.uk/news-and-publications/defra-news/20-million-for-farming-and-forestry-businesses
The application form will be available on the site from the 16th November 2011.
If you have further questions and your business is based in Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire please contact the West Midlands RDPE delivery Team at:.
RDPE Delivery Team West Midlands
Defra
Government Buidings
Whittington Road
Worcester
WR5 2LQ
Office Direct Line - 01905 768854
Email :- rdpedeliverywestmidlands@DEFRA.GSI.GOV.UK

Barclays Bank has created this £100 million fund designed to help farmers meet the costs of renewable energy initiatives like wind farms, solar panels, organic waste power and hydro plants.

Research undertaken by the bank has revealed that agricultural businesses are now keen to benefit from government support tariffs. More than a third of farmers would like to install renewable energy projects on their land during the coming year. The Barclays survey of 300 agricultural customers indicated that four out of five farmers recognise how renewable energy can save costs and 60% see it as a source of additional income. The funding provider expects around 80-90% of projects will be solar and wind farms as they are cheapest to build and their costs are forecast to drop by up to 50% in the next three to five years as demand rises and technology improves.

Eligible Activities
The loan can be used to meet the costs of renewable energy initiatives like wind farms, solar panels, organic waste power and hydro plants.

Who Can Apply
Farmers in the UK may apply.

For further information about this new Renewable Energy Fund, please call or visit your local branch of Barclays Bank and ask to speak to a Relationship Manager.

A range of practical, professional and pro-active support will be on offer to all farms with tourist accommodation thanks to Farm Stay UK which has secured £200,000 of funding from AWM through the Rural Development Plan for England for the Wake up to the Heart of the Country Project.

The project will start in the next few weeks and run over three years offering:
• On-farm, one-to-one, advice on how you could help your customers to learn about farming and the countryside and so make your business be more profitable by standing out from the rest.
• Targeted IT training
• Visits to examples of best practice
• Local food hamper scheme and links to other rural attractions
• Attracting new markets with marketing campaigns and press familiarisation visits
• Providing much needed research on business performance in this sector.

Events will be publicised through the Rural Hub so please watch this space.

Andy Woodward, Chief Executive of Farm Stay UK comments: “We are thrilled to have been successful in securing this funding from Advantage West Midlands. Our application focussed on the importance of farm tourism to the Heart of England region. Over £10 million is contributed to the West Midlands economy every year by Farm Stay UK members who offer quality accommodation and an opportunity for visitors to wake up to the countryside. The funding will be a massive boost to this tourism sector at a time when domestic tourism is high on the agenda for many travellers.”

Lastly, do you have meeting room facilities? We are looking for convenient rural venues for seminars so do let us know.

For more information please contact Farm Stay UK

Contact: Farm Stay UK
Contact number: 02476 696909
Email: admin@farmstay.co.uk
Website: www.farmstay.co.uk

Further to the recent update event please see below links to the relevant information:

Link to main page: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/sectors/32777.aspx

More info about exemptions: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/sectors/32779.aspx

Further info about the new system: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/sectors/115673.aspx

This web page has a link to the exemption registration system.
Guidance Booklet: http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Business/Changes_to_the_exemption_system_Final.pdf

• Think Manures - A companion to the Tried & Tested nutrient management plan giving practical advice to
encourage improvements in manure storage, handling and spreading practices. Think Manures has been
produced with help from the Environment Agency and AHDB.

• New to Nutrient Management Guide - A short leaflet making nutrient management simple by taking you through
the steps one by one.

Download from www.nutrientmanagement.org or request a hard copy. To request these free documents, or any of the free Tried & Tested nutrient management resources, including A3 record sheets and USB memory sticks, call 02476 858 896, email nutrientmanagement@nfu.org.uk or visit www.nutrientmanagement.org

By the end of April, farms within NVZs must be able to show:

• Records relating to slurry production and storage for the five-month storage period for cattle slurry.

• Import/export details must be included and up to date, along with sites and duration of use of FYM heaps.

• The whole farm limit for the amount of N produced during the previous year also needs to be recorded for the number and type of livestock kept on farm.

• If the farm was awarded the grassland derogation in 2010 you must send the EA records of livestock numbers, imports/exports of manure, fertiliser inventory and area of different crops to show they have complied with the terms of the grassland derogation.