AHDB Food & Farming

In this episode, we hear from Pippa Handley, Senior Knowledge Exchange Manager (Pork) and Emily Boyce, Knowledge Exchange Officer – Skills Development (Pork). 

 

Pippa takes us through the recent changes in the knowledge exchange and knowledge transfer teams, as well as outlining the plan for our autumn pig farmer events. Emily then talks about the stockperson training courses and how they might look over the coming months, as well as what we are offering via webinar in the meantime, with a focus on new entrants and small-scale producers.

Pippa Handley, Senior Knowledge Exchange Manager (Pork)

Emily Boyce, Knowledge Exchange Officer – Skills Development (Pork)

Find your regional contact and get in touch: ahdb.org.uk/meet-the-team

Meet AHDB’s Pork knowledge exchange team in this short video

Catch up with recent webinars in our event archive: ahdb.org.uk/pork-events-archive

Find upcoming events and webinars in our events hub: ahdb.org.uk/eventsFind out about our stockperson training: ahdb.org.uk/ahdb-pork-skills-training and let us know your thoughts on our training offer for 2021 by completing our short survey here.

For the latest industry data, analysis and insights from the pork sector, to help inform your business decisions visit: ahdb.org.uk/pork/pork-markets

Sign up to our weekly pork e-newsletter: ahdb.org.uk/keeping-in-touch

For information, guidance and support during the coronavirus pandemic, visit our dedicated web page: ahdb.org.uk/coronavirus

We'd love to know what you think of our podcasts. If you’d like to give your feedback, please complete our short questionnaire, which will help us to improve the podcast on an ongoing basis.

Defra published a summary and response to the government-led Request for Views on AHDB in April 2020.

In this episode, John Bates talks to AHDB Chair, Nicholas Saphir, on a new pledge to levy payers having listened to feedback. Commitments outlined by Nicholas include a new strategy, featuring key areas of farm performance and marketing (both home and overseas) underpinned with independent evidence, improved communication, a new ballot on the levy and reviews of AHDB’s governance and levy systems.

Listen out for upcoming episodes featuring Nicholas on AHDB's new strategy, and learn more about AHDB’s commitment to levy payers here:

ahdb.org.uk/commitments

We'd love to know what you think of our podcasts. If you’d like to give your feedback, please complete our short questionnaire, which will help us to improve the podcast on an ongoing basis.

In this episode we are joined by three speakers who discuss the AHDB Beef & Lamb marketing and advertising activity that has taken place this year in response to Covid-19. This activity was supported by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Meat Promotion Wales (HCC) as part of the ring fenced funding.

These promotional campaigns include our Make It Steak activity, which was brought in near the beginning of lock down to tackle carcass imbalance, and our ongoing Make It Lamb campaign, which was introduced to coincide with the new season lamb being on shelves. This week (1-7 September) is also Love Lamb Week - an industry-wide initiative to encourage everyone to celebrate the goodness and versatility of lamb.

Speakers:

Gareth Renowden who is AHDB’s senior marketing manager for beef and lamb talks us through what goes into the planning behind the campaigns.

Carrie McDermid who works in the retail engagement team at AHDB tell us about the engagement levels we saw from the campaign and how supermarkets got involved

Karl Pendlebury runs the Quality Standard Mark (QSM) scheme for AHDB and is the link with butchers and the foodservice industry. He talks about how butchers shops adapted to the sudden increase in demand as well as how we maintained engagement with food service and chefs through the Premier Steak Night match initiative on social media.

Useful links:

Love Lamb Week https://ahdb.org.uk/lovelambweek

Make It Lamb https://ahdb.org.uk/make-it-with-lamb-share-the-message

Make It Steak https://ahdb.org.uk/steak-night

Premier Steak Night https://ahdb.org.uk/premier-steak-night

Simply Beef & Lamb https://www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/

AHDB Marketing https://ahdb.org.uk/marketing

Quality Meat Scotland podcast https://www.qmscotland.co.uk/qms-podcast

The Middle East may not be the first place on your list of markets for foodstuffs produced on UK farms but Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar represent significant opportunities for exports in the coming years. This is according to a report commissioned by the UK Government and produced by Promar.

 

In this episode John Bates talks to Caroline Dawson from Promar and AHDB’s Senior Exports Manager Lucy Randolph to hear about the AHDB export strategy to connect levy payers with new customers.

You can sign up for the webinars here:

Understanding Dairy Export Opportunities: UAE – Tues 9 Sept, 10-11.30am

Understanding Dairy Export Opportunities: Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait – Thurs 10 Sept, 10-11.30am

Feedback survey: We'd love to know what you think of our podcasts. If you’d like to give your feedback, please complete our short questionnaire, which will help us to improve the podcast on an ongoing basis.

It’s that time of year again, harvest 2020 is underway and farmers are coming to the end of what has been a challenging year for growing crops.

In this episode, we’ll hear from growers from across the country. They’ve had to deal with extreme weather, a global pandemic and the uncertainty Britain’s exit from the EU continues to pose for markets. Despite this, as we’ll hear, there have been mixed fortunes.

You can find information from the AHDB harvest results service on our website. Visit ahdb.org.uk/harvestresults. Here you can find the latest data and commentary from our Recommended Lists trials all around the country.

For the harvest progress in Great Britain visit ahdb.org.uk/cereals-oilseeds/gb-harvest-progress. On this page you can find an overview of the latest figures and use our interactive tool below to learn about harvest progress across Great Britain. 

Thanks to:

·         Richard Payne (Manor Farm, Somerset)

·         James and Michael Parker (Sherwood Farms, Leicestershire)

·         Andy Bason (Newhouse Farm, Hampshire)

·         Pip Robson (Chathill Farm, Northumberland)

·         Tom Mead (Bleak House Farm, Cambridgeshire)

·         Paul Gosling (AHDB)

·         Vikki Campbell (AHDB)

What a year it has been, too wet then too dry, crops failing to establish, followed by worries about the ground being suitable for getting new seeds sown. 

Extreme and severe weather patterns cause more weather worries, too dry, too hot, you know the form and the indications are that the harvest will be a disappointment – who’d be a farmer eh?

In this podcast, John Bates speaks to Dr Toby Willison, Executive Director of Operations at the Environment Agency and Dr Nicola Dunn Resource Management Scientist at AHDB about the impact of flooding and how farmers can use this to their benefit. We are aware the issues extreme weather can cause to farmland, the specialists discuss the support for farmers including the ELMS (Environmental Land Management Scheme) along with other resources to help businesses as well as the community.

Weather impacts all sectors, it’s a time for farmers and growers to come together and encounter extreme weather conditions to help our communities. 

Check out our GREATsoils programme and ensure you’re managing or upgrading your field drainage

Visit our weather page which includes sector-specific guidance including soils information, weather warnings, heat stress, irrigation management, managing grass and dealing with water supplies 

Look at our Weather Hub to find out information on air temperatures, rainfall, relative humidity, sunshine duration, wind speed, soil moisture, soil temperature and solar radiation

For any further information contact our specialist Nicola Dunn. 

In this episode we are discussing how potato growers should prepare their crops and stores for the first season without CIPC.

Guest speakers:

Book a free one-to-one potato store visit via our new Storage Network

19 August: Desiccation - how to apply diquat alternatives to potato crops

16 September: Desiccation - how effective are diquat alternatives for potato crops

In this episode, Ben Williams, KT Senior Manager, speaks to three industry experts about some of the work that has been taking place to help farmers become more energy efficient as we move towards net zero. He also discusses AHDB’s strategic aims in terms of the environment with Jon Foot, Head of Environment.

Find out about the potential for releasing energy from slurry, the scope for improving energy efficiency on farm and how to make the most of renewable energy sources.

 

Jon Foot, Head of Environment, AHDB

Jon Swain, Senior Consultant, NFU Energy

Martin Barker, National Pig Sales Manager, Duynie Feeds

Find out more about GrowSave and our technology review: ahdb.org.uk/growsave

Ammonia emissions factors: ahdb.org.uk/news/outdated-ammonia-emissions-factors-set-to-be-revised

For the latest industry data, analysis and insights from the pork sector to help inform your business decisions visit: ahdb.org.uk/pork/pork-markets

Sign up to our weekly pork e-newsletter: ahdb.org.uk/keeping-in-touch

For information, guidance and support during the coronavirus pandemic, visit our dedicated web page: ahdb.org.uk/coronavirus

We'd love to know what you think of our podcasts. If you’d like to give your feedback, please complete our short questionnaire, which will help us to improve the podcast on an ongoing basis.

In part one of this episode, independent sheep consultant Liz Genever talks to two of AHDB’s Challenge Sheep farmers, Sam Jones and Rob Hawke, about their approach to sourcing replacements this year, given the restrictions associated with coronavirus. There is also mixed forage supply following a dry spring, so she explores whether this is influencing their decision to retain more animals or opt to buy in replacements. Liz also covers health precautions and things to consider when buying in replacement stock. 

In the second part of this episode, Liz is joined by Ted Ogden who is the Farmstock Sales Manager & Auctioneer at CCM Auctions in Skipton, North Yorkshire. As a member of the Livestock Auctioneers' Association (LAA), Ted gives an update on the availability of sheep sales this autumn within livestock markets and provides reassurance on the changes we can expect to see given the current coronavirus restrictions. There is also the option of sourcing replacements online, such as Signet Breeding Services who are offering the ability to buy pedigree ewes and rams from their website this year. 

Sam Jones and Rob Hawke are part of AHDB’s Challenge Sheep research project. The aim of the project is to understand the influence of the rearing phase of ewe lambs and shearlings, and how it affects their lifetime performance and productivity. Sam Jones runs a third-generation sheep farm in Worcestershire. He has 1,050 breeding ewes and he buys in and breeds his own replacements. Rob Hawke farms with his wife Anna near Salisbury in Wiltshire. They are first-generation farmers and they have been farming for 12 years. They run 1,000 performance recorded Romney ewes and they breed and keep their own replacements. Both farmers discuss their key findings from the project so far. Visit https://ahdb.org.uk/challenge-sheep to find out more about the project.  

Signet Breeding Services are offering the ability to buy pedigree ewes and rams from their website this year with their new sheep for sale page.  They also have a flock finder page to identify the nearest recorded flock to you. Visit https://www.signetdata.com/ to find out more.

The advice from the Livestock Auctioneers' Association (LAA) is for farmers around the country to continue to support their local livestock markets and engage with them as they try and come out the other side of the pandemic. Vendors are now allowed back in the ring but with only one vendor representing their stock. Buyers need to contact the market to pre-book a place within the sale ring. Social distancing must be observed, and a face covering must be worn. Expect there to be clear perspex screens around the ring. It is a different buying experience, but farmers can still go and sell or buy their livestock. Visit https://www.laa.co.uk/ for more guidance.  

If you would like further advice on sourcing the right replacements for your flock, please speak to your regional Knowledge Exchange Manager who can be found at the bottom of our Beef & Lamb homepage https://ahdb.org.uk/beef-lamb 

The breeding decisions taken by dairy farmers are crucially important to the productivity, health and welfare of our national dairy herd. 

In this episode Knowledge Exchange Manager Becky Miles talks to Keith Gue from Huddlestone Farmers in Sussex to understand how he makes his breeding decisions and the impact it’s had on the herd.

Find out more about genetics on our  Dairy Breeding & Genetics page.

Feedback survey: We'd love to know what you think of our podcasts. If you’d like to give your feedback, please complete our short questionnaire, which will help us to improve the podcast on an ongoing basis.