In last month’s Milk Digest, I talked about a dedicated emissions area on our website we were developing containing a whole host of information, downloadable infographics and facts. The page is now live at www.rabdf.co.uk/emissions. The more people that can spread the word using these resources, the better.
So, whether you are a farmer, an industry organisation or someone interested in the sector, please get behind this and promote accurate facts about UK dairy emissions.
Agriculture is hitting the headlines again, with labour shortages in agriculture coming to light. News that farmers have to slaughter pigs on farm due to staff shortages in the processing plants is atrocious. Not only is this devasting to the farmers from a financial point of view, but the emotional impact must also be hard to manage. I hope the situation can resolve itself soon and normality can return before it is too late.
Foreign labour is very much still at the top of our agenda. Rarely a day goes by when we are not working on something to do with the issue, whether that be talking to the government and other industry organisations and gathering supporting evidence. We accept we have to try and encourage more of the domestic workforce onto farms, but that takes time. In the meantime, we still need access to foreign workers to help fill the gap. Hopefully, the penny will drop soon as more of these stories come to light.
On a more positive note, we were thankful to the HRH Princess Royal when she presented the Royal Dairy Innovation Award winners NovaPro with their award at her country residence, Gatcombe Park, last month. The award winners were joined by representatives from the RABDF and award sponsor CIEL Livestock. Now the countdown is on for the next Dairy Tech event in February. Stand sales have soared, and we are almost at capacity. So, February 2 2022, is shaping up to be a good event.
That’s all for now,
Matt