The new Equality Act is set to become law from October 2010, replacing nine existing laws with a single Act of Parliament. The aim of the new Act is to make it easier for staff to understand their rights and employers to understand their obligations.

Covering issues from gender pay gaps to pre-employment health screening, the Act is far ranging and it is your obligation to ensure you comply. For more information visit www.equalities.gov.uk

After five days of negotiations (and what feels like months of campaigning) we finally have a new government. So, as David Cameron settles behind his new desk at No. 10 Downing Street, what will the next five years bring for the land based industries?

Looking at the Conservative’s manifesto, their policy focuses on “creating a more effective system of environmental stewardship” to protect the countryside whilst promoting the sustainable production of food.

They have committed to reducing on-farm inspections, abolishing the Agricultural Wages Board and reforming the Common Agricultural Policy.

Perhaps more controversially, Cameron’s party has also suggested a more proactive means of badger control in areas with high levels of bovine TB, perhaps pointing to a badger cull in the future.

But we must not forget that the Lib-Dems also feature in our new government and so their policies will form part of the new government’s plans. Promisingly, their manifesto promises to protect the natural environment while ensuring that farmers get a fairer deal.

Like the Tories, the Lib-Dems are committed to reforming the Common Agricultural Policy but they also have a focus on supporting hill farmers and providing funding for anaerobic digesters.

Unlikely the Tories, they are committed to increasing rights of access in the countryside.

Of course at this stage it is too early to tell how the new coalition government will agree it’s countryside policies, only time will tell…

You may have heard about recent proposals to build a new 8,000 cow dairy unit on land in Lincolnshire. This high profile project by Nocton Dairies Ltd will see a new herd of 8,100 cows established on a greenfield site, with cows housed apart from during the dry period and fed with forage and by-products from the surrounding area.

A bold proposal for sure but is this kind of intensive development good for the industry or will it simply draw negative attention that will ultimately harm the reputation of the whole sector?

Undoubtedly Nocton Dairies are not proposing anything wrong. There are plenty of herds where milking cows are continuously housed and there are many in the industry that would advocate this as a high welfare system because cows can be closely monitored and cared for. But this kind of approach does not necessarily chime well with consumers, who like to think of dairy farming as a pastoral enterprise with cows happily grazing. Already, emotive media coverage has spoken of ‘large scale factory farming’ in the same breath as ‘Nocton Dairies’.

But in fact their proposals are commercially sound and cow welfare should be exemplary, particularly when a full time vet will be on site – something that not many dairy units can lay claim to. The proposed development also has the potential to be a flagship for the dairy industry, something that other dairy farmers can learn from and be proud to be associated with.

Ultimately, one thing is for certain – this kind of enterprise will have a high profile and will attract attention towards dairy farming in a more direct way than we have perhaps ever seen before. The development therefore carries a huge reputational responsibility unlike that ever seen before on a UK farm. If Nocton Dairies is a successful business, with good welfare and performance standards then it will represent the very best of our dairy industry. But, should things go wrong, the problems will be hugely visible and this could have implications for every single farmer in the country. The public’s ignorance about farming may also be a threat and Nocton will have to be open and communicative to the public to garner support.

It will be interesting to see these exciting proposals develop in the coming months – for it is perhaps the first farming enterprise in this country where every farmer has a vested interest in it being successful.

As Britain deals with a prolonged cold snap, some commentators are starting to suggest that basic foodstuffs may end up in short supply or prices may start to rise. Already in some hard-hit areas groceries such as milk and fresh seasonal vegetables are in short supply as farmers struggle to get their produce harvested and away from the farm. And shops are also becoming short of stock as consumers ‘panic buy’ in case the weather keeps them at home. Industry experts are attempting to reassure consumers that products will remain available to discourage panic buying and maintain supplies but have not ruled out price rises if the weather continues…

The government has launched its first major food policy document in more than fifty years in which it sets out its vision for the UK food system in 2030.

The report, entitled ‘Food 2030’ was launched by Defra Secretary, Hilary Benn MP, at the Oxford Farming Conference on January 5, and has been widely welcomed by the farming industry. It focuses on securing food supplies to meet growing demand whilst protecting and enhancing the environment.

The document paints a picture of an industry where consumers have a choice of healthy sustainable UK-produced food and where UK farmers are profitable, competitive and resilient. The report also envisages an agricultural industry that makes a significant contribution to rural communities whilst being a global leader in food sustainability.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Food 2030 also focuses on carbon, aiming for the UK to have a low carbon food system with waste being reused, recycled or used for energy generation.

Undoubtedly this document paints a positive picture for the food industry moving forward. But, as always, the devil is in the detail – it will be interesting to see how this new vision translates into policy in the coming years.

A recent report by the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) looked in detail at internet use amongst gardeners. The report shows that the growth in use of the internet by very keen gardeners now stands at 74 per cent which almost matches the national average of 76 per cent.
Around seven out of ten use the web to get information about products and services. And, over the last three years, there has been a substantial increase in the role of the internet as a source of inspiration for the garden, with 27 per cent indicating that they now use the web for this purpose.
The report highlights the blurring of channel definitions in retailing and describes how online and mail order shopping are merging into one. It also questions whether the worth of online sales should be the only measure of the value of retailers having a web presence and explores the internet’s role as a means of driving footfall.

Following weeks of protests by dairy farmers across Europe the EU has announced a €280 million package to boost the dairy sector. Yet as soon as the package of support was announced, the UK government criticised the move, suggesting that it was going to slow down the necessary process of CAP reform and claiming it would support inefficient milk production.

Figures released by DEFRA show that average farm business income for all farm types was slightly higher in 2008/09 at £50,900 compared to £48,200 in 2007/08. This reflects firmer prices during the year for a range of commodities, particularly pigmeat, lamb and beef and to a lesser extent milk. Farmers also saw an increase in the value of their single farm payment due to a more favourable exchange rate compared to the previous year.

Of the individual farm types, specialist pig farms, grazing livestock farms and dairy farms all saw modest increases in income, whilst cereal farms, poultry farms and horticultural units saw a small decline in income.

Every year around 250,000 people are motivated to plant more than a million trees through a series of events organised up and down the country to celebrate National Tree Week. Officially starting the winter tree-planting season, this programme has been taking place since 1975 and offers communities the opportunity to get involved with their local environment. Events are organised by Tree Council members, schools, community groups, tree wardens and many others and are guaranteed to be fun, inspiring …and a little bit dirty! You can organise your own event – find out more at  www.treecouncil.org.uk

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has announced a review of England’s wildlife and ecological network to see if it is capable of responding to the challenges of climate change and other pressures.

The review will look to see what benefits could be gained by connecting sites within designated areas and outside them through re-wilding initiatives – allowing farmland to return to its wild state which could include reintroductions of species such as lynx and elk.

But the proposal looks certain to be controversial. The Country Land and Business Association has already branded the proposals ‘misconceived and ill thought out’ and it will be interesting to see how Defra balances its food security agenda with its wildlife and countryside plans…