SPEAK to a farmer and he or she will tell you that one of the main challenges for the business today is dealing with all the paperwork required by the regulatory bodies governing British Agriculture. How is it possible, they may well ask, to keep up with it all and take the business forward at the same time?
Another issue is the increasing need to submit or download so much more ‘paperwork’ electronically.
Building on the success of annual events since 2010, Herefordshire Rural Hub is organising a fourth Herefordshire Rural Business Advice Day on Wednesday November 20.
This free event will be held at the Three Counties Hotel, Belmont Road, Hereford, from noon to 7.30pm.
Drop-in clinics are being held throughout the day so that farmers can bring along their own records and get help with completing their Soil Protection Reviews and NVZ records, or registering their Waste Exemptions online.
There will be advice on how to apply for and complete environmental stewardship claims and cross compliance will also be well covered.
This year there are four presentations, covering cross compliance and environmental issues in Herefordshire, employment law and agricultural wages after the abolition of the Agricultural Wages Order, apprenticeship schemes in agriculture, horticulture and forestry, and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Reform.
More than 40 businesses and organisations will be present, representing many aspects of rural business including business development, financial and legal matters, husbandry, environmental and stewardship schemes, livestock record keeping, cross compliance, computing and broadband, training, renewable energy, health and safety, and grant funding.
Once again Specsavers from Hereford will be on hand to carry out eyesight and hearing tests.
The local Safer Network team from West Mercia Police will be joined by Bob Haynes, the local traffic management officer, who will be happy to answer questions on traffic and mud issues.
Some businesses and organisations coming to the Herefordshire Rural Business Advice Day for the first time this year are the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board (including Dairy Co and HGCA), Halls Holdings Ltd, E and J Solutions Ltd, Purple Energy, European Bioenergy Research Institute, Growth Accelerator, Herefordshire Council’s Healthy Lifestyle Trainer Service, Farm Community Network (formerly Farm Crisis Network), and Campaign for the Farmed Environment.
Herefordshire Rural Hub has a history of being able to pull support organisations together to work as a network for the greater good of the local businesses and farming community.
The Rural Business Advice Day is a culmination of the work that is done on a daily basis to ensure that information is disseminated and circulated, particularly to the hard to reach and those who are less engaged.
For further details of the event visit www.ruralhubspartnership.co.uk, call Herefordshire Rural Hub on 01432 870033, or email hubhereford@hlcollege.ac.uk