Sir Don Curry Visit 2006

Sir Don Curry, the driving force behind the government’s Sustainable Farming and Food (SFF) Strategy, carried out his annual regional visit on the 12th October 2006. Sir Don wished to obtain first hand experience of some of the important initiatives currently taking shape. 

Beginning his visit with SFF Chairman John Lee, Sir Don met with some of our region’s young farmers. Naturally, bovine TB was a key issue, but he was also impressed with the progress that the young farmers have made, gaining a clearer understanding of the challenges they face. 

The visit continued at Dartmoor National Park. Topics included rural research priorities in the region, renewables, alternative crops and public procurement. Sir Don was particularly impressed with the recent success of the Bath District Farmers who won a contract with Bath and North East Somerset (BANES) Council to supply food and drink products to 53 council establishments. Jeremy Padfield, Chair of BDF and Adam Stratton were present to describe their achievement. Sir Don Curry was so impressed that he bestowed them the title of “pioneers” and said he very much looked forward to revisiting this initiative.

The group of farmers started out as a dairy buying group but have diversified; now producing beef, cereals, oilseeds and eggs. Their success is largely due to their willingness to share resources and marketing solutions and work in collaboration, thus trading on the group’s strength, rather than on individual outputs.

The contract started in August supplying care homes and schools. FARMLINK provide further assistance in supporting the groups aims. Feedback received from pupils and staff has been very positive including comments like “we didn’t know food could taste this good”. BDF have secured funding until 2009.

The afternoon saw the launch of the ‘Reconnecting Farming and Food’ FACE trailer, a resource designed to bring schoolchildren closer to understanding where food they eat comes from and also to help farmers prepare for hosting school visits. This will prove an invaluable resource during the Year of Food and Farming, set to run in English schools during the academic year 2007/2008.

Up on Dartmoor, Cathy Heath, who manages the Dartmoor Hill Farm Project informed the group about developments towards a sustainable future for Dartmoor Hill Farming. They are now facilitating the Dartmoor Skills Apprenticeship, a Dartmoor fire contingency plan and Meat Dartmoor focusing on ways in which collaboration can aid their businesses.

This was the first visit to an upland area for some of Sir Don’s team and thanks were given to all involved for their hard work in bringing the strategy to fruition. He urged the region to continue their commitment to the agricultural sector, building on the progress highlighted in the newly published SFF Progress Report. This Report documents achievements over the last three years, as well as acknowledging where momentum has been lost. 

The region has seen enormous changes since the launch of the SFF Plan, both in its governance as well as in the farming and food sector. Organisational structures have since changed, and there is a notable increase in effective collaboration between regional organisations. It is for these reasons that a more focussed and simplified Plan will be drawn up and consulted upon prior to summer 2007. The revised consultation draft is currently out for consultation until early October. Please take the time to review the Plan, or pass it on to a colleague if appropriate.