• 

Latest News/Events

The Power of the Internet Conference

Some experts are predicting that shopping on the Internet could command half of all sales by 2018!

Discover how you can use the power of the Internet to make your business more successful.

Speakers:

• Bill Pearson – Reaseheath College
• Tony Fear – Trana E-commerce
• Rob Ward - Onward Food and Retail Consultancy and Greenfield Online

The conference takes place at Reaseheath College on Wednesday, 13th February 1.00 – 4.00pm

Tickets cost £20. Please contact Reaseheath customer services on 01270 613193 for further details or to book your place.

NVZ Consultation Extended

DEFRA Nitrate Vulnerable Zone Consultation.

The proposed changes to the NVZ Action Programme pose the biggest regulatory challenge for dairy farmers over the next two years. It is expected that many dairy farmers would face substantial costs as a result of the proposals. DEFRA has now launched the long awaited NVZ consultation covering the revision of NVZ designations and the NVZ action programme.

The NVZ consultation has now been extended to 13th December 2007. Further information and a template letter for your MP can be found online at www.nfuonline.com and http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/quality/nitrate/nvz.htm.

Has Your Business Been Affected Due to Foot and Mouth?

Has your business been affected due to movement restrictions caused by the Foot and Mouth Disease and Blue Tongue Disease? If so, the Rural Enterprise Gateway has funding for free business support targeted at Finance Planning, Business Planning and Marketing Advice. This is only available until 28th February 2008 so please contact REG for further information and to confirm your eligibility for accessing this service.

Cheshire Rural Women’s Award

For the fifth year running, Reaseheath College joined a host of partners from the private, public and voluntary sector to celebrate World Rural Women’s Day by highlighting the achievements of rural women across the county.

The Rural Enterprise Gateway Award was presented to Louise Johnson from Ivy House Farm in Wrenbury. Louise is a mother, nurse and dairy farmer’s wife. She is committed to selling the milk from the family farm at the best returns possible. Louise has worked extremely hard and has successfully achieved her goal of supplying their milk direct to supermarkets. The initial idea came after a passing comment across the kitchen table. Her passion and enthusiasm for her innovative concept won over the buyer at her local supermarket and a full pitch was delivered and subsequently accepted. Watch out for their milk hitting the supermarket shelves early in 2008.

The Reaseheath College Award was presented to Marni Dobson of Radmore Green Farm in Spurstow. Marni is a lady who has had the inspiration to ‘try something a little different’ and who has developed a new enterprise on the dairy farm ~ goat meat. Marni is a mother, lecturer in Spanish and a wife to Tim the dairy farmer. The goat meat enterprise is growing from strength to strength and Marni continues to strive to achieve results that positively impact on their family and farm.

Both Louise and Marni are true industry leaders in innovative approaches to agriculture and their passion and drive is reflected in the results they have achieved in such a short period of time. It is hoped that through receiving these awards they will inspire other rural women to become industry leaders.

Sarah Callander-Beckett, owner Combermere Abbey. Sarah won the award for commitment to the tourism industry as she has demonstrated innovation and creativity in the development of her own business at Combermere Abbey, including the recent restoration of the Glass House to be an exclusive wedding and conferencing venue, and the delivery of 5 star luxury self catering holidays, including winner silver at the Enjoy England Awards in 2005.

In addition, she contributes significantly to the tourism industry in Cheshire through being on steering groups, to helping to build the quality of tourism offer by hosting a luxury accommodation cluster meeting at her venue, providing inspiration for other businesses in the area and ultimately helping to build the destination of Chester and Cheshire.

Sarah has been very involved with the rural tourism delivery work conducted by Nicola and Tracey at REG and has been a strong advocate for the work we have been doing.

Master Class to Breath New Life into Agriculture

Pioneering Reaseheath College in Nantwich, Cheshire, has launched a programme of free evening master classes to encourage farmers to increase their profits.

The master classes are being offered through the Reaseheath Agricultural Development Academy, a new initiative which aims to lead and support innovation and entrepreneurship throughout the agricultural industry.

The meetings, on the first Wednesday evening of each month, feature keynote speakers from the industry and are themed around improving profitability and technology transfer.

The first master class, entitled ‘The Pitfalls and Profits of Your Milk Contract’ was held in October and had progressive local dairy farmers David Johnson, Ed Dale and Stuart Royle talking to a packed audience.

Tim Goldsbrough, organizer said: “The speakers were really informative and challenging and made the attendees think outside the box. The general consensus was that is was a great evening, that everyone was really looking forward to future events and that RADA is a fantastic concept”.

The second master class ‘Profit from Nutrient Management and the NVZ regulations’ will be held on Wednesday 7th November and will feature Nutrient Management Consultant Mark Tripney and the Environment Agency’s Andrew Penton. December 5th offering, entitled ‘Saving Wasted Profit’, will consider how to prevent profits disappearing down the plug hole with rain water usage and electricity supply consultant Anne Draper and slurry digester specialist Stephen Price.

The master classes are part of what is planned to be an industry led programme of technical skills training and education in enterprise and farm management. Leading industry experts will join college lecturers in delivering specialist skills.

Business mentoring and advice, ensuring that ideas progress on a sound business footing, will be available through the Rural Enterprise Gateway, which is based at Reaseheath.

Outlining the benefits of the academy, Head of Agriculture Ian Clarke said: “We are offering a service which is relevant to the local farmer. We also want to encourage and develop young people, who will face futurechallenges in a fast changing industry. The demand for high level training is increasing, particularly amongst those who want to increase their profitability and business acumen. The main aim of the master classes is to provide an ideal opportunity for farmers to share good practice”.

Reaseheath’s academy will also support the Defra Fresh Start initiative by offering business training and mentoring to new entrants into farming. It is hoped to match the shills, enthusiasm and energy of the new entrant with the needs of an established farmer who is considering retirement or taking a less active role.

For further details of the Reaseheath Agricultural Development Academy contact 01270 628621 or email timg@reaseheath.ac.uk

Year of Food and Farming Newsletter

Download PDF file of newsletter here

Bluetongue (BTV) is a disease caused by a virus that is spread from animal to animal by midges. It naturally affects domestic and wild ruminants including sheep, cattle, camelids, goats and deer

The RBST is deeply concerned that a case of Blue Tongue Virus has been identified in a cow in Suffolk and wishes to high light the following points.

• We have seen the impact of this disease on our European neighbours with nearly 5000 outbreaks confirmed in the EU.
• We note that Defra says that the case in Suffolk does not constitute a confirmed outbreak and will not do so unless further investigation demonstrates that the disease is circulating. We understand that the one infected animal will be culled.
• The Government must refrain from any wider culling policy. Widespread culling of animals would not contain the virus, but we appreciate that in some cases, it  may be necessary to do so on welfare grounds.
• This is a serious situation but we hope that this is an isolated case. Precautionary restrictions are essential but the nature of the spread, by wind-borne midges, presents a real challenge - even with conventional animal movement controls.
 
• The onset of cooler weather and less favourable wind patterns may offer some respite and in the longer term, increase the prospect of developing effective vaccines against this threat. Some infected animals can recover - and become naturally immune.

The Facts

The virus cannot be transmitted between animals - only via the bite of a Culicoide midge. However, the BVA concede that mechanical transmission is possible between herds and flocks, through the use of contaminated surgical equipment or hypodermic needles.  Peak populations of vector Culicoides occur in late summer and autumn - resulting in more cases at that time.

How to spot the disease

Clinical signs can vary by species, although symptoms are generally more severe in sheep. Cattle can be infected more frequently, but often show no symptoms at all and this is often the case for goats too.

Clinical signs in sheep

• Eye and nasal discharges
• Drooling due to ulceration of the mouth
• High body temperature
• Swelling of mouth, head, neck
• Lameness
• Haemorrhages
• Inflammation of the junction of the skin and horn of foot - the coronary band
• Respiratory problems
• A blue tongue is rarely a clinical sign
• Deaths of sheep in a flock may reach 70%. Animals that survive may lose condition resulting in reduction in meat and wool production

Clinical signs in cattle

It is possible that cattle will show no clinical signs but signs could include:

• Nasal discharge
• Swelling of the head, neck
• Conjunctivitis
• Swelling in and ulceration of the mouth
• Swollen teats
• Tiredness
• Drooling
• In cattle the disease cannot be diagnosed on clinical grounds and requires laboratory testing to confirm

Although the impact varies between strains (serotypes) and at present 24 distinct serotypes have been identified, Bluetongue can have significant economic impacts in terms of on farm losses due to death, sickness, reduced productivity and losses to export revenue as live exports are banned from affected areas.

Risks to the UK

Obviously now that the disease has been identified in northern Europe the risk to UK farmers has increased and this is confirmed by a single cow contracting Bluetongues on a Suffolk farm. There are two main routes into the UK: animal imports and wind borne spread of the virus as midges are carried over on prevailing winds.

Preventative measures

Inspect your herds and flocks closely, particularly focusing on the mouth linings and coronary band. If in doubt consult your vet.  If you suspect that one of your animals has Bluetongue then report it as soon as possible – to find out the telephone number of your nearest  Animal Health Office call the Defra helpline: 08459 335577 or visit the website: www.defra.gov.uk or http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/latest/2007/animal-0922.htm

Bluetongue is a notifiable disease.

Saddle Up Cheshire - Events and demonstrations

Polly Stockton and Andrew Heffernan, cross country demonstration - 1st February 2008

Southview Arena, Wettenhall - 7pm

Prebooked tickets £20

For more information or to book your place please call 01829 771888 or email lorna@saddleupcheshire.co.uk
Alternatively, book online at www.saddleupcheshire.co.uk

Free water guide for farmers

Farmers are being given advice on how to save money and the environment with a new water management guide

The National Farmers' Union has teamed up with other environmental agencies including DEFRA to publish Waterwise on the Farm. The publication is a free guide for farmers and land managers, providing an insight into the prevention of agricultural water pollution. The guide gives tips on how to reduce water consumption highlighting both the environmental impact as well as cost savings to farmers. For a copy of the booklet call 08708 506506. Electronic versions are also available at http://www.nfuonline.com

Rural Business Women News

For the latest News and Events regarding this network group please click on the following the link: Rural Business Women's Network

Timber framed building workshops now available

If you are interested in attending a Timber Framed Workshop please click on the following link to find out more: CraftWoods - Timber Framed Building Workshops

Do you own or manage land?

If so you could benefit from grants and free advice for creating woodland or other habitat on your land. If you already have woodland, maintenance grants are also available.

To find out more click here to download leaflet.

Dairy Milk Processing

As the enquiries come into the Rural Enterprise Gateway the advisers are often able to identify some key diversification trends. One trend spotted in the New Year was the number of new clients looking at adding value to their milk, whether this was cows or goats milk. The number of products available to turn your milk into is vast and deciding whether to produce ice-cream, butter, cheese or yoghurt or to simply bottle the milk can be an arduous task! There is a mine field of literature, research and information on milk processing which makes the task of narrowing your vision all the harder.

The dairy study tour was run by REG in conjunction with the Centre of Vocational Excellence (CoVE) in Food Technology at Reaseheath College, and the day aimed to address the difficulty faced by farmers in selecting the correct diversification enterprise for them. The day was part-funded through the REG training subsidy and 9 farmers attended the tour on the 18^th April 2007. The tour started with a visit to Joseph Helers cheese factory in Nantwich, before moving onto a farm in Staffordshire where they bottle their milk on site and distribute it locally to shops and door-to-door outlets. The afternoon was spent at CoVE looking at the equipment and stages required to process butter, ice-cream and yoghurt. The farmers even left with samples of Reaseheath Cheese!

Since the tour we have been able to assist these farmers with further bespoke training in ice-cream and yoghurt production, which is also eligible for funding through the REG training subsidy. Further referrals have been made to partner organisations to assist with equipment layout, hygiene standards and controls. Through the REG subsidised specialist fund we are able to help these farmers look at the best ways to market their product and conduct some market research.

The farmers thoroughly enjoyed the day and the feedback has been extremely positive, with clients now able to move their ideas forward. With training anticipated to be high on the agenda in the new RDPE money, tours like with one will be an important tool in the delivery of identifying training needs. If you would like to be notified of further training days please contact the REG team or alternatively keep your eye on our website www.ruralenterprisegateway.co.uk

The new Business Link for the North West region has been launched...

On the 1st April 2007 the new Business Link for the Northwest region was launched. The service is funded by government and managed in the North West by the Northwest Regional Development Agency. The purpose of the support service is to assist businesses to develop by ensuring easy access to advice, information and skills needed to succeed from the broadest range of private, public and voluntary business support services.

Business Link provides support with:

• Planning, starting and expanding your business
• Managing people
• Training and development for you and your staff
• Making the most of e-commerce and information technology
• Managing cash flow and securing extra funding
• Exporting
• Business Improvement, benchmarking and networking
• Tax issues, employment law and business regulations

The aim of Business Link Northwest is to deliver services in the way that best suits business needs - on the phone, over the internet or face-to-face with advisers that cover a range of specific targeted sectors.  The service is for all business no matter what type or size, or stage of development.

Contact

Business Link Northwest
City Office Park
Bluebell Way
Preston
Lancashire
PR2 5PZ 

Tel: 0845 0066888
Fax: 01772 790140
Website: www.businesslink.gov.uk/northwest
Email:  info@businesslinknw.co.uk

Subsidised Training still on offer, but hurry while it lasts...

Over the last year, more than 1000 REG clients have benefited from subsidised training to support their business development.

Up to 50% funding is available to rural businesses in Cheshire, Warrington and Halton for work based training. This covers a huge range of courses, both accredited and non-accredited and the REG team can even help you to find the right course for the needs of your business.

Some examples of courses we have funded include butter making, butchery, setting up your own B&B, web marketing and equine therapy. They are often short courses, some even offering 1-2-1 training aimed at specifically meeting your needs.

To find out if the training you wish to undertake is eligible for funding, please call the REG office on 01270 628 621 or e-mail reg@reaseheath.ac.uk. An adviser will be able to quickly establish if your business qualifies, and there is virtually no paperwork for you to complete to benefit from the subsidy. So what is stopping you? the funding will run out in Autumn this year, so give us a call now!

The Year of Food and Farming

What is it?

It is a fantastic opportunity for children and young people to learn about how food is grown, reared or produced and how it gets to the consumer. What happens on a farm and what life is like in the countryside.  Where better to learn than by visiting a farm? The initiative was a concept devised by FACE, with the support from DEFRA, the Department of Health and the Department for Education and Skills. The aim is for every child in the country to visit a working farm.

When is it?

The year will run throughout the academic year from September 2007 to July 2008. However, the aim is to leave a legacy to ensure that is continues for years to come.

You want to be involved but what next?

The Rural Enterprise Gateway is setting up a database of interested farmers and ancillary businesses that express an interest in hosting a school visit. We aim to hold a workshop on how to run an event, speak to the general public and also facilitate the joining up of schools and farmers.

For further information or to register your interest please contact:

Tim at REG on 01270 628621

Saddle Up Cheshire website

The Saddle Up Cheshire website www.saddleupcheshire.co.uk went live on 1st November 2006 and has already received hundreds of visitors to the website.

The site is aimed at anyone with an equestrian interest, both business and leisure. The site provides information on local equestrian events and offers the ability for riding and pony clubs to advertise their events free of charge. The site also provides a comprehensive directory of business and other equestrian contacts.

Those wishing to chat with others about equine problems, or to show off photos of your horse, the forum is a great place for this.

And for anyone selling a horse or any equine related goods, the free classified section is worth a try.

For all equestrian businesses, make sure you are listed on the directory or enquire about being added to the shops section, particularly if you can trade on-line.

All of the information and services on the site are currently free of charge, so make best use of this. Many areas of the site can be accessed without the need to register as a user.

For assistance with promoting events, directory listings, or any other information or feedback on the site, please contact Lorna Kettle on 01829 771 888 lorna@saddleupcheshire.co.uk