More than 10,000 levy payers have signed up to a consultation to help shape the future direction of the AHDB.
Following a 17-week media campaign which cost £120,000, registration for the levy body’s Shape the Future campaign closed on Thursday 31 March.
The AHDB confirmed that a total of 10,842 levy papers have registered to take part in the consultation.
See also: Opinion: Farmers need to help shape a better future
The poll, which will open on 11 April, will first require all registered levy payers to first complete validation checks.
They will then be asked to consider the main issues facing their sector, rating them from one to five, with five being the most important, as well as scoring the areas of work delivered by the AHDB. The survey should take between 15 and 20 minutes to complete.
Levy payers will also be asked to ratify the new members of the four sector councils.
During the four-week voting window (11 April – 9 May), levy payers who have registered to take part in the Beef and Lamb, Cereals and Oilseeds, Dairy, and Pork sectors will be sent an email and unique link taking them to the website to have their say, or a postal pack with the voting questions.
The initial results will be presented to levy payers once the voting process has been completed, with the sector councils meeting in June and July to discuss how they should be implemented in each sector.
AHDB ballots
More than a year ago, producers in the horticulture and potato sectors voted by a clear majority in internal ballots to scrap AHDB levies for both sectors.
Last month, following a consultation, Defra and the devolved administrations announced they would respect the results of the ballots and end AHDB levies for both sectors from April 2022.
Defra also committed to help deliver a reformed AHDB “to improve the accountability of the AHDB to levy payers… by implementing a new regular vote for levy payers on how the levy will be spent”.
Tim Rycroft, chief executive of the AHDB, thanked those who had taken the time to register, and he urged them to make the most of this opportunity when the voting window opens next week.
“Consulting levy payers – and putting their voice at the heart of what we do – was one of the promises about changing the AHDB that we made a year ago. Now we are delivering.”
Six newcomers join AHDB arable Monitor Farms network
Six new AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds Monitor Farms have been appointed to help farmers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland prepare for the changes that lie ahead.
AHDB Monitor Farms bring together groups of farmers who want to improve their businesses by sharing performance information and best practice with a nationwide network of host farms.
The six new farms, including one in Wales and one in Northern Ireland, bring the total number of Monitor Farms to 20.
The new hosts were selected by AHDB staff and board members and will be supported by a steering group of other local farmers and agronomists.
Collaboration, productivity and business resilience are likely to feature strongly during the three years of the programme, as they are all hot topics identified by the new hosts.
The new Monitor Farms are:
- Vale of Glamorgan – Dan Moore, R&L Anthony
- Cheltenham – Andrew Walters, Boddington House Farm
- Cambridge – Matt Redman, Oldfield Farm
- Limavady – Alistair Craig, Carsehall Farm
- Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire – Will MacLennan, Dollars Grove Farm
- Thame – Garth Weston, Sydenham Grange Farm
Each of the new Monitor Farms will have a launch event this summer. Visit the AHDB website to find out more or to register to attend one of the meetings.
