WE'RE BACK (BRITISH FARMING

By the time you receive your copy of Student Farmer, Back British Farming Day will have taken the importance of supporting agriculture to Westminster

After all your hard work lobbying your MP, the NFU makes sure they don't forget the importance of food and farming with its annual Back British Farming Day. This year’s event on 15 September was due to begin with a drop-in session in the House of Commons with 100 MPs expected to attend. Planned for the Churchill Room in the Houses of Parliament, it was the first in-person celebration of Back British Farming Day since 2019.

NFU President Minette Batters and Vice-president Tom Bradshaw were set to be on hand during the event, which is to be an informal unveiling of the NFU’s British Food: Leading the Way report. MPs can have their pictures taken with our Back British Farming Day hamper while wearing their distinctive wheat pin badges to show their support for farming.

Pictures of MPs out on farm with their constituents in recent weeks will be on our social media channels and the official report launch was due to take place in the afternoon at 1 Great George Street. Mrs Batters was due to outline key asks to 100 invited guests, including TV personality Jeremy Clarkson.

The star of Clarkson’s Farm on Amazon Prime was keen to show his support for agriculture following his own foray into the world of farming.

The event will be filmed and available for members to watch again (see NFUonline for details).

The NFU was also aiming to get an agriculture-based question asked at Prime Minister’s Questions. A toolkit for members to get involved with social media was available online, including infographics.

Here's how Graduate Trainee Neeve McGinty got involved with the plans for her first Back British Farming Day:

"I can’t wait to experience my first Back British Farming Day; a day to celebrate British food and the farmers who produce it! As a member of the campaigns team, I’ve been assisting on the delivery of the day, from physical event planning, to what’s happening on social media. This includes working closely with our Student & Young Farmer Ambassadors to prepare them ahead of the day to help them share the great story that British farming has to tell, in order to ramp up excitement. "I’ve also been working on social media content, showcasing the very best of our British farming sectors and highlighting the importance of backing British. The day is a chance to show our appreciation to the farmers who keep us fed with delicious, high-quality food produced to world-leading standards. If that’s not something to shout about, I don’t know what is!"

ABP UK, one of Europe’s leading food producers, is looking for its next set of graduates to help bring the best of British produce to the table of millions. The company’s ‘ABP Talent Academy’ has helped hundreds of graduates since 2016.

The academy creates handson opportunities across the whole business, from sustainability initiatives and new products to butchery and genetics. There are a range of programmes available to suit a variety of interests including agriculture, commercial, technical, IT, product development, engineering, operations, finance and IT, along with the opportunity to continue to learn and develop a range of skills along the way.

Graduates will start a two-tothree-year journey in ABP, with the opportunity to work sites across the country to understand the business before taking on their first managerial role post programme. All programmes have been designed to provide a clear pathway into management with strong business foundations to support future career aspirations. Successful graduates can expect challenge, responsibility and variety as they develop in their chosen function.