Dont miss out on CFE advice at Cereals 2011

With only one year remaining to support the Campaign for the Farmed Environment, farmers and land managers cannot afford to miss out on the practical advice on offer at Cereals 2011 to help guide their decision making in the coming cropping year.

The CFE area will provide farmers with advice and practical tips on the voluntary environmental management best suited to their holdings. Visitors to the four stands within the CFE area are encouraged to take part in the CPD trail for the chance to win exciting prizes and acquire BASIS and NRoSO points.

Corrina Gibbs, national project manager, said: There is just one year left to demonstrate that the CFE can work and the advice on offer at Cereals from beacon farmers, local Campaign coordinators and partner advisers in the CFE area will help farmers understand the steps they can take to support the Campaign.

Farmers have told us they are undertaking almost 120,000 hectares of voluntary environmental management outside of formal agri-environment agreements. So with slight tweaks to the management of these areas, such as replacing maize in game covers, the Campaign would meet its target.

Across the Cereals event, Campaign partners and supporters from wider industry will be on hand providing advice through literature and crop plots on the establishment and management of key target options in ELS and Campaign voluntary measures.

This really is an opportunity not to be missed and I urge farmers visiting Cereals to drop in on the CFE area to take part in the CPD trail and recharge their batteries by taking advantage of the hospitality on the stand.

Advice leaflets and free on-farm signs will be available from the CFE area. The online record for Campaign voluntary measures is also being re-launched on June 15 so that all farmers can record the voluntary management they are undertaking to support the Campaign.

• The CFE area is located at stand D431 at Cereals on June 15 and 16 at Boothby Heath, near Lincoln.
• Campaign for the Farmed Environment partners are the NFU, the Country, Land and Business Association, the Agricultural Industries Confederation, the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, Linking Environment and Farming, Defra, Natural England, the Environment Agency and the RSPB. They have been joined by the Association of Independent Crop Consultants and the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers to create a powerful national partnership.
• The Campaign website www.cfeonline.org.uk – provides useful information about the campaign targets, themes and voluntary measures. It also highlights activities at a local level including coordination details, a diary of events and details of Beacon Farms.
• To find out more about the Campaign email cfeonline@nfu.org.uk or call 02476 858536.