Winter Newsletter 2022

Season’s Greetings and Best Wishes for 2023 from all at the National Farm Research Unit!

For this newsletter we wanted to feature one of the agricultural charities that the National Farm Research Unit support.

RABI is here to support farming people

RABI has been supporting farming people throughout England and Wales for many generations. Providing guidance and support, RABI has a network of professional, national and locally based teams who understand the mounting pressures that many in the sector are facing and the impacts that these additional stresses can have on farmer wellbeing.

Founded on the belief that every member of the farming community matters, RABI operates four service delivery pillars: mental health support, training and upskilling, support for living independently, and help at a critical time.

Supporting farmer wellbeing

RABI offer free, confidential in-person counselling and farming-focused mental health training initiatives. Users can access free, confidential support from professional counsellors over the phone, via video call or in person, depending on their preference. This type of timely intervention and support can make a profound difference to the lives of farming people. The service can be accessed through RABI’s 24-hour helpline on 0800 188 4444.

Providing early, preventative support, these newly introduced services complement RABI’s existing online mental wellbeing platforms which offer a range of resources for people who might not yet be ready to talk face to face about how they’re feeling.

RABI believes there is an urgent need to ‘normalise’ the conversations around farmer wellbeing and remove the barriers which prevent people from accessing support when they need it. The reality remains that farming can be mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausting. Talking to someone who understands can help make a difference.

Reaching more farming people

With the current cost-of-living crisis burdening many families with additional stress, RABI recognises that these increasing financial strains can often have a knock-on effect on people’s overall sense of wellbeing. Over the summer £1.5 million in ‘return to school’ grants was allocated to alleviate some of the pressures facing farming families.

This support ensured that children were able to have the equipment, uniforms and transport to be able to attend school and thrive once there. Applications far exceeded RABI’s expectations and £1.5 million in grants were issued!

In April 2022, RABI launched its Fuel Support Campaign to help those experiencing fuel poverty. Grant payments could also be used to make homes more efficient, helping people become more sustainable, both financially and environmentally.

Training grants are currently available to individuals engaged within agriculture in England and Wales where the main household income is derived from farming. Spouses/partners/adult aged children may also be eligible for a training grant whereby they continue to work on-farm and are seeking to increase off-farm household income.

To date RABI have assisted people to train in tree surgery, hedge-laying, butchery, livestock foot-trimming and pregnancy scanning as well as more diverse skills including website design and IT programming. Typical courses also supported include assisting individuals to gain HGV licences and complete forklift truck operator courses.

RABI is committed to supporting all members of the farming community and help farming people maintain their independence in retirement. This support includes providing disability equipment, home adaptations, grants to help with the cost of living and arranging care for people in their home. RABI continues to develop wraparound services that can help make a positive difference. And with an ambitious five-year strategy in place, this exciting period of transition sees the 160-year-old charity focus on reaching four times as many farming people by 2024.

To find out more visit www.rabi.org.uk

Article by Leanne Sinclair - RABI Fundraising and Trusts Officer

NFRU Grassland Herbicide Poll – The Results

Over half of grassland farmers spray grassland herbicides yearly

Of those witnessing herbicide resistance in their grassland, docks are the predominant weed

Weed control is a key element of productive grassland farming. Considering that a huge proportion of the UK is grassland, ensuring its health and productivity should be of great concern.

Weed control in arable crops is considered normal practice, but in grassland it is less common. Historical data suggests that little more than 5% of total UK grassland has a herbicide application in any given year, and few grassland farmers treat more than 10% of their pasture in any season.

However, a poll question asked to 702 UK farms in November 2022 by Kynetec’s National Farm Research Unit (NFRU) suggests that over half (52%) of grassland farmers are spraying some amount of grassland herbicides yearly to control weeds. A further 21% are spraying once every 2 years to maintain control.

At face value this sounds like a large amount of grassland herbicides are being used. The reality is, of those farmers who are treating parts of their grassland over 50% of them have applied a herbicide to less than 10% of their total grassland areas. Only 8% of farmers cited that they applied a herbicide to more than 50% of their grassland area in their most recent applications.

The NFRU also asked farmers if they were seeing an increased resistance to their arable herbicide applications. Over 40% in the East of England said yes, whilst in the Southwest only 13% said yes. The norm for the country was 18% yes. However, at no point do over 50% of farmers in any region of the UK claim to see increased resistance to their arable herbicide applications. Of those witnessing herbicide resistance in their arable crops, the main weed that has become resistant is blackgrass with 50% of farmers citing it. Ryegrass comes second with 10%.

The NFRU asked the same question for grassland herbicide resistance. 78% of farmers said No, to an increase in resistance to their grassland herbicide applications. Yet, of those farmers struggling with herbicide resistance in their grassland, 47% of them said docks were the main weed resistance problem, followed by thistles with 22% and nettles at 15%.