What’s New in This Issue The UK and UK-based Farm Bureau of England (FBOE) has issued its quarterly publication, Next Big Farm, and the news comes as the UK is on track to become the first country in the world to have its national dairy supply chain digitised and automated, with new data set to be made public on November 15.
FBOE, which was established by the UK government in the 1980s, is a subsidiary of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and a leading force in the movement for a more agro-ecological and green economy.
The FBOe is a leading organisation for farmers across the UK and the United States.
“We are excited to be bringing the FBO to our readers, and with our first quarterly publication to be released on the 15th, we aim to provide a fresh look at the future of our industry,” said FBOA Chief Executive Steve Evans.
“The next big thing will be the digitisation of the UK dairy supply chains.
The key is to make sure we are fully aligned with the evolving and changing technology of the modern world.”
Next Big Farming was launched in 2018 by the FBE and the FPOE.
FBE, the UK’s biggest farming body, has been running Next Big Farms since 2019.
In 2020, the FBA was launched to provide “dairy quality and value” to the wider food and beverage sector and is the leading organisation in the country for farmers.
The UK government recently announced a scheme to digitise the UK food supply chain, with the government releasing its first digital-age plan in May 2019.
A second digital-ages plan is due to be published in 2021.
The government announced a new scheme in 2018 to help support small farms and farms that have been around for a long time.
“For the first time in more than 20 years, the government is looking at ways to help our farmers and small farmers,” said Evans.
The National Farmers Association (NFMA), which represents around 100,000 farmers and their partners, said it welcomed the announcement.
“This new digital-aging scheme is an exciting development and we look forward to working with FBOEs to ensure the benefits of digital are realised for farmers and other small farmers in the UK,” said NFMA chief executive Simon Collins.
“FBOEs play a vital role in helping farmers and communities around the country and this new scheme will provide greater transparency and control over the supply chain.”
FBOEA will be publishing Next Big in two volumes, each focusing on a different part of the farming industry.
In the first volume, Next Farm, farmers will be able to see how their own land has changed over the past 10 years.
The second volume will focus on the UK farming sector and will cover the last 20 years of data.
“Next Big Farming will bring more transparency to the farming world, providing the public with the latest data on the industry, the farmers and the products they are producing,” said James Brown, Chief Executive of the FBoE.
“In particular, we will be looking to publish a range of statistics on milk production, including the percentage of the country producing milk in the last year, the total amount of milk produced in the past year and the percentage increase in production over the last 10 years.”
The first volume of Next Big, from 2020, is already available online.
The latest edition will be released in the autumn.
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