Andrew Blenkiron, the new chair for Suffolk National Farmers Union, says farmers are 'ready for the challenges ahead'
The new chair of NFU Suffolk believes the county’s farmers are in good shape to tackle the challenges and opportunities ahead.
Andrew Blenkiron, estate director of the Euston Estate near Thetford, is taking over at a pivotal time for the industry, as the Government introduces the biggest changes to agricultural policy for more than 50 years.
This includes moving away from direct farm support payments to new environmental land management schemes, offering ‘public money for public goods’ such as planting trees, improving water quality and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
“Suffolk is a highly productive county agriculturally and I think our farm businesses are in a strong position," he said.
"The key is going to be fitting in the aspirations of how to achieve public money for public goods with this highly productive base.
“It’s important that we actively engage in the process to ensure we do meet some of those challenges, while remaining productive.
“One of the things I’ve been saying, for about 20 years, is we need to start farming as our grandfathers used to farm, rather than having an over heavy reliance on artificial inputs. I think everyone is starting to appreciate that.
“That doesn’t mean exactly the same but utilising modern technology to help us farm in a more sustainable way. It’s been so easy to rely on agrochemicals and artificial fertilisers.
“Everyone has done it for very good reasons, they wanted to stay in business, but it has been to the detriment of the environment.
"We have to reverse that, increasing our biodiversity. We are well placed in Suffolk to deliver on this.”
Andrew has spent 11 years at the 11,000 acre Euston Estate, a multifaceted business that includes arable and irrigated crops, a herd of Red Poll cattle and a wide range ofconservation and stewardship schemes.
The business also generates renewable energy through solar panels and an anaerobic digestion plant and is about to embark on an ambitious tree planting carbon sequestration initiative on almost 500 acres of land.
Andrew has worked within farm businesses in every region of England during his 35-year career.
He has also held numerous positions within the industry, from local branch chair to eight years as vice chair of Assured Food Standards, the organisation that operates the Red Tractor scheme.
“I have seen a variety of farming systems and been involved, in hands-on farming, from dairy farming to outdoor pigs, suckler cows and sheep, cereals and then intensive root crops here," he said.
"That helps me have an element of understanding across all aspects of agriculture.
His love of farming came from his grandparents, who farmed on an upland beef and sheep farm in North Yorkshire.
“My father was a civil servant and we moved around the world as he took on different posts. The farm was where we used to come back to for holidays,” he said.
Andrew was offered a place at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst but opted for a farming career instead, working on a Yorkshire farm before studying at Harper Adams.
After qualifying he worked on farms in Northumberland for 10 years and then moved down to the West Midlands, where he became actively involved with the NFU.
During his 11 years there, working for Smiths Gore, he served as NFU Staffordshire county chair, vice chair of the regional board and chair of NFU West Midlands’ European liaison committee.
He also helped promote food and farming to the public as chair of Staffordshire and Birmingham Agricultural Society Show.
“I thought that farmers needed to have their voices heard and I wanted my voice to be one of those.
"It was a fantastic time to be county chair, fighting the view from Margaret Beckett and others in government that we could be park keepers and most food could be imported,” he said.
“That also gave me a real understanding of the NFU and the work that goes on within the organisation, engaging with policy makers and people around us in the county and the region.”
From Staffordshire he and wife Jennifer moved to Dorset, where he spent three years working as managing director for Crichel Farms before the move to Euston.
“Farming is all about the good people, the dedicated people across the spectrum. That’s what makes it such a vibrant industry, one that’s exciting to be involved with,” he said.
“Through my 35 years with the industry, there have certainly been some interesting times.
"One of the biggest challenges has been the uncertainty running through almost that entire period - the impact that political interference has had on farmers trying to structure and run long-term businesses.
“Hopefully, we’re now starting to see a clearer way forward with the Agriculture Act, the Environment Act and the Government’s 25-year Environmental Plan offering an element of certainty as to what we need to aim for.
“We have some strong aspirations for agriculture from politicians, but also from the public, about what they want to see and it will all boil down to the money and whether it is affordable.
“Something the NFU can help with is to ensure the marketplace fairly recompenses us for producing high quality, high value, farm assured food.
“Finding a clear way through for everybody is the challenge of the next decade. That’s the uncertainty but it’s also the exciting part.”
Andrew takes over from Glenn Buckingham following NFU Conference on Wednesday 23 February.
Glenn will serve as NFU Suffolk County Vice Chair.