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Hi, my name is Grace, and I’ve recently stepped into the role of Assistant County Adviser for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. I joined the NFU in November 2024 as a Regional Administrator, and I’m delighted to now be taking on this fixed-term secondment role for maternity cover.

I grew up in rural Somerset and later studied Criminology at Oxford Brookes University, graduating with a BSc in Criminology in 2024. During college and university, I spent my summer holidays and Christmas breaks working on a local dairy farm and with a rural events company in Devon. Those experiences really sparked my interest in agriculture and made me realise it was the industry I wanted to be part of.

In my spare time, I’m an active committee member of my local Young Farmers Club, where I regularly take part in a wide range of activities — from Tug of War and the YFC Pantomime to organizing events and supporting local fundraising initiatives. I also play netball and enjoy running!

Although I don’t come from a farming background myself, working across different areas of the agricultural sector has made me passionate about encouraging young people into the industry—especially those who may not have considered it simply because they didn’t grow up on a farm.

I’m really looking forward to getting out and about in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire and working more closely with members and stakeholders on the issues that matter most to them.

Gloucestershire Local Elections – Autumn 2025

 The Gloucestershire local elections will take place this autumn. Nominations are now open for positions serving a two-year term (2026–2028). At present, we have the below delegates who have put their names forward: 

 County Chair: 
Liz Godsell, our current Deputy County Chair, will be standing for election to become County Chair

 Deputy County Chair: 

Chris North, our current Vice County Chair, will become our Deputy County Chair

 Vice County Chair: 

Kathryn Ball (Hart), who has been involved with the NFU through the membership development programme and was our NFU next generation rep is looking to become our new Vice County Chair, following on from Chris North. 

 Council Delegate:

Charles Day, our current County Chair, has decided not to stand again as Council Delegate for the 2026–2028 term. Charles has been an outstanding Chair over the past two years, and we are very grateful for his hard work and dedication. He will putting his name forward again to represent Gloucestershire on the South Crops Board.

 Allison Ractliffe, our current Council Delegate, will be standing again and putting her name forward to continue in the role as Council Delegate for another two years. Allison was invited to stand for the Audit and Renumeration Committee role at NFU Council. The Audit and Renumeration Committee is a small, highly selective group that oversees many key areas of the NFU. She was successfully elected and has since been appointed Vice Chair of the committee, and therefore is seeking the mandate of the members to support her as Council Delegate for another two years. This would be her final term as Council Delegate, as a six-year term limit is now in place.

 Regarding Sector Boards, we also have three board representative positions up for election – Poultry, Livestock & Crops. 

 If you would like to put your name forward for any of these roles, please contact your County Adviser, Hattie Severinsen, at [email protected].

For the full election notice, see the September issue of the British Farmer & Grower magazine.

Public consultation on the draft Gloucestershire LNRS (Local Nature Recovery Strategy) is due to start on 8 September 2025 and will run until 19 October 2025. The consultation will be run by Gloucestershire County Council, the Responsible Authority appointed by Defra for the LNRS.

This strategy will be a key resource in relation to prioritising choices for agri-environment funding options and biodiversity net gain, and the council is keen to hear from farmers, landowners, land managers and agents in Gloucestershire about whether this strategy indicates helpful options and opportunities for your land. 

If you check the  from 8 September onwards, you should find links to:

• The live public consultation platform
• The draft Local Habitat Map
• Video tutorial on using the Local Habitat Map of the Local Nature Recovery Strategy

There will be several drop in sessions for you to learn more about the LNRS and have your say. »Ê¼Ò»ªÈËwill be feeding into the consultation but we recommend you join one of the sessions to learn more. 

The dates for online drop-in LNRS consultation sessions are below (these links won't accept bookings before 8 Sept):

Wednesday 17 September 2025 2 to 3pm: 

Thursday 25 September 2025 7.30 to 8.30pm: 

Wednesday 1 October 2025 2 to 3pm:

Monday 6 October 2025 7.30 to 8.30pm:

Wednesday 15 October 2025 2 to 3pm:

There is also a lot more information about Local Nature Recovery Strategies on »Ê¼Ò»ªÈË.

Each year, the NFU and CLA hold a joint meeting with the Gloucestershire Constabulary, together with our Gloucestershire Officeholders, to discuss issues surrounding rural crime and any matters of concern affecting our members.

This meeting provides an important opportunity to raise challenges faced within our rural communities and to work collaboratively towards practical solutions.

The next meeting is scheduled to take place at the end of October. If you would like us to raise any specific concerns on your behalf, please do get in touch, and we will ensure these are included in the discussion.

To provide feedback, please email [email protected] and/or [email protected].

The Community Safety Team at Gloucestershire Fire & Rescue have released an informative video regarding wildfire prevention on farm. An important topic in these dry conditions. video can be found on the link below: 

On Monday 11 August, the NFU held a virtual meeting with Vice-president Rachel Hallos to discuss water matters in Gloucestershire. 

The meeting was chaired by David Ractliffe, a Gloucestershire member who sits on the South dairy board.

David opened the meeting by stressing the critical importance of water to farming, especially given recent extremes, from this summer’s severe droughts affecting forage supply to heavy rainfall faced in recent years.

He also highlighted the work the NFU is also doing with Gloucestershire stakeholders, including a follow up meeting involving Rachel, MPs, local authorities, and other key groups to take a proactive, coordinated approach.

Rachel reflected on how her role has involved responding to both flooding and drought, noting water as a key policy area she oversees. She emphasised the need to hear directly from farmers to inform her work at a national level and to encourage continued engagement with agencies like the Environment Agency (EA).

In the meeting, Rachel heard from a range of members regarding water-related matters on farm and the challenges faced in Gloucestershire. Flooding was a key point of the discussion, as was the need for improved support from the EA and other organisations. 

County adviser Hattie Severinsen confirmed follow-up actions, including engaging key EA contacts and facilitating informal, ‘kitchen table’ conversations with members.

The meeting closed with agreement on the importance of practical, common-sense collaboration between policymakers and farmers, leveraging local knowledge to influence decisions.

The meeting ended on a cautiously positive note with agreed next steps for stakeholder engagement.

A virtual NFU meeting brought together national NFU leads, local authority representatives, the EA, IDB (Internal Drainage Board) and MPs to discuss agricultural challenges in water management.

The meeting discussed the extreme weather variables that farmers are facing with the current drought conditions and the flooding in recent years, alongside persistent water quality pressures. It was noted that last two arable harvests have been poor, with diversification critical for resilience.

The meeting objectives were: 

1. To hear from Rachel Hallos on the NFU’s national work on water issues and outcomes from the last NFU Water Summit.
2. Input from Zoe Moore, NFU flooding advisor, on NFU’s approach to flooding policy and support.
3. Local updates from:
   • Pete Belk, Gloucestershire County Council - Natural Flood Management (NFM) grant.
   • Internal Drainage Board (IDB) - ongoing projects.
4. Share NFU members’ experiences and priorities following the previous day’s smaller meeting with around 15 NFU members.
5. Discuss ongoing collaboration and what needs to be done to help mitigate the challenges faced by the agricultural industry. 

Key areas discussed were climate change adaptation and educating on soil health; sea level rise in Gloucestershire and local impact; the importance of livestock; better engagement between farmers and stakeholders; as well as more MP support to encourage national change.

A big thank you to Rachel for listening and supporting Gloucestershire members.

»Ê¼Ò»ªÈËwill continue working with Gloucestershire stakeholders and helping to encourage more joined up working to support our members. 

Gloucestershire Harvest Festival Service 2025 will commence at 3pm on Sunday 5 October at Gloucester Cathedral.

It will be a joint thanksgiving service involving the National Farmers’ Union, Gloucestershire Young Farmers’ Club, and the Country Land and Business Association.

We do hope you can join us.

There will be a cash collection for Gloucestershire Farming Friends.

Please RSVP to the regional office by emailing [email protected]  or call 02476 939404.

This is a notice for the Gloucestershire elections for County Chair and Council Delegate. 

Nominations are invited for these posts to serve for a two year period (2026 to 2028). 

If you are interested in either opportunity or would like to discuss the role further, please do get in touch with your County Adviser Hattie Severinsen - [email protected]. 

Both County Chair and Council Representative will serve as NFU Council members and will be expected to agree to the NFU's code of conduct for office holders. 

This is a great opportunity to serve your fellow farmers. 

For the full election notice, see the September issue of the British Farmer & Grower magazine.