Tonbridge members enjoyed a farm walk, kindly hosted by Duncan Pierce.
County Chair Clive Baxter gave an update on NFU lobbying, Hugh Richards spoke about livestock and FCN, Charlotte Hudson gave a NFU crops update and Alice Montgomerie spoke about the work she is doing as an NFU education ambassador in schools.
Afterwards, members enjoyed seeing a collection of steam engines and had the opportunity to ride in one.
There was a Kent water meeting on 26 June at NIAB, East Malling Research which focused on the dry weather situation, policy changes, abstraction licences, regional planning, risk maps and multi-sector engagement.
Members also had the chance to a tour of a plum orchard and saw some new horticulture tech.
It was great to catch up with members at Fruit Focus. This included National Horticulture Chair Martin Emmett speaking on a panel discussion. Martin and Clive Baxter were also interviewed by ITV Meridian on the challenges facing the sector.
Rural crime remains a key focus. I met the police rural task force in July to discuss the main issues. One issue that arose is the police seeing an increased amount of burnt, shredded and cut cabling being left across our rural areas and are currently looking to understand the extent of the issue across the county.
If you find any discarded or damaged cable, could you please report this to the Rural Task Force, via a short email to [email protected] with a location, ideally a what3word if possible.
We continue to meet with MPs, including Dover and Deal MP Mike Tapp and Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Kevin McKenna.
I鈥檓 also hoping to meet the leader of Kent County Council to highlight the importance of food and farming.