BUT THE WORK GOES ON
NO SHOW IN 2001
BUT THE WORK GOES ON
With the Royal Show, Cereals 2001 and Muck 2001 cancelled, you might
imagine that the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) would be facing 12
months of enforced inactivity. Not so, says the RASEs Richard Sanders, who
explains that theres rather more to the society than just organising big shows
WHAT will you do all year without the Royal Show? That is a question staff at the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) have been fielding since the foot-and-mouth epidemic caused the abandonment of its annual July celebration of food, farming and the countryside.
Its also a question that many of the staff must have asked themselves as the society entered the unknown waters of an operating year without its flagship event.
And the answer? A substantial body of work, much of it revolving around the effect of F&M on individual farmers, and positioning UK agriculture for the tough market and political challenges ahead.
At the core of the societys F&M efforts has been the ARC-Addington Fund. This was instigated by the Archbishop of Canterbury to work through the Arthur Rank Centre, the part of the RASE that (along with other bodies) serves the rural community and its churches. Its mission was to provide speedy financial assistance, not just to farmers, but also to others in rural communities whose incomes and lives are dependent on farming.
Public generosity
"None of us could have imagined back in early March the enormity of the crisis nor the generosity of the general public. The ARC-Addington Fund has completely taken over the work of the Arthur Rank Centre (ARC) and many RASE staff," says Gordon Gatward, ARC director.
Following the news that the fund was one of six charities benefiting from a £500,000 donation from HRH The Prince of Wales in mid March, the public response was overwhelming. Some days it took six people most of the day to open the mailbags containing donations and letters. The RASE has processed each cheque and written thank-you letters to donors – no mean task.
Across the country more than 9000 farming businesses have been helped by the £5.5m ARC-Addington Fund. Typical is the story of one West Country producer who has been helped by the charity.
In North Devon, David Slee is a small family farmer renting 34ha (85 acres) in the village of Sheepwash. His is the only farm remaining in the parish with any livestock. Because of the infected area restrictions he was unable to move or sell stock or even leave the farm to carry out his off-farm employment.
"We were desperate. We had no food for our suckler cattle and no income and the government was doing absolutely nothing to help us," says Mr Slee. "But we contacted the ARC-Addington Fund and they were absolutely fantastic."
The fund responded immediately with a cheque for £500 towards silage to fill the gap until Mr Slee was able to turn his animals out.
Media coverage
Extensive media coverage highlighting the plight of farmers in the F&M hotspots such as Devon, Cumbria and the Scottish Borders has boosted donations to the charitys funds. In Mr Slees region of the South West, the Western Morning News ran its own Green Wellie campaign to raise money for the fund with donations targeted at Cornwall and Devon.
Says David Slee, "We would have been staring disaster in the face if it hadnt been for the Addington fund."
Meanwhile, the RASE HQ at Stoneleigh has been taking 200 calls a day from those needing help. Each has been answered by someone with an in-depth knowledge of farming and sympathy for the problems being experienced.
Spirits were boosted when the Prince of Wales visited Stoneleigh in April. He was keen to see for himself the work in progress and learn the detailed concerns of so many people in rural areas.
Prince agreed
"The prince agreed that the effects of the virus will be felt for a long time to come," says Gordon Gatward. "The RASE and the Arthur Rank Centre will be instrumental in rebuilding the farming industry and rural communities."
For much of the F&M epidemic the RASE has been working with Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) in helping to keep rural businesses afloat. The RDA which covers the home patch of the RASE at Stoneleigh is Advantage West Midlands. In common with other agencies it convened a Rural Response Team to handle the economic and social crisis generated by the virus.
Out of that meeting the RASE was commissioned to compile a guide, primarily designed for those supporting businesses, outlining all the sources of help that can keep an enterprise afloat. Whether its rescheduling loans, laying off staff or letting the world know you are still open for business, all the key contacts are listed. It has been updated weekly and has been copied by agencies up and down the UK.
So what about the show and the RASEs annual programme of exhibitions, conferences and events? Not surprisingly, F&M has decimated the show programme.
First to be culled was Muck, planned for the end of April in Cheshire. Along with event hosts Farmcare (formerly CWS Agriculture) the society agreed that cancellation was the only option.
For the Royal Show, the decision was far more difficult and onerous. Contingency plans for the show to proceed were developed and then swept aside as F&M rolled on. As the daily toll of cases climbed above 30 a day, and knowing how previous outbreaks had spread, the Royal Show 2001 was abandoned.
"The RASE has a duty to err on the side of caution and make sure that none of its activities pose a threat to the nations livestock sector and the rural economy as a whole," says chief executive Mike Calvert. It also has a key role in taking a lead on such difficult decisions.
A hectic round of activity began, cancelling orders and informing members, the public and VIPs. There was also the task of deciding which of the shows features could be salvaged for other events, or modified for another year.
Key decision
One key decision was to stage a new event – AgriVision – at Stoneleigh on Dec 5 and 6. Its aim is to help the industry examine the implications of the changes that F&M will precipitate in land-use and the food chain. AgriVision will focus on farmings future and is designed to give a psychological and business boost to farmers and other rural businesses.
Says Mike Calvert: "Agri-Vision will fly the British flag and allow those in our industry a unique chance to mix, mingle and exchange ideas."
The format will match display stands with practical seminars and keynote conference sessions.
August bank holiday will see the RASE Town and Country Festival including new features aimed at restoring public confidence in British food and farming.
But the real target of activity within the societys exhibitions department is the Royal Show 2002. With the luxury of over 15 months of planning, and a real desire to make 2002 a year to remember after the black months of 2001, much is riding on the next Royal Show. It will be good and it will be memorable, says Mike Calvert.
Away from big shows and national pastoral care, the RASE also has its own land and its own F&M-prompted problems. The Royal Show car parks are rented out most of the year for grazing sheep. Spring 2001 saw those sheep ready to lamb, while the societys own herd of White Park cattle were enjoying the comfort of their winter housing on the Showground.
Confirmed F&M cases were not far away, with cases just north of Coventry in Warwick-shire and in Leicestershire. On Mar 22 the RASE was served with a Form A notice after two lame ewes were spotted. A full veterinary inspection showed it was a false alarm and immediately a Form B was issued. But having faced the prospect of total closure of the National Agricultural Centre at Stoneleigh, a difficult decision was inevitable – livestock will no longer be allowed on RASE land other than for shows.
All the sheep have now gone to pastures new and the White Park cattle have found new, happy owners in the form of estate manager Alan Hunt and livestock officer Debbie Dann who have rented neighbouring land nearby.
They plan to market the beef locally through Rare Breeds Survival Trust-approved butchers.
Back in the wider world, the year-round work of the RASE continues. It announced in January that it was merging the Food and Farming Education Service (which it manages) with the NFUs Education Millennium Trust.
The merger will be sealed at the start of September with the arrival of a new head of education, Bill Graham, who brings education and curriculum experience from Birmingham City Councils education department and the Birmingham Botanic Gardens. Armed with some £600,000 of joint NFU and RASE funding, Mr Graham will arrive at a time when there is much post-F&M education work to be done.
Lost all links
"One of the problems of modern life is that people have lost all day-to-day links with the countryside," says Mr Graham. "It is vital to revive those links by stimulating peoples interest in food and farming."
The work of the RASE and the year-round workplace that is the NAC at Stoneleigh in Warwick-shire will survive F&M. In the years to come it plans to be ever busier showcasing agriculture and wider rural matters as well as helping rebuild farm and rural policy.