Hot topics tackled at Dairy-Tech 2025

Coming at a particularly tough time for farming, just a few months on from the Autumn Budget and shortly after the review into farm assurance, this year’s Dairy-Tech saw a number of hot topics debated at Stoneleigh Park on 5th February.

Supply chain support

To coincide with the event, the NFU submitted a letter to the Treasury signed by the food supply chain, urging the government to reconsider controversial changes to inheritance tax. It was signed by nearly 60 businesses, with those from the dairy industry worth £7bn.

Speaking to Farmers Guide at the show, NFU Dairy Board chair Paul Tompkins said the support from the dairy supply chain was unprecedented. Acknowledging the various protests going on around the UK, he added that the NFU will stick to its core strategy, which is professional lobbying.

“Whilst that can sometimes give the impression that there’s no activity or the activity is limited, the reality is, that is the best way to change people’s minds.”

Whilst IHT has been the headline-grabber, it’s important to remember that it takes up only 1% of Defra’s bandwidth, Paul stressed – and it’s important that we pay attention to the other 99% of its activity, including other unsavoury parts of the Budget, and the upcoming spending review.

A consultation was recently launched for the Land Use Framework, and others will follow. Whether it be planning, compulsory purchase and permitting and environmental regulation for dairy farms, it’s all on the agenda – and this will be the focus for the next six months, Paul shared.

The NFU continues to have a good working relationship and open dialogue with civil service and the departments affecting the way we farm, even at secretary of state level, he added.

Farm assurance at Dairy-Tech

A political session in the Dairy Hub was packed with visitors, who grilled the heads of the AHDB, NFU and RABDF on current issues. Session chair Chris Walkland kicked off the discussion by asking the audience if they believed Red Tractor will change following the recent farm assurance review – to which a minority raised their hands.

Panel members Tom Bradshaw, NFU president; Graham Wilkinson, AHDB CEO; and Hayley Campbell-Gibbons, RABDF chief executive, were asked what they are going to do about Red Tractor in light of the report’s findings.

The panel welcomed the findings of the independent review, which was commissioned by the AHDB and NFU, and stressed that Red Tractor will have to change. Graham announced that an independent person will be appointed to carry out a six-month review, ensuring all organisations involved are held to account.

Tom added: “It’s absolutely crucial that farm assurance works for farming, and I think one of the overwhelming parts of the report is that this has felt like it’s been done to farming rather than done with farming. It is absolutely essential that that change happens.

“I genuinely feel when people started off in farm assurance, most people were proud to be part of it. That left for many of us a long while ago and we’ve got to get back to a place where we believe in the reasons that we’re doing it, and we believe that it adds value within our farms and within our businesses.”

A recruitment process is also underway for a new Red Tractor chair, an appointment which Tom believes will be essential to how the recommendations in the report are adopted and put in place.

US trade deal

In light of Donald Trump’s recent comments on EU trading tariffs and the potential for a UK deal, Tom said farmers will be worse off if a UK-US deal comes at the cost of our relationship with the EU. A chart put together by the NFU “creates a very compelling picture as to why the EU is our most important marketplace”, he noted.

“Now that’s not to say we can’t do a trade deal or have a trading relationship with the US. We clearly already have a trading relationship with the US, but if that ends up jeopardising our access to the EU market, then as farmers, we will be worse off.

“The bit that we have to focus on is how do we make sure we give the biggest opportunity for our members to have thriving profitable businesses?”

Initial AHDB analysis shows that the UK exports 11,000 tonnes of dairy products to the EU, of which 9,000t is cheese, representing 1% of our exports, but 4% in terms of value.

However, Tom added that we must not be simply rule takers with the EU, with no ability to influence or make our own rules. For example, gene editing could offer the UK an opportunity to be genuinely world leading, but dynamic alignment with the EU is a “danger” if we lose the ability to input into those rules.

The next Dairy-Tech event is scheduled for Wednesday 24th February 2026.

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