Levy payers will learn about the future direction of AHDB and how the levy will be invested over the next five years, when the new sector councils unveil their strategies this week.
Sector councils will outline the new priorities for Pork, Beef & Lamb, Cereals & Oilseeds and Dairy during a ‘Delivering the Future of Farming’ online event on Thursday November 10, with levy payers able to ask questions about each of the new key areas of work. The pork session is due to start at 4pm.
Levy payers can register to join the livestreamed event online on the AHDB website.
AHDB Pork Sector chair Mike Sheldon recently revealed that three priorities had been identified for what will be a reduced pork levy spend from next year – exports, domestic promotion and enhancing pork’s reputation.
Ahead of the meeting, AHDB announced on Friday that it will no longer be providing funding for the Pig Health Scheme after this year.
AHDB Chief Executive Officer Tim Rycroft said: “Thousands of levy payers had a say in ‘Shape the Future’. Now we are taking the next step in delivering our promise to put levy payers at the heart of everything we do.
“This event will be a chance for levy payers to hear from their own sector council representatives on the work that will be prioritised by AHDB.”
Those who sign up for the ‘Delivering the Future of Farming’ event will be able to access sector specific breakout sessions, allowing levy payers to ask questions and understand the plans in more detail.
Reputation scored highly across livestock sectors when levy payers had their say as part of the ‘Shape the Future’ campaign. That will be reflected in the new sector strategies as one the key themes, while research and market insight has been identified as a major priority for cereals and oilseeds producers, AHDB said.
As well as the results from ‘Shape the Future’, and as part of the decision-making process, sector councils have also considered various financial constraints, including rising inflation, a change to AHDB’s VAT status and changes in levy income, when identifying the main areas of work.