Chairman’s report 2025
Dear Member,
It’s that time of year, a time of reflection but also a time to look forward.
A lot of crops looked promising in the spring, but the latest heatwaves and continued dry weather has led to an early harvest for most of us. The lack of grass is equally a worry for those of us with livestock. As always, the year will be judged on what ends up in the barn and how much we are paid for it.
The recent passing of Steve Warr came as an unexpected shock, and he would have been well known to many of you. Steve was a great asset to the group, and his involvement spanned 25 years in all. He was an instructor, represented the Proficiency Test Council, served briefly as our treasurer and will be remembered for many a wise comment at committee level.
Less predictable weather, rising costs, increased regulation, a new Government also now a year older, continue to frustrate our future planning. New Countryside schemes are still evolving and will hopefully become a bit clearer as time goes on.
Keeping an up to date, well trained farming community, will help with those future decisions.
Despite the world’s problems, the Training Group has survived another year without Government funding, this being our tenth year of self-sufficiency. The committee has carefully examined the group’s finances, and after much discussion over our budget, I am pleased to say that the committee have decided that membership fees should remain the same for this year.
A safer agricultural industry is based on good training, so while course rates are still so competitive, this autumn is a good time to think about catching up with your training needs.
Have you checked out cwetg.org our website. Launched back in April last year it should provide you with the latest news and information on events and courses running. You can view a pdf version of our course programme at any time. A printed version will still be sent out to you, but probably not as often as before.
The combinable crop agronomy (farmers / managers, spray operators) and potato agronomy groups are costed individually according to expected attendance and running costs. These groups qualify for both NRoSO and Basis CPD points and meet at the key decision times during the year. If you or your spray operators would like to attend, please let Debbie know.
We offer a wide range of courses through out the year, but if you have any specific training requirements, need an update on a regulatory course, have had difficulty using your course allocation, or have any suggestions for different courses, then please contact Debbie.
Thank for your continued support and best wishes for the year ahead.
Yours sincerely,
John Upson
Training Group Chairman.