Robert Shaw from Caunton, Newark is Nottinghamshire’s new county chairman
Robert Shaw from Caunton, Newark is Nottinghamshire’s new county chairman; he takes over from current chairman, Simon Bust, this week.
Rob, who farms 140 acres of arable crops and some permanent pasture at Debdale Hill Farm with his wife Anne, also manages Parish Farming, a 950-acre partnership of five local farmers.
"Local is our watchword, really," says Rob. "We try to use as much of our own or local contractors’ machinery and labour as possible. The partnership works well; we’ve all known each other for a long time and so working together in this way was the logical thing to do. All the land is farmed as one, with all labour being self-employed or we use local contractors. And now we’re all reaping the benefits – it’s a very cost effective method of keeping income optimised and overheads at a controllable level."
Rob is a past chairman of Newark branch and has been active in Nottinghamshire YFC and Newark Rowing Club.
He has strong views on the future of NFU in the county:
"The next few years will see some great changes in the industry, so NFU must encourage more farmers to get involved and ensure there is much stronger communication between all levels of the organisation. I want to get to know many more of the county’s farmers and get them to join in with more NFU meetings and activities.
"I think we will have to encourage branches to meet together more often – the longer term prospects for local meetings don’t seem strong at the moment, but as a smaller county, with close farming connections, Nottinghamshire NFU has a good foundation and should remain strong.
"With fewer farmers farming more land with less labour, it’s hard to spare the time for meetings and events off farm, but NFU’s strength lies in its membership, so keeping people involved and ensuring that their voices are heard and views taken into account, is important. With the reform of CAP on the agenda and the swingeing cuts to the Defra budget, farmers will face some challenging times. NFU will be there, however, to represent the industry and to lobby at home and on the world stage for UK agriculture."
Parish Farming’s cropping includes wheat, oilseed rape and maize for a local dairy farm. Rob manages the day to day running of the enterprise, his wife Anne is the farms’ secretary.
He takes over as Nottinghamshire county chairman at the NFU’s national conference (15-16 February, NEC, Birmingham), from Halam arable and beef farmer, Simon Bust. Rob also becomes one of Nottinghamshire’s Council representatives, together with Woodborough farmer, John Charles-Jones.