ORGANIC dairy farmer is new chair of east sussex NFU
An organic dairy farmer whose family have farmed in Sussex for more than 250 years is the new chairman of East Sussex NFU.
Phil Hook, from Longleys Farm, near Hailsham, is well known as chairman of the Hailsham Market Action Group which is battling to prevent closure of the town's historic livestock market.
Keeping this vital facility for south east livestock farmers is one of Phil's main goals for his two-year term as East Sussex NFU chairman.
"We will fight tooth and nail to keep Hailsham livestock market," he told the East Sussex NFU's annual general meeting in Uckfield on January 17. "One of the main aims for my term as NFU chairman will be to keep the market open – to lose it would be unthinkable for south east farmers."
Phil Hook also urged farmers to make financial pledges that could help the Hailsham Market Action Group attract match-funding from grant sources to keep the market open.
Phil Hook, who has been happily married to Sylvia for 41 years, is a father of six and a grandfather of 14. He has lived at Longleys Farm all his life, farming in partnership with his eldest son Steve for 15 years. The pair milk 70 Holstein Friesian cows and farm 180 acres on the edge of the Pevensey Levels, half of which fall within the Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) wetland. They have farmed organically for the past seven years.
Phil Hook has a reputation for networking and collaborating well with other farmers and growers, having held both local and county positions within Young Farmers' Club and the NFU. He is a past chairman of the Rolvenden-based buying group, Southern Farmers' Ltd, (formerly Sussex Farmers' Ltd), and he has been a proficiency examiner for Plumpton College, near Lewes, where he examined students of agriculture in dairy and animal husbandry skills.
"It would be nice to see more youngsters coming into farming. We need to talk up our industry and the careers within it, encouraging the younger generation at every opportunity," said Phil.
Phil's farming interests have become more diverse in recent years. He is closely involved in the Wealden Organic Dairy Company, a co-operative of organic milk producers from Kent and Sussex. He is also growing 'cricket bat' willows on the farm and is in the process of developing a major composting project.
Phil said: "Farming income alone is not sufficient to maintain a viable business, especially with the price of milk being little more than the price of production."
He added: "I hope I can bring some of my experiences to bear. It will be an honour to serve fellow NFU members as their county chairman."
