Two young people from Northern Ireland, aged between 18 and 24, will have an opportunity to speak at the 2024 Nuffield Farming Conference.

The three–day event takes place in Belfast between November 19 and 21 next year.

The selected duo will be part of the Nuffield Farming ‘Next-Gen’ Scholarship Programme.

A pilot scheme for the programme will run in 2024. It will be open exclusively to young people in Northern Ireland with a demonstrable interest in the dairy industry.

Nuffield

Tom Rawson, vice-chair of Nuffield Farming scholarships, attended the recent launch of the ‘Next-Gen’ programme, held at the Agri-Food and BioSciences Institute (AFBI) in Hillsborough.

He confirmed the significance of the new scholarship and its specific relevance to Northern Ireland’s dairy sector.

“Next-Gen will provide young people, aged between 18 and 24 with an opportunity to secure an in-depth knowledge of the UK’s dairy farming sector in 2024.

“It will also allow the scholarship recipients, and all the initial applicants, to find out more about Nuffield farming scholarships and the key role played by the Nuffield organisation at the very heart of the farming and food industries,” he said.

Scholarship programme

Two applicants will be selected by the Northern Ireland Nuffield Farming Association to take part in a fully funded, 30-day dairy sector study programme in the UK during the early summer of 2024.

The programme aims to give young people the opportunity to develop their understanding of the industry, while also building networks and future opportunities.

The application period for the ‘Next-Gen’ scholarship is already open, it will close on January 31, 2024.

Interviews for shortlisted applicants will take place in early February 2024, and scholarship recipients will be announced by the end of that month.

Dairy

The study tour is supported by the Nuffield Farming Dairy Group and will provide an overview of the UK dairy industry.

The scholars will participate in a dairy tour in North Wales, and visit more than ten other dairy businesses.

In addition, the scholars will be assigned a mentor and give a presentation about their experiences at the 2024 Nuffield Farming Conference, which will be held in Belfast.

Following a successful pilot programme, the Next-Gen Scholarship will be made available to young people across the UK in a variety of sectors, with up to six scholarships awarded each year.

Rupert Alers-Hankey, director designate of the Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust, said that the programme aims to develop young talent within the industry.

“It is an exciting initiative for Nuffield Farming and forms an important part of our commitment to leading positive change in agriculture.

“We hope that taking part in the programme will enable young people to establish themselves in the industry, while also getting a flavour of all that Nuffield Farming has to offer.

“Launching our pilot programme in Northern Ireland is particularly special as the Nuffield Farming Conference returns to Belfast in 2024,” he said.

The post Nuffield launches ‘Next-Gen’ scholarship programme in NI appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Belfast City Council is offering a grant of up to £50,000 for the creation of a social farm or garden in the city.

The council is seeking expressions of interest from Belfast-based small businesses, community groups and schools to create a temporary city centre social farm or garden for a period of around 18 months.

The deadline for expressions of interest is 5:00p.m on Monday, August 21, and projects must be completed by February 29, 2024.

The council said the project will be supported by the “expertise” of its ‘Greening the City’ Advisory Group.

Organisations represented on the Greening the City Advisory Group include:

• Belfast City Council;
• Belfast Health and Social Care Trust;
• Belfast Healthy Cities;
• Belfast Hills Partnership;
• Department for Infrastructure;
• EastSide Partnership;
• Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful;
• Northern Ireland Environment Link;
• Northern Ireland Housing Executive;
• Outdoor Recreation Northern Ireland;
• Public Health Agency;
• Queen’s University Belfast;
• The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB NI);
• Social Farms and Gardens;
• West Belfast Partnership Board.

Chair of Belfast City Council’s city growth and regeneration committee, Cllr. Clíodhna Nic Bhranair, said: “Our ‘Bolder Vision for Belfast’ includes encouraging a greener, less polluted city centre – so we want grey to green proposals to focus on urban farming, social gardening or a community food-growing initiative, possibly on a council owned site.

“We’ll be supporting the project we fund through our advisory group’s expertise – and we’ll be encouraging proactive community engagement to create a sense of ownership.

“We’re looking forward to seeing greater biodiversity in the city centre being achieved through the introduction of plants, flowers, bug hotels and bird boxes.”

Nic Bhranair said the project also provides a great opportunity to raise awareness about food growing, nutrition, and how they link to health and well-being.

An online information session is being held at 6:30p.m on Thursday, August 10, and those interested in attending should email the council to receive a registration link.

The post 50k grant offered for Belfast city centre farm project appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Belfast-based company Bia Analytical Ltd. has signed an agreement with trinamiX GmbH to develop technology to detect food fraud in the agri-food chain.

The companies aim to combine knowledge to provide customers with a rapid, portable authenticity result at the point of sampling, which Bia Analytical said will be “an immensely disruptive technology to aid in the fight against food fraud”.

Bia Analytical develops methods using chemometric modelling and artificial intelligence (AI) applications to help reduce food business’ exposure to the risk of food fraud.

These methods are becoming the preferred way to detect economically motivated adulteration, or food fraud. 

TrinamiX GmbH works closely with partners from different fields to introduce immediate material analysis for enhanced decision making across various industries.

Fraud detection

“Combining both Bia Analytical and trinamiX core competencies to develop an innovative solution, will allow clients to test ingredients and receive immediate results, enabling real-time key decision making,” Bia Analytical said.

“As easy as pushing a button, users carry out tests with a handheld device that is connected to an intuitive app for fast results.

“This authenticity testing solution will be especially useful in detecting food fraud at the point of sampling.”

Currently, Bia Analytical is digitising their portfolio of lab-based herbs and spices authenticity methods to work on the trinamiX portable platform.

Food fraud

Recently, Bia Analytical announced it had developed a test to detect adulteration in common wheat flour.

The Belfast-based company said: “The soaring price of wheat can increase risks of economically motivated food fraud.

“[Wheat is] one of most widely grown of all crops with the highest monetary yield, leaving it vulnerable to adulteration.”

The post Belfast company developing tech to detect food fraud appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

The agricultural lands form part of the rear section of the Cave Hill situated to the north of the Cave Hill Country Park and the famous ‘Napoleons Nose’.

The property sits approximately 6 miles north of Belfast and a short distance from Mallusk and is listed with Osborne King.

Grazing purposes

The lands, which have a steep topography, are currently used for grazing purposes. They are accessed via both the Hightown and Upper Hightown Roads.

A stone lane transverses the lands linking the two access points and provides access to a telephone mast which has been sold previously by way of a long lease, according to the estate agents.

In addition, there are building ruins present on site which could also provide an opportunity, subject to planning.

The lands give way to the possibility of multiple different ventures, subject to planning and statutory consents, as they suit a range of uses.

These alternate uses could include (but are not limited to):

• Agriculture;
• Energy/renewables;
• Leisure;
• Forestry;
• Minerals and commodities;
• Telecoms;
• Utilities.

Wind turbine

Interestingly, planning consent was granted in July 2015 under reference U/2014/0292/F for the erection of a single wind turbine – 30.4m hub height with 14.55m blades.

In addition to the wind turbine, and important to note, the site is shown within the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 (draft) and is within a site of local Nature Conservation Importance and an Area of High Scenic Value.

According to Osborne King: “Purchasers are advised to make their own enquiries in relation to planning and statutory consents.”

Lastly, the sale does not include entitlements under the Single Farm Payment Scheme. Moreover to this, prospective purchasers should carry out their full due diligence in advance of purchase.

Public auction

The property will be offered for sale by way of public auction on May 1, 2020, at 11:00am (unless previously sold or withdrawn). Any interested parties can attend the auction at Belfast Castle, Antrim Road, Belfast (BT15 5GR).

The agricultural lands at Cave Hill have a guide price of £600,000; reflecting less than £2,500/ac.

Additional information can be found online.

The post 241ac slice of Belfast’s Cave Hill up for sale appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

It has a favoured situation, being only six miles south of Belfast city centre; Lisburn, meanwhile, is four miles; the M1 motorway (connecting Belfast to Dublin) is also four miles in distance; Belfast City Airport is 10 miles; and Belfast International Airport is 18 miles.

The River Lagan forms the north-western boundary of the estate. The area is characterised by its rolling productive farmland either side of the Lagan Valley.

Arable, pasture and woodland

The farmland is let on a Conacre basis to a number of local farmers. In the past, it previously carried a dairy herd of 100 milking cows, as well as pigs, chickens and horses.

The land is situated within a contiguous block and with gently undulating topography.

The agricultural element of the estate is a key feature and comprises 118ac of productive arable land which has the ability to grow the full range of arable crops.

The arable land is generally free-draining and is laid out in fields of a good size and shape for modern agriculture.

The depth and quality of the soil make it capable of growing a wide variety of arable crops, which have, in recent years, included potatoes, carrots, cereals and excellent grass swards.

As well as this, there is also 14ac of pasture land, divided into three fields of permanent pasture, which provide useful grazing.

Lastly, there is 6ac of mixed woodland. The woods include some outstanding specimen trees which provide shelter, amenity, timber and privacy.

They are spread throughout the estate and are a key part of the landscape. The woods comprise a variety of mature deciduous species.

The remaining land, which encompasses roads, yards, buildings, river, etc., totals 11ac.

Farm buildings

Situated to the rear of the house is an extensive range of farm buildings. They are mostly of traditional construction beneath corrugated roofs.

Some of the buildings were at the forefront of agricultural design techniques when constructed; however, the farm buildings at Newgrove are presently used for storage.

The buildings have a separate access which forks off the main driveway. There is ample hard-standing.

A mill race passes through the northern boundary.

Newgrove properties

Newgrove House is believed to have been constructed between 1760 and 1779, as an addition to the front of an existing earlier dwelling. It is 1,143.60m², including a garage and loft.

It is a seven-bedroom period house, comprising a reception hall, dining room, drawing room and a study.

An enclosed courtyard is situated to the rear and includes a range of stores, while a small area of lawns resides to the front and side of the house.

Additional amenities include: A mains water supply; a mains electricity supply; and private drainage. The house has oil-fired central heating.

Within the farmyard is a former farm worker’s single-storey cottage; while situated at the north-east of the estate is the site of the former lock-keepers’ cottages.

Further information

Newgrove Estate has been brought to the market through Savills. It is for sale whole, with a guide price of £2.1 million.

Further information can be found online.

The post 149.3ac agricultural estate with productive farmland for sale whole appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Friday, October 6, is expected to see thousands of country fans of all age groups descending on the SSE Arena, for the Farmers’ Bash.

Country music stars Derek Ryan, Lisa McHugh and Robert Mizzell, powered by The Grassmen, are topping the bill of the Farmers’ Bash.

Special guests appearing at the family-friendly shindig will be Marty Mone of “Hit The Diff” fame and country favourites Hugo Duncan and Country Harmony. The show hosts will be Tre and Tori, and there will be a big dance floor for all the jivers.

The event, presented by LSFX Productions, is being promoted as the UK and Ireland’s biggest ever indoor country music dance.

It’s expected to attract 10,000 country music and country jiving fans from across Ireland and further afield who want to see their musical heroes perform in what the organisers are hailing at ‘the country party of a lifetime.’

Event spokesperson Darren Gardiner from LSFX Productions said: “The Farmers’ Bash promises to be the ultimate country music event to be staged in Northern Ireland. It’s one massive stage, one massive dance floor and one massive party.

Country music has soared in popularity in recent years, and there is a huge fan base for the music, who want to come together to enjoy themselves, dancing to the music they love.

The show is being sponsored by: Newbridge Silverware’s new store in Arthur Street, Belfast; John Deere; CIP Insurance; and Eurospar.

Doors open at 7:00pm, with the show kicking off at 8:00pm. A limited number of tickets are still on sale, priced at £28.00 and £30.00, and are available from www.ticketmaster.ie and www.ssearenabelfast.com.

The post Belfast is keeping it country at Farmers’ Bash appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.

Organisers are encouraging visitors to make the “smart move” by planning their journeys in advance and to make use of special bus, coach and rail travel services.

Driving to Balmoral

From the west or north-west organisers advise taking the M1 to junction 8 and following the directional signage.

From Belfast or the north-east, travel south on the M1, coming off at Sprucefield and follow directional signage to Balmoral Park.

From the south, travel up the A1 dual carriageway and follow the directional signage.

There is ample car parking available at a cost of £7 per day, per car.

By train

The following Enterprise trains from Connolly Station, Dublin, will be stopping at Lisburn Train Station over the four-day show:
Dublin – Belfast: 7.35am, 9.30am, 11.20am and 1.20pm
Belfast – Dublin: 2.05pm, 4.05pm, 6.05pm and 8.05pm

A complimentary shuttle bus service will be provided from Lisburn Train Station to the showground from 9.00am to 6.20pm (Wednesday, Friday and Saturday) and 8.20pm (Thursday). Exhibitors can also use a special shuttle service – available from 8.30am.

The estimated outward shuttle journey time is around 20-30 minutes and passengers are advised to allow 30-45 minutes for return transfers to onward train connections – particularly those using cross-border or north-west services.

Balmoral Show 2017 opening times:
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday: 9.30am – 6:00pm
Thursday: 9.30am – 8:00pm

The post Going to Balmoral Show? Here’s how to get there appeared first on Agriland.co.uk.