| Grassland
Kubota helps Thames Valley Police step up its fight
on rural crime
Since becoming the first police force in the UK to
introduce a marked Kubota all terrain utility vehicle into its
fleet over a year ago, Thames Valley Police has
significantly stepped up its fight on rural crime, resulting
in better protection for farms and local businesses.
ubota UK supplied
Thames Valley
Police with an
RTVX900, a high
performance and
rugged machine
that is designed to handle any
terrain, even in the toughest of
conditions. Used by Carterton
Police force that covers West
Oxfordshire, the vehicle has
responded to more than 100
crimes many of which have been
rural crime operations, reducing
countryside crime by over 50%
since last year.
A decision that was backed by
K
former PM and former local MP for
Witney, David Cameron, the
Kubota vehicle has assisted
Thames Valley Police to have a
significant impact on rural crime
due to the terrain utility vehicle’s
ability to reach remote and
challenging rural areas quicker
and easier than standard police
fleet vehicles.
PCSO Colin Davies, Police
Community Support Officer for
Thames Valley Police who is
based at Carterton station, added:
“We are extremely proud of our
pioneering partnership with
Kubota. Not only has the vehicle
been instrumental in significantly
reducing rural crime levels in the
West Oxfordshire area, but it has
also increased confidence within
the community who can now rest
assured that the police can get to
them when they need them.
“In addition, Kubota recently
provided us with a new
replacement RTVX900 that has
performance enhancements,
which will help us step up our fight
against rural crime even further
moving forward.”
The economic impact of rural
crime on local communities and
the personal impact they have on
victims is a serious issue across
the UK, not just in Oxfordshire.
According to NFU Mutual, crime
costs rural communities in the
region of £42.5m each year.
Robert Courts, MP for Witney &
West Oxfordshire, said: “The
Kubota has proven to be a great
asset to Thames Valley Police in
their fight against rural crime.
Officers have told me that it has
been particularly useful in reaching
some of the more remote areas
that regular police vehicles
struggle to reach, so it really has
been a great addition to the fleet.”
‘Six steps to consistently
better silage’ at this
year’s Grassland and
Muck Event
In recognition of farmer concerns about volatility in
bought-in feed costs, animal nutrition and silage experts,
Volac, will be sponsoring a series of ‘Clamp Talks’ at this
year’s Grassland and Muck event (24-25 May, 2017,
Stoneleigh, Warwickshire) – to help farmers achieve more
from home-produced silage.
orming part of
Volac’s new Cut to
Clamp initiative,
the focused talks
will provide an
opportunity to
hear top silage-making tips from
renowned independent silage
consultant, Dr David Davies.
Cut to Clamp aims to help
farmers produce consistently
better silage by focusing on best
practice in six key areas: cutting,
wilting, treating, harvesting,
clamping and feeding.
Its launch follows a Volac survey
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26 | Farming Monthly | April 2017
of over 100 dairy farmers that
found that, despite more than 80%
of farmers looking to reduce
bought-in feed costs, and 90%
rating greater use of grass silage
as either extremely or very
important in helping to achieve
this, nearly 80% of farmers thought
they could make better silage.
The daily, 10-minute ‘Clamp
Talks’ will take place at the event’s
North Clamp at 11:00 am, 1:00 pm
and 3:00 pm. Volac will also be
exhibiting in the event’s main trade
area.
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk