FOUNDED by businesswoman and farmer Jo Martin , Rural Business Network was launched to fill a gap in the market and offer support to rural-based businesses . The organisation provides a forum for members to learn , communicate and grow , hosting regular online meetings on topics such as diversification , digital media and how to raise finance .

In September 2020 , a successful crowdfunding campaign raised £ 10,000 to help fund Rural Business Network as it grows to offer more to its members .

The Network now boasts more than 60 members from up and down the UK , ranging from farmers and food & drink producers to agricultural

accountants and holiday park owners . There will be a ‘ Meet the Members ’ event on April 1st , an opportunity to connect with likeminded businesses and coincide with the milestone .

Jo Martin and Rural Business Network were shortlisted for

two major awards in 2020 – in the Digital Innovator of the Year category at the British Farming Awards and reaching the semi-finals of the Santander Emerging Entrepreneurs Programme . Founder Jo Martin commented : “ I have been blown

away by the reaction to Rural Business Network from the farming and rural community over the last year and am over the moon with how far our membership has grown in such a short space of time .

“ Members benefit from a dedicated contact to answer any of their questions , access to online knowledge events on the issues affecting your business , access to our Member ’ s only Facebook group to share stories and successes , and weekly e-newsletters containing relevant news , events and opportunities to take advantage of .

“ The Network is a game changer for rural businesses , providing the resources , connections and knowledge to enable them to thrive . It is my vision to expand

the Network to become the ‘ go-to ’ resource for rural businesses across the UK and Ireland .”

Rural Business Network Member Fiona Fawcett , from the Scottish Highlands , said : “ Joining Rural Business Network has been simply fantastic ! For me it is all about meeting other people who share my rural interests , hopes and dreams . We are all friends of the soil , whether north or south and the help , support and information shared has been amazing and relevant .”

Plans are currently in place to develop a new website , organise regional events when restrictions allow , and continue the programme of online events .

Those interesting in joining can visit rbn . org . uk to find out more .

PIGS farmers are being actively encouraged to look at all aspects of disease prevention to meet new 2024 antibiotic reduction targets set by RUMA ( Responsible Use of Medicines in Agriculture Alliance ).

Gemma Thwaites , a clinical director at Garth Pig Practice , says to date the pig industry has made significant steps forward when it comes to tackling antibiotic use . “ According to AHDB , a 5 % reduction in antibiotic use has already been seen in the first half of 2020

Gemma Thwaites , clinical director at Garth Pig Practice

compared to last year . But , as always , there ’ s still room for improvement .

“ Producers need to look at all aspects of disease prevention , to identify where further improvements can be made in order to reach the further 30 % reduction from the 2020 baseline RUMA has set out .”

Biosecurity

Gemma says that biosecurity on pig farms is fundamental to preventing disease outbreaks and needs to be prioritised at all times .

“ Generally , external biosecurity has greatly improved across farms , and it ’ s internal biosecurity where producers still tend to fall down , especially on farrow to finish farms where it ’ s often the same people managing and vaccinating all the pigs .

“ It can be easy to forget to change or disinfect your boots between sheds , change needles when vaccinating , or to pop into a different shed and not follow the farrow to finish order . But it ’ s

important sites do all they can to limit these actions , as this is how disease spreads ,” she adds .

“ It ’ s also a challenge if you have weekly batches rather than an all-in all-out system , as you constantly have new pigs and new disease pressures ‘ knocking at the door ’.”

Diagnostics

Gemma adds that diagnostics are often an underused resource that need to be considered more widely within the sector to help producers take a more targeted approach to disease control and therefore reduce antibiotic use .

“ The industry can be guilty of looking into a problem once the mortality hits 10 % or daily liveweight gains have dropped significantly , by which time it is often too late . Ideally action needs to be taken as soon as a slight change in performance is seen .

“ As an industry , we need to work closer together on diagnostics . Pharmaceutical

companies , such as MSD Animal Health UK , are also keen to support vets and farmers with on-farm diagnostics to help identify potentially significant diseases and prevent them taking hold of pig herds .

“ Often different viruses present very similar symptoms such as PRRS and flu and without diagnostics it ’ s hard to be sure of the exact problem on-farm ,” says Gemma .

Vaccination Another key part of disease prevention is having a thorough vaccination protocol in place which includes vaccination technique as well as the type of vaccines being used .

“ The IDAL device allows for needle free vaccination to take place .

“ While there are a number of benefits to this , such as operator safety , the biggest thing for me , as a vet , is the reduced risk of spreading disease . If you vaccinate one pig that is PRRS positive with a needle and then

go and vaccinate another 20 pigs , this will potentially spread the disease ,” adds Gemma .

“ Huge steps have been made in the pig industry to reduce the need to use antibiotics and implement proactive disease prevention techniques , but there ’ s more work to be done . I ’ m confident the target RUMA has set can be achieved if producers work with their vet to review their whole disease prevention protocol in detail , and identify areas where incremental improvements can be made ,” she says .