Now in its 6th iteration, the NFU’s annual #YourHarvest campaign aims to promote and celebrate the work that arable farmers do at harvest time and their role in food production.
Following the devastating wet weather in recent months, this year’s campaign seeks to educate the public on the long-term impacts of flooding on farming businesses.
Ahead of the general election on 4 July, the campaign will also promote the NFU’s manifesto asks relevant to the sector.
Extreme weather wreaking havoc
Speaking ahead of the #YourHarvest launch at this year's Cereals event, NFU Combinable Crops Board chair Jamie Burrows said:
“Arable farmers, like everyone, have faced a miserable last six months of continuous wet weather which has led to devastating flooding and thousands of acres of productive farmland affected.
“Many of our members have been unable to get onto fields to plant crops and those that did manage it have lost much of what was already in the ground. For those that have planted, it's now a wait and see game with what the summer holds.
“We literally are in the lap of the weather gods.”
Practical policies to grow production
The NFU recently secured greater support to help more farm businesses recover after relentless heavy rain and devastating flooding across the country.
“It’s great that further measures were announced recently to ensure more arable farmers are getting the support they need to recover and rebuild, such as widening the scope of the Farm Recovery Fund.
“But we want to see whoever wins the general election instigate further practical policies that will allow the nation's arable farmers to boost home-grown food production and our important work in protecting and enhancing the environment.”
Looking for a resilient future
The NFU has been in discussions with government officials about the financial support farmers need against the backdrop of some of the most challenging commercial and weather conditions in living memory.
“One measure that would help is the introduction of the NFU’s proposed FBILs (Farm Business Investment Loans) - these would enable many farmers and growers to not only weather the current, highly volatile commercial conditions, but crucially, invest in their farming businesses to become more resilient in the future,” Jamie said.
“We will be taking the opportunity in the next few weeks to speak about this with candidates from all political parties as we promote the NFU’s election manifesto, so they understand the importance of UK food security.
More important than ever
“Being such a tough year makes this year’s #YourHarvest campaign more important than ever.
“With combines preparing to roll within weeks, we will be celebrating across all social media platforms everything that is great about harvest – the amazing crops we grow like wheat for our bread or barley for our beer and thanking the public for backing British farming and the continued support in buying high quality, sustainable food.”
How to get involved
Nobody tells the story better than those in it! That’s why we want you to share your photos and videos across social media and help spread the message.
Use the #YourHarvest to join in the campaign across Instagram, Facebook, X (twitter) and TikTok, or contact our social media team at [email protected] if you’ve got an especially interesting story to tell.
This year we want to educate the public on both harvest itself and the impact of the weather. Here are a few ideas of ways you can help:
- Tell us what you’re doing on the farm and the kit that helps you do it
- Show and explain where flooding has impacted your farm
- Explain what your crop is going to be made into and summarise how it will get there
- Show how this year’s harvest is different to previous
Top tips to help boost your post
- Get to the point within the first 10 seconds of the video – this will help to keep the audience engaged and know what you’re going to be talking about.
- Use simple language, it’s easy to forget what the public don’t know, so try and avoid unexplained technical terms as this will just confuse your audience.
- Be proud of the work you do and use this opportunity to share it with everyone.
Need help?
Contact the NFU social media team for guidance on getting the best out of your videos and help posting on social media.
