The sixth Irish NEWBIE Steering Group meeting was held on Zoom in light of continued Covid 19 restrictions. The meeting included an update on progress in the project and to discuss planned activities for the remainder of 2021. The completion of two international exchanges depending on Covid 19 restrictions was discussed in detail. This steering group is comprised of farm advisors, researchers, farming organisation representatives, financial personnel and recent new entrants to farming.
The main objectives of the meeting were to;
- Review the activities carried out since the previous meeting
- Discuss plans for activities in 2021
- Discuss Policy recommendations that will impact on new entrants
Updates were given on the main activities in early 2021 including; the announcement of the winner of the 2020 new entrant competition, practice abstracts, video development and discussion circles. Tasks for completion including International exchanges which pose the greatest difficulty in organising were also discussed. Other tasks discussed include; the 2021 new entrant competition, practice abstracts, the final Newbie conference and discussion circles.
This was followed by a workshop where the steering group discussed policy recommendations in detail. The discussion centered on three key areas;
- Existing policies that have had a positive impact on new entrants
- Existing policies that have had a negative impact on new entrants
- New policy recommendations that will impact positively on new entrants
A series of positive, negative and new policies were discussed during the workshop. The subsequent plenary session identified key new policies that should be pursued via a submission to the Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine for consideration in the development of the CAP strategic plan. The policies discussed will feed into the Newbie policy recommendations being compiled by the Hutton Institute.
