The votes are in, the counting’s done and the results are clear…cropping farmers overwhelmingly support continued investment in research and extension for their industry.
At 2.00pm today, the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR) received the ‘declaration of result’ following the closure of its fifth referendum of growers, which has determined significant support for the levy funded organisation. FAR will now make an application to the Minister for these levy orders to be put in place.
Electionz.com Ltd were contracted to administer the referendum which, over the past month, has given arable, maize and cereal silage growers the opportunity to have their say on whether or not they wish to continue investing in industry good research through FAR.
The FAR referendum covers three separate levy orders, and the support for each of them has increased since the 2011 referendum. Results were: Arable crops, 90% support; Maize, 78% support and Cereal silage, 66% support.
Nick Pyke, FAR’s Chief Executive says these results are a fantastic endorsement of the hard work and commitment of growers, FAR staff and industry colleagues.
“We work hard to ensure research investment matches growers’ current and future requirements. Through feedback from our regional Arable Research Groups and Research and Development Advisory Committee, we identify areas of importance, and then address them through research strategies and applied programmes. In recent years FAR has increased investment in research around a range of environmental issues which impact on farmers’ ability to use their land effectively. Our research programme has been developed with due regard for sustainable farming practices, and as such, maintains a balanced portfolio of production, environmental and social research. The outcomes of this investment deliver benefits which can be measured through increased productivity and profitability along with the retention of, or opportunity for the use of, certain farm practices.”