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Governments Help Local Farmers
Statistics released by Defra show that more government departments are sourcing domestically produced food.

Thirteen out of twenty-one departments have increased the amount of home-grown food they serve, and on average over 90 per cent of the milk, whole eggs, and whole potatoes come from Britain.

Soldiers on active service eat only British pork and fish; hospital patients are only served bread made in the UK; and only a small proportion of the cheese served in prisons comes from abroad.

Food and Farming Minister Jim Fitzpatrick said: “The government is committed to helping local food producers compete for public sector catering contracts, and it’s great news that they’re increasingly offering the best value…We know that there’s still more that government departments could do, and there are areas where British producers could potentially be supplying more to the public sector.

“Government departments are looking at how they can increase the amount of food they serve which is high-quality enough to meet Assured Farm Standards, or has been fairly traded. We also know that there’s a big market there for local and seasonal producers in this country.”

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Equine Disease Surveillance report released for Q4 2025

News Story 1
 The latest Equine Disease Surveillance report has been released, with details on equine disease from Q4 of 2025.

The report, produced by Equine Infectious Disease Surveillance, includes advice on rule changes for equine influenza vaccination.

Statistics and maps detail recent outbreaks of equine herpes virus, equine influenza, equine strangles and equine grass sickness. A series of laboratory reports provides data on virology, bacteriology, parasitology and toxicosis.

This issue also features a case study of orthoflavivus-associated neurological disease in a horse in the UK. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
RCVS members invited to question Council candidates

RCVS members have been invited to submit questions to candidates for this year's RCVS Council election.

With 15 candidates standing for three available positions, vets have been invited to submit a question of their choosing before voting starts. These questions will be collated, with each candidate answering one question of their choice.

It is recommended that members read the candidates' biographies and statements before submitting questions. One question per member can be submitted to vetvote26@rcvs.org.uk before Wednesday, 25 February 2026.

The RCVS Council election is due to start in March.

With only two candidates for two positions on the VN Council, there will be no VN Council elections this year. Meghan Conroy RVN and Lauren Hargrave RVN will begin their three year terms at RCVS' AGM in July.