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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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Voting opens for BEVA Council

News Story 1
 Eligible members of BEVA will be able to vote for their Council team until Monday, 17 August 2026. Members will have received an election email on 17 July.

There are five candidates standing for four available places on Council. They are:

  • Alexandre Triguino
  • Angela Jones
  • Beth Bryant
  • Holly Rees
  • Hugh Somerville
Full profiles for each candidate can be found on the BEVA website

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Government releases latest bluetongue statistics

APHA has confirmed the number of bluetongue cases that have been logged in the UK since 1 July 2026.

The total number of BTV-3 cases, as of 6 August, is 187. This includes 183 cases in England and four cases in Wales.

There have been no recorded cases in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The location of premises in Great Britain where at least one animal has tested positive by PCR for BTV-3, BTV-8 or BTV-12 is available on the bluetongue case map. All livestock keepers in Great Britain are urged to familiarise themselves with nation-specific bluetongue control policies.

Bluetongue virus is a notifiable disease. It is a legal requirement that any suspicions, even if livestock has been vaccinated, are reported immediately.