Pie and pint night brings farming community together

Farmers gathered for a free pie and a pint in Whitehall on the eve of the NFU conference this week, as part of a Farming Community Network  wellbeing event, bringing together farming and rural communities.

The pre-conference event on Monday 24 February provided an informal opportunity for people to connect, catch up with old friends, and meet new faces, and was supported by FarmWell, Agrovista and Farmers Weekly.

FarmWell is a platform created by the Farming Community Network (FCN), which is dedicated to supporting farmers and rural families through difficult times.

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It puts on social events across the country all year round, offering an inclusive environment to encourage farmers to open up about issues that they might otherwise avoid discussing, including a chance to seek confidential, non-judgemental support.

Georgina Lamb, senior partnerships manager at FCN, said:

“We wanted to offer a welcoming intimate place for farmers to touch base before the NFU conference – a real opportunity to have a bit of time away from the farm, to regroup and reflect among friends and see how people have been over the past 12 months.”

Through events like “Pie and a Pint Night”, FarmWell aims to provide a space for valuable connection by building lasting relationships in the rural community.

As a voluntary organisation, FCN helps build resilience, address mental health concerns, and offers guidance through various challenges within farming life.

More than 10,000 people benefit from FCN’s free and confidential support services each year, which include a helpline available every day from 7am-11pm.

Jon Tanner, commercial director at Agrovista, described the evening as “fantastic”, crediting FCN for coming up with the idea and Farmers Weekly for bringing it all together. 

“We’re all aware of the challenges facing our industry and it’s so important to take a step back once in a while, talk and support one another,” he said. “Sharing a pie and a pint gave us the perfect opportunity to do just that, and it was a pleasure to support the event.”

Defra farming minister Robbie Moore (left) © MAG/Jamie Hodgskin

Attendees

The event was attended by a mixture of farmers, industry representatives, and politicians, and a range of pies and pints were on the menu.

Among the attendees was Tim Papworth, Norfolk cereals, potatoes, and livestock farmer, who said he wanted somewhere to come to have a drink and relax before the conference. and the pie and pint event offered just that.

Former NFU president Minette Batters talks to current Livestock Board chairman David Barton © MAG/Jamie Hodgskin

Will Sargent, a mixed farmer from South Norfolk, who normally attends the two-day NFU conference in Birmingham, agreed it was good to have an extra social event to socialise alongside this year’s one-day NFU conference in London.

“One of the big things about going to the NFU conference every year is going to meet farmers from all across the country, spending time sharing your problems and ideas.

“It was great to have all these organisations joining together to do something positive and set up the conference well.”

Yorkshire farmer Rachel Wood saw the pie and pint event advertised and thought it was an opportunity to meet like-minded people before the conference proper on the Tuesday (25 February).

Shabawn Farrall, head of relationships at Cheshire-based agricultural marketing agency Hillsgreen, said: “I decided to come along tonight to support the industry, meet lots of people and to network with people I hadn’t met before.”

More information about the initiative and future FarmWell events can be found on its the Farmwell website.