Events

This year’s Guild Summer Outing is a coach trip to Brown & Forrest Smokery Restaurant for lunch followed by an afternoon visit to the Willows & Wetlands Visitor Centre where we will take a guided tour of the willow processing yard and basket-making workshop.   Brown & Forrest Smokery was started 37 years ago in Somerset and they produce the finest smoked eel and salmon as well as a whole range of delicious smoked foods including smoked chicken, duck lamb and trout.  On arrival we will choose from their menu and take turns to have a short tour of the smokery.   After lunch, we will depart for the Willows and Wetlands Visitor Centre which is the home of P.H. Coate & Son.  The centre was founded by willow grower and merchant Robert Coate in 1819 and is still run by the Coate family today.  We will be given a guided tour of the basket works and conclude with afternoon tea before departure back to Bristol.  

GAFT 2018 A charity relay bike ride taking in as many companies and staff in the UK agricultural supply trade as possible. Agriculture is the background of rural communities and a great many people earn a living from that industry. Farming is often an isolated occupation and current events will only make it more so, with increased personal, mental and financial pressure on many farm businesses being borne within a small family environment.  It is a sad, and humbling fact that the farming industry continues to experience a suicide virtually every week. We believe it is time for the agricultural supply trade to act in a co-ordinated way to show unequivocal support for the farming industry and have a bit of fun whilst raising funds for one of the UKs leading farm charities – The Farm Community Network (FCN). FCN, formerly the Farm Crisis Network, is a voluntary organisation and a charity that supports farmers and families within the farming community through difficult times. It has a network of over 400 volunteers and, with its links with other charities, covers the UK. Since 1995, they have helped thousands of people deal with a variety of issues, including financial difficulties, animal disease, mental health and family disputes to find a positive way through their problems - for as long as it is needed. The GAFT Cycle Relay, the brainchild of a group of Grain and Corn Trade Associations is a major national event designed to raise the profile of FCN and the work it does, to demonstrate real support for the farming industry from the supply trade and to raise £100,000 to help fund the on-going work of FCN.   

The BCFTA Trade Awareness Course is a two day residential course which is designed to give the attendees an understanding of the supply trade. By providing an an opertunity to view a cross section of the trade with presentations by leading industry figures who are directly involved in agriculture, grain/feed trade and farming. This course is run twice a year and has been run for over 17 years by BCFTA

The BCFTA Foundation course in Feed Production has been designed to allow those directly involved within the feed manufacturing process and those supplying the industry to gain skills and knowledge of the process.  

Core areas that will be covered: Defining and Scoping a Project Basic Documentation Legislation Suppliers Planning Communication Commissioning/Implementation Completion What to look out for What to do when things go wrong 

The BCFTA Trade Awareness Course is a two day residential course which is designed to give the attendees an understanding of the supply trade. By providing an an opertunity to view a cross section of the trade with presentations by leading industry figures who are directly involved in agriculture, grain/feed trade and farming. This course is run twice a year and has been run for over 17 years by BCFTA