Rural Services
The Agriculture Department of the Velocity Interoperability Network provides its services to keepers and growers through a rural office in each of the five agricultural districts of the Velocity Interoperability Network: the Northern Vale, the Eastfield Plain, the Westbrook Downs, the Southern Levels and the Meridian Uplands. Each office holds the register of holdings for its district and is the base for the Department's advisers, inspectors and veterinary and plant health officers.
Services are provided without charge to the occupier of any registered holding. Anyone intending to take up agricultural land in the Network may also use the offices to register a holding before occupation begins.
Rural offices open from Monday 7 September 2026
Services provided. The Department's rural services fall into five areas.
- Holding registration and records
- Registration of new holdings, changes of occupier and amendments to the register; issue of holding numbers and certificates of registration; and recording of livestock movements reported by keepers. Every rural office holds the register for its district.
- Farm advisory service
- Visits by a Department adviser to help a keeper or grower meet the farming standards, plan nutrient use, improve slurry storage or prepare for an inspection. Advice is given without charge and is not passed to inspectors.
- Training courses
- Short courses at rural offices on pesticide use, livestock handling, record keeping, soil sampling and hedgerow management. Courses leading to a certificate are examined by the Department; attendance at others is recorded against the holding.
- Market bulletin
- A weekly bulletin of prices reported from livestock markets and grain merchants in the Network, together with disease and pest alerts and seasonal notices. Published every Friday and available at every rural office and by email on request.
- Veterinary and plant health officers
- Officers of the Department's animal and plant health service are based at each rural office and attend reports of suspected notifiable disease within 24 hours.
Rural offices. The register below sets out the opening days and hours of each office. Offices in the Westbrook Downs and the Meridian Uplands open on fewer days in their first months; their hours will be extended as demand is established.
| District | Office | Days | Hours | Opens |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Vale | Northern Vale Rural Office | Monday to Friday | 08:30–16:30 | 7 September 2026 |
| Eastfield Plain | Eastfield Rural Office | Monday to Friday | 08:30–16:30 | 7 September 2026 |
| Westbrook Downs | Westbrook Rural Office | Monday, Wednesday, Friday | 09:00–16:00 | 9 September 2026 |
| Southern Levels | Southern Levels Rural Office | Tuesday to Friday | 09:00–16:00 | 10 September 2026 |
| Meridian Uplands | Meridian Rural Office | Tuesday and Thursday | 09:00–15:30 | 11 September 2026 |
Training courses. The first courses of the Department's training programme are set out below. Places are allocated to registered holdings in order of request; a holding may send more than one person where places remain. Courses marked as leading to a certificate include an examination on the second day.
| Course | Date | Location | Places |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safe use of pesticides (certificate) | 21 and 22 September 2026 | Eastfield Rural Office | 16 |
| Livestock handling and welfare | 28 September 2026 | Northern Vale Rural Office | 20 |
| Farm record keeping and traceability | 5 October 2026 | Southern Levels Rural Office | 24 |
| Soil sampling and nutrient planning | 12 October 2026 | Westbrook Rural Office | 16 |
| Hedgerow and field margin management | 19 October 2026 | Meridian Rural Office | 20 |
| Slurry storage and water protection | 26 October 2026 | Northern Vale Rural Office | 20 |
Further courses will be scheduled for November 2026 onwards and announced in the market bulletin and the Newsroom. Places are requested by writing to the Department with the holding number and the names of those attending.
Requesting an advisory visit. The steps below apply to every request for a visit from the farm advisory service.
Step 1: Write to the Department
Give your holding number, the district, the matter on which you want advice and any dates on which you cannot be available. Requests are answered in order of receipt.
Step 2: Receive a date for the visit
An adviser from the rural office for your district confirms a date by email, normally within ten working days of the request. Where the matter concerns an improvement notice, the visit is arranged within five working days.
Step 3: The visit
The adviser walks the holding with you, examines the buildings, stores or land concerned and discusses what is needed. Advisory visits are separate from inspections; nothing seen by an adviser is reported to an inspector.
Step 4: Written advice
The adviser sends a written note of the advice given within ten working days of the visit. The note is for your records and may be shown to an inspector as evidence of the steps you have taken.
Requests for registration, advisory visits, training places and the market bulletin may be sent to contact@agriculture.gov.vin. For the standards against which holdings are inspected, see Farming Standards; for the number and type of holdings in each district, see Land and Holdings; for answers to common questions, see the frequently asked questions.