Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board
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Through Animal husbandry, England and Dairy
History
It was formed on 1 April 2008, from five previous organisations which were similarly levy-funded, which were the British Potato Council; the Home-Grown Cereals Authority; the Horticultural Development Council; the Meat and Livestock Commission; and the Milk Development Council.
It was created using powers granted under the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006.
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Function
Its statutory purpose is to improve UK farm business efficiency and competitiveness. This is defined as:
(a) increasing efficiency or productivity in the industry;
(b) improving marketing in the industry;
(c) improving or developing services that the industry provides or could provide to the community; and(d) improving the ways in which the industry contributes to sustainable development.
Structure
It is structured with six operating divisions representing the commodity sectors covered by its statutory remit:
- pork in England
- dairy (milk) in Great Britain
- beef and lamb in England
- horticulture in Great Britain
- cereals and oilseeds in the United Kingdom
- Potato Council - potatoes in Great Britain
Funding
Farmers, growers and others in the food supply chain pay a statutory levy and in return receive services that they might not otherwise be able to afford to invest in, like research and development, market intelligence information and trade development and marketing. The levy rate is recommended by advisory boards composed of levy payers and agreed by the AHDB Board and by UK Ministers.
2024 advertising campaign
In 2024, the AHDB ran an advertising campaign called "Let's Eat Balanced", encouraging the consumption of meat and milk. Objections were raised to the campaign by medical groups and other campaigners, stating that this went counter to evidence-based standards for healthy eating.