News
- Open Farm Sunday beefs up support for farm hosts April 18, 2021Farmers Weekly Eight regional ambassadors will help farmers, crofters and smallholders prepare for this year’s Open Farm Sunday (OFS) – farming’s annual open day – which takes place on Sunday 27 June. The ambassadors will share ideas to engage visitors and give practical information on how to host safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. See also: […]Ed Henderson
- Standen unveils new Discmaster haulm puller April 18, 2021Farmers Weekly A Dutch-made potato haulm puller is now available in the UK through Ely-based Standen Imports, offering growers a simple and cost-effective method of haulm destruction. Following the withdrawal of chemical desiccant diquat, there has been much discussion over which alternative haulm destruction method, or combination of methods, is best. The vast majority of […]Oliver Mark
- How the new poultry standards proposals will affect farmers April 17, 2021Farmers Weekly Earlier this year, two consultations on farm assurance standards for the UK poultry sector came to a close. Red Tractor and Defra propose changes that will help keep standards up to date while also meeting the expectations of consumers. Red Tractor says its recommendations are primarily about streamlining, legislative compliance and responding to […]Emma Northam
- Gloucester cattle at risk of dying out, warns charity April 17, 2021Farmers Weekly Urgent action must be taken to prevent Gloucester cattle, the oldest breed of British dairy cow, from becoming extinct, according to the Rare Breed Survival Trust (RBST), which notes that herd numbers have halved, from 54 in 2006 to 27 last year. The RBST’s annual watchlist, which monitors native breeds in the UK, […]Ed Henderson
- Simple electric robot offers entry-level autonomy April 17, 2021Farmers Weekly A Chinese-built robot could help small-scale farmers carry out a host of field and yard tasks, including mowing, pellet spreading and spraying. The fully electric R150-ATJ platform has a four-wheel drive system and a turning diameter of just 0.7m, thanks to its skid-steer- style movement. The 48v lithium batteries offer a 30min runtime, […]Edd Mowbray
- Farmer Focus: Pea planting driven by factory freezing capacity April 17, 2021Farmers Weekly With a much-needed drier month, March saw a flurry of activity out in the fields. Spring beans were sown and have now emerged. Spring oats, spring barley and the first sowings of vining peas were also completed into excellent seed-beds. In a bid to conserve moisture, we have also pressed-ploughed land for our […]Emma Gillbard
- Post-Brexit EU meat exports down 52% year-on-year April 17, 2021Farmers Weekly The difficult logistics around trading with the EU post-Brexit has continued to affect the UK’s export volumes, alongside the short-term implications of coronavirus lockdowns. The latest UK trade data released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), covering February 2021, showed improvement on the historic lows recorded in January 2021. However, trade remained […]Lauren Harris
- Opinion: Farming will suffer hugely when BPS is taken away April 17, 2021Farmers Weekly The latest farm business income survey of Scotland challenges the preferred view of agriculture by the UK government in Westminster that farmers in post-Brexit Britain can look forward to a prosperous future with farm subsidy payments removed. The Scottish figures show that in 2019-20 – if taxpayer support payments were removed from farm […]Phillip Clarke
- Difficult season sees profits fall at Frontier Agriculture April 16, 2021Farmers Weekly Frontier Agriculture recorded a slight drop in both turnover and pre-tax profit in the year to 30 June 2020. The company’s 15th full year of trading produced a pre-tax profit of £25.7m on a turnover of £1.613m. This compares with a £31.5m pre-tax profit in 2019 on a turnover of £1.653m. Group operating […]Suzie Horne
- 50% cut in NI livestock ‘not enough’ to lower emissions April 16, 2021Farmers Weekly Northern Ireland’s farmers have expressed their grave concern at plans to substantially scale back livestock production as part of the drive to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The suggestions come from two sources – a recently-tabled Climate Change Bill at Stormont, and new advice from the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) in London. […]Phillip Clarke