Farming, while often regarded by outsiders as a ‘straightforward’ industry, is nothing of the sort; weather and politics can conspire to make it one of the most challenging to operate in.News
Grain market increasingly volatile as Ukraine tension rumbles on
PANIC over Ukraine’s political crisis and its effect on wheat supplies prompted another week of volatility in the grain markets.
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Risk-based trading divides opinion
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Easter lamb trade boosted by tight New Zealand stock
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Innovation key to dairy sector's future, says Adams Foods chief
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New project announced as part of knowledge transfer focus
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Tesco profits slump 'must not be passed back to farmers'
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Calls for one Welsh farm union miss the point, claims Raymond
Competition
Win tickets to Grassland & Muck 2014
Farmers Guardian has joined forces with the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) to offer 20 free tickets to Grassland and Muck 2014.
Win tickets to Beef Expo 2014
Farmers Guardian have 6 tickets to give away to Beef Expo 2014, taking place on Wednesday May 21 and Thursday May 22 at Hexham Mart Centre
Lambing tips
Handy hints: Top 10 tips to help keep lambs alive
With sheep farmers flat out in the middle of lambing, Farmers Guardian’s first monthly handy hints guide focuses on making sure every lamb gets off to a flying start.
Machinery news
Assessing the benefits of CTF in sugar beet
Controlled traffic practices are rising in popularity in combinable crops, but with a little planning, there is no reason why the principle cannot be applied to root crops.
Livestock sales
Herefords bulls peak at 6,000gns
ALL bar one of the 70 cattle on offer at the Hereford Cattle Society sale at Hereford on Wednesday sold, topping at 6,000gns for the champion, Lowesmoor 1 Jockey, a 21-month-old bull from M.J. Clark, Tetbury. By Lowesmoor 1 Gauloise, it sold to M.J. Burton, Leigh, Surrey.
Arable features
Maize: Seedbed preparation and maize growing considerations
Thoughts will soon be turning to maize planting, and the accompanying decisions about what to do about seed bed preparation, and how to achieve the best possible growth.
Arable news
Volunteer potatoes are real threat to beet crop
VOLUNTEER potatoes are likely to place an increased burden on sugar beet crops this season after the mild winter allowed the survival of higher numbers of chats.
In your field
Rachel Lewis-Davies: An interesting contrast with the Lambing Live farms!
Off work for a few days of lambing, I cannot help observing the difference a year makes. It is now nearly 12 months since the move from Lower Drostre to Yscoedreddfyn, when the mood was pretty low. This year we are lambing without any distractions and the weather this spring is incomparable to 2013, so things are much better.
On farm
Building a profitable farm business using nature reserves
As a new entrant, Justin Hammond’s farming opportunities were scarce. But with some luck and creativity, the South West farmer fulfilled his ambition to go it alone.
My farming week
My Farming Week: Fiona Davies, North Wales
Campsite: It is a hectic time of year as we are busy lambing and tidying everything up for when visitors to our on-farm campsite start flowing in.
Caption competition
Win £50 M&S voucher - April caption competition
ENTER this month’s caption competition and you could win £50 in high street vouchers.
Great British beef week
Full list of Great British Beef Week events
If you want to get behind Great British Beef Week (GBBW), here is a list of events taking place throughout the week which have not sold out.
'Stand up for the suckler herd', say beef champions
DRASTIC action is needed to stem the flow of suckler producers exiting the industry, organisers of Great British Beef Week (GBBW) have said.
FG take the lead
Take the Lead gathers pace around UK
FARMERS Guardian’s Take the Lead campaign gathered pace this week as thousands of warning signs were nailed onto fence posts around Britain.
Spring has sprung
Spring has sprung
Sping has officially arrived! It means longer hours of sunshine, all nighters in the lambing shed and time to plant new crops.
FG Food Guru
Food Guru: Mussels in white wine and garlic sauce
Next in our video series, Membership Manager, Kevin Dunne cooks a very special and unusual dish - Mussels in white wine and garlic sauce.
Best of British
CLA aims to find Yorkshire's best stone waller
THE CLA has announced its biennial competition which aims to find Yorkshire’s best dry stone waller.
Daily weather forecasts
DON'T miss our in-depth weather forecast presented by Simon Keeling at lunch time each day, aimed to give the most up-to-date farmers weather service available.