There is a well known saying, 'no pain, no gain' and that will be ringing true in the minds of Milk Link’s 1,600 producers, who are on the brink of reaping just reward for 12 years of loyalty and investment.Farmers Guardian
December 25, 2009
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2009: A record breaking year in the sales calendar
27 December 2009
The 2009 calendar proved, as usual, to be packed with pedigree sales and there have been record prices galore. Katie Lomas takes a look back at some highlights.
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Agriculture in the national news - December 21
21 December 2009
A DAILY look at how agriculture has caught the headlines across the nation (Monday, December 21).
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Agriculture in the national news - December 22
22 December 2009
A DAILY look at how agriculture has caught the headlines across the country (Tuesday, December 22).
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Agriculture in the national news - December 23
23 December 2009
A DAILY look at how agriculture has caught the headlines across the nation (Wednesday, December 23).
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Assembly dashes hopes of Glastir delay
29 December 2009
DESPITE deep-seated industry opposition the Welsh Assembly is determined to press ahead with its new showpiece Glastir land management payments scheme from its scheduled 2012 start up.
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Assembly hails success of TB testing regime
30 December 2009
THE Welsh Assembly Government’s 15-month initiative to test all cattle herds in Wales for bovine TB comes to an end tomorrow (Thursday, December 31) and has been hailed a resounding success by Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones.
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Benn to unveil food strategy
31 December 2009
DEFRA Secretary Hilary Benn is set to unveil the first Government Food Strategy in 60 years at next week’s Oxford Farming Conference.
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Bio-digester to power farm’s milk floats
December 25, 2009
When the Scottish Government invited farmers to participate in a scheme to improve the quality of bathing waters off the Ayrshire coast, Alan Hogarth took up the challenge. Neil Ryder reports on his development.
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Birds Eye drops 'British' label off imported meat
21 December 2009
HONEST labelling campaigners have welcomed the decision by food giant Birds Eye to drop the words ‘Great British Menu’ from a meal that uses imported meat.
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Borough market: Cheers from Britain’s finest
27 December 2009
The Borough Market is London’s oldest food market and blends history, tradition and innovation to provide a bustling community for London’s commuters and tourists and a shop window for British producers. Clemmie Gleeson reports.
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Borough Market: Jan McCourt, Northfield Farm, Oakham, Rutland
December 25, 2009
The Borough Market is London’s oldest food market and blends history, tradition and innovation to provide a bustling community for London’s commuters and tourists and a shop window for British producers. Clemmie Gleeson reports.
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Borough market: John and Julie-Anne Bourne, of Malpas, Cheshire
December 25, 2009
The Borough Market is London’s oldest food market and blends history, tradition and innovation to provide a bustling community for London’s commuters and tourists and a shop window for British producers. Clemmie Gleeson reports.
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Borough Market: Phillip Hughes, Rhug Estate, Denbighshire, Wales
December 25, 2009
The Borough Market is London’s oldest food market and blends history, tradition and innovation to provide a bustling community for London’s commuters and tourists and a shop window for British producers. Clemmie Gleeson reports.
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Breeding crops for the next decade
28 December 2009
PLANT breeder Bill Angus talks to Teresa Rush about his hopes for the next decade in terms of wheat breeding and how breeders will meet the challenges.
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Breeding your heifers once before slaughter lifts output
December 25, 2009
ONCE-BRED heifers could be an excellent way for suckler herds to boost output without increasing cow numbers in response to the continuing imbalance between quality beef calf demand and domestic supply.
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Campaign for Farmed Environment goes local
23 December 2009
THE industry-led initiative to retain the environmental benefits formerly provided by set-aside is stepping up a gear.
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Climate critics are missing the point
December 25, 2009
HAVING tackled the red meat sector and the myths about its impact on the environment, Joanne Pugh turns the spotlight on dairying and looks at how farmers can promote a more positive message about milk production and climate change to the general public.
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Cooperation provides the answer to NVZ headache
27 December 2009
Exporting manure may be an option for livestock farmers trying to adapt to NVZ regulations. Katie Lomas visits an arable farm where muck is taken in exchange for straw.
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Dacia Duster to adorn UK shores
December 25, 2009
A new diesel 4x4 for less than €15,000 (£13,500) is possible, says Dacia owner Renault, which plans to bring right-hand drive versions of the Dacia Duster 4x4 to UK shores. Built in Romania, the Duster’s ground clearance is more than 200m. Power comes from Renault 85hp and 105hp dCi engines, four-wheel drive management is Nissan-sourced and ABS brakes are from Bosch.
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Defra offers farmers £20k interest-free loans to go green
21 December 2009
DEFRA is offering British farmers unsecured, interest-free loans of up to £20,000 to invest in energy efficient equipment.
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EID rules come into force
1 January 2010
ONE of the most controversial and bitterly-opposed pieces of farm legislation in modern times finally becomes law across the EU today (Friday, January 1).
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Environment Agency price hike proposals anger industry
21 December 2009
PROPOSALS by the Environment Agency to increase the price of new environmental permits has provoked an angry response from the industry.
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EU auditors ‘inhuman and immoral’
30 December 2009
EU farm auditors have been blasted as ‘inhuman and immoral’ and in danger of undermining faith in Europe, by Farmers Union of Wales president, Gareth Vaughan.
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Farmers demand answers on NVZ designation errors
29 December 2009
DEFRA and the Environment Agency have been asked to explain how ‘fundamental errors’ caused swathes of farmland to be wrongly designated as Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) for seven years.
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Farmers must be centre of policy decisions
23 December 2009
A GLOBAL coalition of 125 organisations representing the world’s farmers, agronomists and scientists has developed a policy framework to help agriculture adapt to climate change while increasing agricultural productivity to meet growing food needs.
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Farmers to help improve 9,500 miles of river
22 December 2009
FARMERS have a major role to play in Government plans to improve the water quality of over 9,500 miles of rivers across England and Wales.
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Getting the right mix brings herd yield, financial and health benefits
December 25, 2009
As the year draws to a close, Rob and John Slater can look back over a successful 12 months, having made another step forward in their dairy expansion plan. Angela Calvert reports.
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Gordon Halling: battling through the decade but still smiling
20 December 2009
has fought the toughest situations for a decade.
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Hydrostatic still king for Merlo users in Wales
4 January 2010
MERLO is renowned for its hydrostatic drive telehandlers, and not many farmers can lay claim to have owned 30 of its machines as Calcourt Farms of Montgomery, Powys can.
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Innovation key to crop protection challenge
December 25, 2009
THE UK crop protection industry faces many challenges in the near future if it is to successfully deliver its contribution to food production targets in a sustainable way. But, as Dominic Kilburn discovers, demands on the industry will also deliver opportunities.
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Lamb prices well up for 2009
29 December 2009
IMPROVED market prices have helped Welsh livestock farmers cope with rising costs, according to statistics from Hybu Cig Cymru, the Wales-based red meat development agency.
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Leather loves a little TLC
December 25, 2009
PAT CRAWFORD from The Society of Master Saddlers, takes a practical ‘do and don’t’ look at the world of leather.
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Legal challenge launched against badger cull
28 December 2009
THE Badger Trust is applying for a Judicial Review of the Welsh Assembly’s September decision to include the killing of badgers in its bovine TB eradication scheme.
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McCormick launches new trading site
22 December 2009
TRACTOR manufacturer McCormick has launched its new ‘McCormick Trader’ website, aimed at bring farmers and dealers closer together in machinery sales.
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Miniature pigs not just for Christmas
22 December 2009
MINIATURE pigs that are so small they can fit into a tea-cup need expert attention and must not be bought on a whim, animal welfare experts have warned this Christmas.
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NFU outlines reasons for SPS delays
23 December 2009
AROUND 17,000 claimants in England will spend Christmas without their Single Payments, with some unlikely to be paid until at least February.
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Quotes of the decade on the key issues affecting farmers
20 December 2009
Foot-and-mouth 2001
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Range Rover boosts power and efficiency
December 25, 2009
Land Rover has given its 2010 Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models a power boost and better efficiency, which perhaps makes the green oval’s flagship 4x4s a touch more socially acceptable.
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Remember FCI forms for all slaughter stock
23 December 2009
DON’T forget to sign your Food Chain Information forms when consigning livestock to auctions, the Livestock Auctioneers Association (LAA) is reminding farmers.
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Renault’s Sport Tourer lives up to its name
December 25, 2009
Renault’s Sport Tourer is the fifth addition to its Megane family, following coupé, hatch, Scenic and convertible models. However, this is perhaps the nicest looking and most practical version to date.
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Rodney Down: Reflecting on good dairy contract decisions
23 December 2009
Depite low mycotoxin levels, average performance and solid dung pointed towards those dreaded toxins.
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Royal Welsh Showground to get new all-weather surface
30 December 2009
THE main ring at the Royal Welsh Showground is to get a new weather-resistant natural grass surface costing an estimated £360,000. It will be completed and ready for use in time for the 2011 show.
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Scots’ CO2 targets are up with best in world
December 25, 2009
Scotland has one of the most ambitious targets for the reduction of greenhouse gases of any country in the world, said SAC’s Carole Christian.
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Sprout shortage looms as weather strikes
22 December 2009
LARGE swathes of sprout growing country in eastern England have suffered from snowy and freezing conditions leading some farmers to warn of a Christmas shortage.
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Steve Heard: Time to tackle the annual maintenance schedule
December 25, 2009
Barn doors are shut and inspection lights glaring as we start to undertake our annual maintenance schedule.
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Still time to apply for an NVZ derogation
29 December 2009
LIVESTOCK farmers with high stocking rates and affected by the NVZ regulations, still have time to apply to the Environment for a grassland derogation, says Natural England’s cross compliance advisory team.
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Strategy for the future of agriculture
December 25, 2009
IT is a frequently asked question, but how can we attract new entrants into farming and ensure the right skills are developed for a sustainable industry?
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Stylists queue up to shape the tractors of the future
21 December 2009
IT is difficult to describe a tractor as glamorous and sexy, but modern looks confirm tractor design has caught up with the motor industry, writes Steven Vale.
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Supporting the farming community in everyday life
December 25, 2009
In the third and final of our features supporting the Arthur Rank appeal next year, Danusia Osiowy meets Coventry’s rural vicar, Barbara Clutton.
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The 'noughties': a turbulent decade that changed UK farming forever
20 December 2009
THE 2000s, or the ‘noughties’, has been the most turbulent decade in modern farming history. FG’s political editor Alistair Driver looks back at some of the events that shook the farming industry.
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Top bulls lead to better profits
28 December 2009
FARMERS who rear calves sired by top performing bulls are likely to see improved profits compared to those from other bulls, according to the latest research carried out by Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC), the Wales-based red meat development agency.
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Try not to sit on the fence
4 January 2010
FENCING may not something you would think about in the general scheme of things, but it is an integral part of many farms’ maintenance schedule, and Arch Timber has identified that there is an increasing tendency for fence post failure due to inadequate treatments.
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UK bucks trend as EU farm incomes plummet
23 December 2009
UK farm income has risen in 2009 despite a dramatic fall in returns across the rest of Europe.
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Unions call for dairy aid package
28 December 2009
Both the Farmers Union of Wales and NFU Cymru are pressing the Welsh Assembly to distribute EU emergency aid money to Welsh dairy farmers.
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VMD accused of secrecy over sheep dip information
28 December 2009
THE Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) has been found to have illegally withheld information on the environmental impacts of synthetic pyrethroid sheep dips.
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VMD to begin spot-checks on farms
29 December 2009
FARMERS involved in on-farm mixing of medicated feed will receive unannounced visits from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) from the start of 2010.
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VW Amarok pick-up in UK from September
December 25, 2009
VW’s new Amarok pick-up truck will not hit UK van centres until September 2010, but there are plenty of specifications to drool over.
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What will farming look like in 2020?
28 December 2009
AS the decade rapidly draws to a close, William Surman asks the experts what we can expect from farming in the next decade.
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YFC junior member of the year
December 25, 2009
ALED Jones from Troedrhiwdalar YFC (pictured) has been named the national Junior Member of the Year.
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Young farmers picked for International discovery programme
December 25, 2009
TEN members of the Wales Federation of Young Farmers Clubs have been chosen to travel with the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs as a part of the International Discovery Programme. The 10 members will join the 19 other members already chosen during a previous selection day.