Perhaps the die has been cast regarding the future of the levy boards following the latest ballot result on the desirability of AHDB Potatoes.

According to a well known former Farmers Guardian journalist who spent more than 40 years with the title, one of the biggest changes in UK farming from the 1970s onwards was the rise of the environmental agenda and how it influenced policy. 

Seeing the images of burning pyres of livestock, reading the recollections of people who lived through it, and assessing the numbers which illustrate the scale of the foot-and-mouth crisis is a sobering process.

Agriculture has always been an industry in which many farmers feel they do not need a piece of paper to prove they are proficient and professional at what they do.

One of the discernible outcomes of the coronavirus pandemic has been the emergence of a ‘levelling up’ debate.

One person, one vote has long been a central tenet of democratic elections and referendums, which makes the muddying of the waters around the AHDB horticulture levy even more perplexing.

Having a plan in place for retirement and what you will do when you can no longer farm sounds easy in theory, but in practise it continues to be one of the thorniest issues facing the industry.

Tree planting initiatives must not be exploited by super rich landowners to the detriment of food production, a Worshipful Company of Farmers virtual question time was told.

FOR almost a decade Farmers Guardian has sought to highlight the often shocking toll of dogs attacks on livestock via its Take the Lead campaign.

Change often causes great unease, but when the views of a business sector appear to have been ignored then unease can easily turn to anger.