Organic farmer, Matt Ridley, has finished his lambs without concentrates for the past seven years achieving the top two grades on forage and grass alone. Ann Hardy reports.

Managing ewes correctly in the last few weeks before lambing is critical. If things go wrong at this stage, lamb birth weight could be low, lamb losses high, colostrum quantity and quality poor, and lamb growth below target.

Pregnant ewes are a major source of worms on pasture during the grazing season, which is why farmers have traditionally wormed their pregnant stock.

A record breaking 360 tractors turned out to support Knaresborough Young Farmers Club on March 9 in their annual tractor run to fundraise for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

Are you okay? It is sometimes a difficult question to answer, difficult to answer honestly. As farmers we can be stubborn. You cannot live a life where you feed and check livestock every single day through the monotony of winter without being.

March is already upon us, with spring soon approaching as gauged by the daffodils, primroses and the date on the calendar. However, most days these last few weeks, the climate has been extremely changeable, with four seasons on several days, but the constant theme has been rain and more rain.

The twin challenges of increasing CSFB resistance to pyrethoids and the negative impact of these insecticides on natural insect predators of the pest came under the spotlight at the AICC conference.

Farmers thinking of branching out into tourism – or upping their existing game – need to prioritise quality, originality and a connection with their environment. In this special diversification feature, we bring you top tips