Farm Business

In a letter sent to the First Minister, NFUS president Martin Kennedy highlighted a series of 'hollow promises', received from both the previous and current deputy first ministers, that withdrawn money for agriculture would rightly be returned to the sector

Rural Payments Agency said 97 per cent of applicants had recieved their share of £525m

The report recommended the Government to fund the widespread, standardised testing of soil through its Environmental Land Management schemes and to work with industry on an agreed set of metrics of soil health by next year

More than double the funding was on offer in the second round of the Slurry Infrastructure Grant. But with dwindling confidence in the dairy sector farmers are cautious about where, when and what to invest in, questioning whether now is the right time to apply

When it comes to the application process, the delivery and the options available to all farmers, there are some inconsistencies, which the industry hopes will be ironed out in the next SFI announcement

Large-scale baling contractors have been warned they could be at risk of fines

The selected projects will now begin their two-year development phase to finalise arrangements

Autumn plantings were being discussed at this year's CropTec event

When it comes to SFI uptake, about 6,600 applications have been started but not yet submitted and only 800 agreements are live with farmers delivering on required outcomes

With obstructive tenant and landlord relationships currently in focus, our chief reporter Rachael Brown looks at the Duchy of Cornwall and how it is working with tenants to achieve its net zero goals