Animal Health

Industry Profile - Valentina Busin: 'Even as an island the UK is not isolated'

Livestock

Industry Profile - Valentina Busin: 'Even as an island the UK is not isolated'

Sheep were the reason Valentina Busin came to Scotland and the reason she stayed. From on farm experience to virus surveillance, she shares why farmer–vet collaboration matter more than ever.

clock 22 February 2026 • 6 min read
2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "The countryside should never be shut down again"

Farm Life

2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "The countryside should never be shut down again"

British agriculture was rocked to the core 25 years ago by the foot-and-mouth crisis. Have lessons been learnt at a time when the UK food supply chain is being compromised by illegal meat and cheap food imports?

clock 19 February 2026 • 2 min read
2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "Infectious diseases do not respect borders or species barriers, and we ignore this at our peril"

Farm Life

2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "Infectious diseases do not respect borders or species barriers, and we ignore this at our peril"

Before his career in politics, Epping Forest MP Dr Neil Hudson was a veterinary inspector who was on the frontline of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in 2001. Dr Hudson remembers the once bustling farms which became empty, the impact it had on the sector's mental health, and why the current Government should never take the UK's national biosecurity for granted

clock 18 February 2026 • 3 min read
2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "It was the worst time of my life"

Farm Life

2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "It was the worst time of my life"

Auctioneer Andrew Templeton, of Harrison & Hetherington, reflects on a defining chapter in British agriculture's history, the emotional impact of working in the industry at the time, and why the sector has still not fully recovered since

clock 17 February 2026 • 4 min read
2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "For some, the battle was too much"

Farm Life

2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "For some, the battle was too much"

Tenant Farmers Association chief executive George Dunn reflects on the outbreak 25 years ago, the heartbreaking conversations he had with farmers, the devastating open-air pyres of livestock being culled to stop the disease from spreading, and the determination of farmers to never let things become so bad again

clock 17 February 2026 • 3 min read
2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "I do not want to see that happen again in my lifetime"

Farm Life

2001 UK foot-and-mouth outbreak - 25 years on: "I do not want to see that happen again in my lifetime"

NSA chief executive Phil Stocker writes on what was a truly difficult time for farming and why it should serve as a stark reminder, 25 years later, for the Government to never take the UK's national biosecurity for granted

clock 16 February 2026 • 2 min read
Farmer fined for 'extensive breaches' of cattle movement and bTB testing rules

Rural crime

Farmer fined for 'extensive breaches' of cattle movement and bTB testing rules

Leicestershire County Council said 'injury, administrative delays and paperwork difficulties' were some of the reasons provided by the farmer for failing to comply with the law

clock 10 February 2026 • 3 min read
'Cheap food is a priority', junior Gov minister tells British farmers

Politics

'Cheap food is a priority', junior Gov minister tells British farmers

At a time when UK farmers are struggling to make ends meet and as they face continued pressure from animal diseases encroaching on the border, should the Government be stressing the importance of prioritising cheap food over food security?

clock 09 February 2026 • 3 min read
NPA raises questions on imported food safety after reports of ASF-infected meat on sale in UK

Animal Health

NPA raises questions on imported food safety after reports of ASF-infected meat on sale in UK

clock 06 February 2026 • 2 min read
Bovine TB: Gov urged to clarify next steps

Animal Health

Bovine TB: Gov urged to clarify next steps

Livestock farmer says delays risk undoing any progress on 'devastating disease'

clock 05 February 2026 • 2 min read