Livestock

A number of agricultural bodies have sent a joint letter to International Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch demanding that a set of core standards relating to food, animal welfare and the environment be established ahead of any further trade deals.

It has been a long, dry summer here in the Scottish Borders and we still have a couple of fields of grass to mow for second cut silage.

The free range egg sector is in crisis as producers lose £8.63 on every hen, amounting to nearly £250,000 for the average flock of 32,000 birds.

A new breed record of 9,000gns was set at the Lonk Sheep Breeders Association show and sale at Clitheroe

A Norfolk abattoir has been fined £300,000 after residents claimed they could not leave their homes owing to the stench of decaying poultry.

The new Defra Farming Minister, Mark Spencer, has hinted that a rethink on the phase out of badger culling could be on the way.

Precision Grazing, a farm consultancy group specialising in pasture-based livestock systems, recently held an on-farm open day with discussions focusing on how farmers could create resilient and profitable businesses. Rebecca

An entry of 710 Bluefaced Leicesters went under the hammer at the Farmers Guardian supported sale at Hawes with ram lambs averaging 2,373, just less than 40 up on last years record breaking sale.

Offering healthcare services at livestock marts could remove the stigma about seeking medical help, with most farmers only seeking advice if an illness or injury is extremely bad, a new study has found.

The out-wintering of livestock on fodder crops has long been a wintering strategy used by beef and sheep enterprises. But as winter housing costs are looming and silage rations are being opened, fodder crops may also be an option for dairy systems.