Livestock

The new Agriculture Bill due to be introduced to Parliament this month will include a legal requirement for the Government to carry out regular food security audits.

Farmers without formal qualifications could be excluded from accessing Government funding or even tenancies over the next two or three years, a prominent peer has warned.

The NFU has called for farmers in England to keep at least 30 per cent of their direct payments after Brexit.

The NFU has called for the new Agriculture Bill, which will be reintroduced to Parliament this month, to set up a commission to protect food standards in trade deals.

A show-of-hands poll carried out at Oxford Farming Conference revealed there was not a single audience member who trusted the Government to protect food production standards in trade deals.

CHANNEL 4 and the BBC have come under fire from farm groups, who said the broadcasters have escalated media aggression towards the consumption of meat through ‘unbalanced’ reporting.

New research has shown willow trees could be used to optimise production in lambs due to its high concentrations of cobalt and zinc.

Trace minerals play a crucial role in late pregnancy and around lambing, so ensuring diets are balanced to meet ewe requirements should be a high priority.

Rafoxanide is not an appropriate alternative to closantel when treating liver fluke, farmers warned.