News

Managing rising costs, negotiating higher contract prices and the fallout of the vote against continuing the AHDB potato levy were the major topics of conversation as the potato industry gathered at British Potatoes.

For many years now we have run seasonal, rural courses on-farm. They are very down to earth, with lots of learning, plenty of laughs and limited numbers to ensure a hands-on experience and make sure everyone can fit around the kitchen table.

Mounting legislative requirements to reduce nitrogen (N) and ammonia output from dairy farms coupled with price volatility around soya and other protein sources in dairy cow diets means alternatives are now being seriously.

Trees have been hitting the headlines this week in the wake of Storm Arwen. Such has been the devastation wrought in parts of the country by the bad weather and strong winds that the damage and amount of toppled trees is like nothing seen in the past 20 years, according to some.

Shoppers can find their local turkey producer by putting their postcode into the NFU Turkey Finder

Speakers at an RABDF business seminar expressed their frustration with the Government’s disconnect with farming

As I type, November is all but over and we have been very grateful for the kind autumn. Grass growth has meant one herd was still grazing into the third week of the month. That said, feeding of winter diet was close to 100 per cent.

Alison Warne, 16, lives in Wadebridge, Cornwall. She works on her family’s beef sheep and arable farm alongside studying for an agricultural diploma.

Defra Secretary George Eustice has said Government subsidies and interventions do nothing to support food security.

Farm and environmental groups have warned the new payment rates for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), published this week, are too low and ‘lack ambition’.