News

The longest day, summer solstice is behind us. As we move into official summer, it is such a beautiful time of year to be up at silly o’ clock as the sun rises and there is very little noise in the countryside, except the vocal birds singing their dawn chorus. They seem to be even louder this year.

Farmers attending livestock markets have been reminded to adhere to social distancing guidelines and ‘avoid complacency’ in order to avoid a second spike and ensure sales can continue undisrupted.

Running a team of teaser rams with ewes before tupping has the potential to manipulate lambing date and shorten the lambing period, Hannah Noble reports on how to best manage and utilise teasers on-farm.

Beef and lamb prices continue to be above those last year against a background of higher retail sales, the prospect of increasing foodservice sales and pressure on slaughter numbers.

Defra’s public money for public goods scheme could be open to challenge from other countries at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), according to two industry experts.

As lockdown enters its final stages, in England at least, it is remarkable to consider the changes wrought by this unprecedented time. None more so than the impact the pandemic has had on the travel and transport industries.

Mure Grant, 20, is a sheep farmer’s son from Thurso, Caithness, and recently competed in Scotland’s young handlers section at the international sheepdog trials.

In these uncertain times, it might be tempting for farmers to put the brakes on investment in sustainability but now is the time to ensure the British agriculture sector is at the centre of a green economic recovery, and the support for farmers is out there, says Lee Reeves, head of agriculture at Lloyds Bank. 

In Scotland, as in the rest of the UK, the Tories are preparing to sacrifice farmers on the Brexit altar by trying to prevent the Scottish Government from maintaining EU standards, says John Finnie, Green MSP for the Highlands and Islands.

With more than one million people backing food standards by signing the NFU petition to protect them in law, we may yet force the Government’s hand on this issue, says Tim Farron, agriculture spokesman for the Liberal Democrats.