Supermodel Jodie Kidd has teamed up with Hovis to search for the ultimate sarnie.

The initiative ties in with British Sandwich Week which kicked off on May 12 and the launch of the brand's all new British Farmers Loaf.

The TV presenter has, it appears, a sandwich connection - her paternal grandmother was married to the 9th Earl of Sandwich's second son. So this upper crust (upper crust, geddit!) country girl is well placed to launch this hunt.

Remember the 2011 Farmers Weekly Photography Competition?

Well we asked Jean Macdonald, who took the overall "winner of winners" picture, to shoot a selection of photos for us, depicting spring in her part of the world - Shropshire. You can view the slideshow here.

Scotland's biggest game fair is taking place from June 29 to July 1.

Now in its 24th year, The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Scottish Game Fair will take place in the grounds of Scone Palace on the banks of the River Tay on the outskirts of Perth.

Attendance at the event is set to top 2011, when it drew almost 37,000 visitors - a record turnout.

Hot on the heels of the Farmers Weekly cake (which will always hold a special place in our hearts) is this gem of a 21st birthday cake:

Virginia Chilton (pictured right) helped organise the cake for her farming-mad boyfriend Giles Martin who, she says, "is studying at the Royal Ag College, reads Farmers Weekly every week without fail and spends every minute of the day talking about the farming world!"

The cake was expertly crafted by local cakemakers 'Lathams of Broughton' in Preston, and judging by how well it turned out, maybe it wasn't the first commission they've ever had for a tractor cake.

I think you've notched up some serious girlfriend points for that one Virginia. Question is, how will he beat it on your birthday...?

I'm struggling to pronounce her surname, but I've got no trouble understanding why Scottish-based artist Sarah Spofforth McOuat is so popular.

Sarah specialises in large scale artwork, including canvases of the animals who live on her family's 400 acre mixed beef and sheep farm in Dunblane. Here she is showing off two of her paintings in (where else?) a cow-shed:


 


Sarah started from humble beginnings. In the early days she actually painted in the corner of the cow shed, but these days she has a studio on the farm she shares with her famer husband Tom and their two sons, Jamie and Archie.

"A year ago I painted in the spare room, on the cooker and when I was recreating a full size Highland Cow I used the kids trampoline! Now I've got a studio on the farm with the most amazing views across the fields.

"Sometimes I take art classes when the cows are out. I walk past the baby calf's pen to get to the cabin and always say hello. They all just look at me funnily and keep chewing."

Sarah is opening her studio to the public as part of the Forth Valley Open Studios initiative. For more information or to discuss a commission go to www.mcspoffart.com. Prices start from £130.

As I write this I'm gazing through a window speckled with raindrops. Beyond that, grey skies, more grey skies and yet more grey skies.

Weather is one of the biggest inflencers of consumer behaviour, and the current dreary spell is no exception.

A set of weekly sales figures from Tesco show that demand for winter vegetables is soaring. Parsnips are up 22% on last year, onions 31% and swedes 37%. The supermarket has even had to order extra supplies to cater for the unexpectedly high demand.

So you can console yourself with the fact that while the weather is bad news for your suede shoes, new hairdo and that UK break you've got planned, it's good news for British veg. Every cloud has a silver (or should that be green and orange?) lining.


(Picture credit: Geoff Wilkinson/Rex Features)

At the start of lambing I blogged about The Hulk - a monster 11 kilo lamb born in Worcestershire.

Well Worcestershire might have the trophy for biggest lamb sewn up, but East Sussex is surely a contender for the smallest, thanks to the arrival of this tiny creature...





The Tom Thumb-sized lamb (or it could be Thumbelina, I'm not sure what sex it is) was born at the Seven Sisters Sheep Centre in East Dean.

"Our Soay ram got pink eye just before he went in with the Soay ewes and wouldn't serve them so we used a Southdown ram instead," explained farmer Terry Wigmore.

"All the other lambs born to the Soay's were a good size, 2 to 2.5kg but this one was only  915g."

I'm glad to see Terry is getting the little 'un off to a good start in life, at least where reading material is concerned... 




Seen a smaller birthweight during lambing? Email rachel.jones@rbi.co.uk with the details.

There's a 'Ploughman's Lunch' on the menu, but if you look like you've been working anywhere near a plough this pub won't let you in.

There's a story on the Daily Mail website today about two Berkshire farmworkers turned away from their village pub for wearing their uniform of casual trousers and polo shirts, issued by the pick your own farm where they work.

Read the full story here.

If you want to earn a bit of extra dosh and don't mind having your picture taken, this could be right up your street.

Dating website Muddy Matches is looking for a variety of people to take part in a photoshoot. They need new promotional pictures for their website, and are looking for some authentic country folk to try their hand at modelling.

They're offering £150 for your efforts plus travel, and some guaranteed laughs too.


In their words: "We're not looking for Britain's Next Top Model - just nice normal-looking people who aren't afraid of a camera! We'll all be making wallies of ourselves posing for pictures and you'll need to enter into the spirit of things!"

If that sounds like you, check out the Muddy Matches website for more info.

This is hands down our favourite story from last weekend's Young Farmers AGM.

Yorkshire YFC member Tim Atkinson proposed to his girlfriend, equine groom Laura Smith, at Sunday's 'club shirt' night.

But the million dollar question is, did she say yes?

"The first thing she said was 'Are you drunk?', then 'Do you mean it?', and then she finally said yes," recalls Tim.

Phew.

Here's a photo of the happy couple, snapped at the AGM the night before the big proposal. Click here to read their story in full.

Video games will come and go, but good old mother nature is much less fickle.

A new survey commissioned by Arla Foods has revealed that cash-strapped parents are going back to the countryside to entertain the kids, instead of spending big bucks on things like toys, games, DVDs and cinema trips.

44% of school-age kids are spending up to three more hours outdoors every week than they were two years ago.

That's three less hours in front of the TV or computer, and three more hours tearing about parks, green spaces and the seaside.

"Families are realising that fresh air costs nothing," explained writer and researcher Tim Gill. "Getting under the open sky - whether in a local park or the great British countryside - is the perfect way for kids to explore, have adventures and feed their curiosity and imagination."

If the numbers stack up, it sounds like a big opportunity for farmers. 

I'm heading to Torquay today for the National Federation of Young Farmers AGM and convention - three action-packed days involving 4000-plus Young Farmers from across England and Wales. There'll be articles, photos and videos over here.

Seeing as it's Friday, here's a very Fridayish story. Duck fashion, courtesy of the Daily Mail.

You couldn't make this stuff up...

This is a great piece of work - a short and moving film made by an up-and-coming filmmaker, farmer's son Will McGregor.

Read more about the film in the article I wrote for Farmers Weekly after spending a day on the set.

This is amazing: a thatcher's dog that follows him everywhere - even up onto roofs.