All from last 7 days STAFF MANAGEMENTTips on staff management from 4 dairy farmersDairy farmers could be facing a worsening labour shortage on UK farms post-Brexit, with 56% of farmers employing people from the EU. The findings of the RABDF survey show the… TRAILERSBecklonne Lademonster eases maize hauling headacheLittle-known German manufacturer Becklonne has developed a monster elevator designed to shift large quantities of crop from the field to the clamp, and it’s capable of loading an artic bulker… LIVESTOCK DISEASESSheep scab warnings follow spike in casesSoaring numbers of sheep scab cases mean farmers should deal with every bought-in sheep as if it has scab, say sheep experts. Proper quarantining of stock, plunge dips, macrocyclic lactone… MEAT MARKETS AND PRICESChick placings hit September record above 90m birdsThe number of chick and poult placings broke records in the month of September after exceeding 90m birds. At 90.3m placings in total, the highest number ever recorded by Defra,… LAND MARKETSFarmland marketed in England hits 10-year highSupplies of farmland marketed in England has hit the highest level in 10 years after an exceptional amount came forward in the past three months. According to Strutt & Parker’s… LIVESTOCK DISEASESA guide to ASF and how to minimise the risk on your pig farmAfrican Swine Fever (ASF) is spreading westwards across Europe and has recently been detected in wild boar populations just across the channel, in Belgium. Amid warnings of potentially dire consequences… FARMERS APPRENTICERevealed: The winner of Farmers Apprentice 2018And the winner is... ... 22 year old Sam Coote from County Durham has been crowned the winner of Farmers Apprentice 2018, following 5 days of challenging tasks. Sam beat… BREXITKelly Turkeys to open European business over Brexit concernsConcerns about the threat of cheap imports, border controls, lack of available seasonal labour and a growing EU market has prompted Kelly Turkeys to move some of its business to… GRASSLAND MANAGEMENTFarmers advised not to aerate soils before digging holesBefore aerating soils to combat compaction, farmers should dig holes and test soils to assess the cause of the problem. Grassland and soils adviser James Bretherton of Agscope said the… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Growers likely to stick with beet despite issuesWe have had a very welcome 42mm of steady rain in the past 24 hours. We held off starting drilling until 1 October and have about another 30ha to complete… FARM MAINTENANCEBryce Suma launches trailed post driverPost knocking specialist Bryce Suma has launched its first trailed heavy-duty post driver that doesn’t require a hefty tractor on the front to provide stability. The Kelso-based manufacturer says… LIVESTOCK DISEASESFarmer left ‘heartbroken’ after BSE discoveryA farmer whose cows are facing slaughter after BSE was discovered on his farm has been left “heartbroken”. The case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, also known as “mad cow disease”,… BUSINESSFarmers question HMRC's readiness for Making Tax DigitalAn under-pressure HMRC has admitted to a number of farmers that it is unable to process new applications for exemption from Making Tax Digital until next month. The agency also… FARMERS APPRENTICEVideo: Farmers Apprentice 2018 episode 6 – watch the finalAfter four days packed with gruelling challenges, we have reached the final day of bootcamp. But before we announce the winner of Farmers Apprentice 2018 the teams have something a… NEWSHay bales worth £30,000 torched on Scottish farmA farmer has been left seriously out of pocket after about 1,000 hay bales worth £30,000 were destroyed in a suspected arson attack. The incident happened at about 7.30pm on… DAIRY MARKETS AND PRICESOMSCo eyeing US organic dairy market post-BrexitThe Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative (Omsco) is targeting a bigger share of the international market for dairy products, post-Brexit. Omsco chairman Nicholas Saphir told the annual members’ conference he wanted… NEWSSheep cruelty video sparks Scottish SPCA investigationThe Scottish SPCA has launched an investigation into footage that allegedly shows the abuse of sheep in a number of Scottish shearing sheds. Animal rights group Peta Asia has released… TELEHANDLERSOn test: Manitou returns to pivot market with its MLA-TIt might have a chequered past in the world of pivot-steer loaders, but Manitou has returned for another crack at a market monopolised by its old enemy, JCB. The French… SUGAR BEETSugar beet grower upbeat on yield despite dry summerCambridgeshire sugar beet grower Guy Wakeham is aiming for an ambitious yield target of 100t/ha – although his crop has to be lifted relatively early, by the end of November. His… TAKING STOCKHeavier lambs not being rewarded in autumn flushHeavy lamb values are suffering at centres across the country amid an autumn flush of grass and plentiful lamb supplies. Monday’s sales saw heavy lambs (45.6-52kg) discounted at most marts,… BUSINESS MANAGEMENTCompulsory purchase of farmland: Compensation explainedFarmers across the UK are being plagued by authorities taking ownership of their land under hard-to-contest compulsory purchase orders. Despite being forced to sell land, give up businesses and temporarily… CRIMEOn patrol with the police in the fight against rural crimeIt’s a drizzly mid-September morning as I travel to Buckinghamshire ahead of “Operation Agriculture”. The operation is a week-long crackdown on rural crime affecting farms and the countryside in the Aylesbury… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Worried about a ‘no deal’ BrexitTupping time is upon us. Our plan for this year was to reduce the commercial flock and concentrate on our nucleus of Abermax ewes, coupled with an increase in the… FLINDT ON FRIDAYFlindt on Friday: Please save my spine from 20-litre drumsOne day, when the team that do the excellent "What’s in your shed?" feature have run out of proper farmers, I’ll invite them down to Flindt Towers. And when they… NEWSOpinion: Farmers must make the most of positive publicityFarming gets more than its fair share of media column inches… and most of it is good. We should be proud. Farming has turned things around – it's more revered… More articles
