All from last 7 days 4X4SOn test: Dacia Duster 4x4There are certain sacrifices to be made if you want a sparkling new car on the cheap and they usually involve slack performance, low-grade interiors and unremarkable looks. The lure… DAIRYThe effect of a hard Brexit on the UK dairy industryWe shouldn’t underestimate the financial shock that a hard Brexit could cause to our industry, says Kite Consulting’s John Allen. A hard Brexit would result in no trade agreements and,… STAFF MANAGEMENTAHDB offers £200 management training course for farmersAgricultural workers are being urged to join a subsidised management training scheme to bridge a skills gap on UK farms. Less than 35% of farmers and growers in the UK… ENVIRONMENTAgriculture bucks trend with cut in water pollutionLatest quarterly figures on serious pollution in England show that agriculture bucked the trend in 2018-19 as the only sector to cause fewer incidents than in 2017-18. Environment Agency data… 4X4SOn test: Suzuki Jimny SZ5 AllgripSuzuki has breathed new life into its long-in-the-tooth Jimny with a new model that it hopes will emulate its predecessors’ sales figures and pass the million-unit sold mark in the… HOUSING AND HANDLINGThe new EPEF 420 broiler standard and how to achieve itAviagen's Ross 400 Club was introduced to recognise farmers achieving the highest performance on broiler farms. Entry to the club is for those farmers that have achieved a European production… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: Cover crops staying ahead of flea beetleCereal harvest results are now in. Winter barley produced a thin sample on the lightest of land, with an average yield. However, the six-row hybrid on some of our heavier… COMPLIANCEWhat new water protection powers would mean for farmersThe Environment Agency is close to using fresh powers to regulate water quality that will include the ability to ban cropping or impose low stocking densities. Water Protection Zones (WPZs)… STAFF MANAGEMENTWhat skills to look for when recruiting farm staffWhen assessing the performance of their team, or when seeking to recruit new staff, farmers often focus on the skills and knowledge of a potential employee. While this is important,… ENVIRONMENTOrganic farmer branches out into agroforestryEastbrook Farm is home to renowned organic farmer and chief executive of the Soil Association, Helen Browning. She took over the farm, and its subsequent conversion to organic status, at… CROPS MARKETS AND PRICESFresh lows for wheat price as harvesting resumes in earnestWheat prices have hit fresh lows as currency values have strengthened through the week, with the market battling to stay in touch with global values. The pound rallied on an… HARVESTHarvest 2019: Almost half of cereal and OSR crops combinedNearly half of cereal and oilseed rape crops are now harvested, with sunny and warmer weather likely to speed up combining progress over the weekend. Some 1.7m ha of the… HARVESTHarvest 2019: Yields and quality looking up as sun returnsHarvest is back in full swing after recent rain, and although some crops have gone flat, yields and quality are looking promising across much of the country as the weather… NEWSFarmers urged to take part in hedgerow surveyA new survey is encouraging farmers to health-check their hedgerows to safeguard the future of this important habitat. The Great British Hedgerow Survey, launched by wildlife charity People’s Trust for… OFCApplicants sought for OFC Emerging Leaders programmeFarmers and other agricultural industry participants who have not previously attended the Oxford Farming Conference have one week left to apply for a prestigious leadership development programme. The deadline for… LIVESTOCKHow to identify cow health issues before they become problemsWith farm scale increases on the rise, being able to monitor each animal is becoming increasingly difficult. When herd managers and farm employees are stretched too thin, individual cow attention… ENVIRONMENTWhy farm policy should support agroforestryOne of the recurring messages from the recent spate of reports and conferences about climate change is that farmers and landowners need to be planting more trees. That was spelled… COMPLIANCEWhich rules are relaxed when farmland is flooded?Farmers watching flood waters rise across their land often have little time to save livestock and move machinery, let alone comply with normal animal movement and cross-compliance regulations. Fortunately, Defra… BLACKGRASSWhy a major blackgrass project is looking at soil healthImproving soil health has now been included in Agrovista’s long-term blackgrass trial, as the company continues to refine its blackgrass management advice for growers on heavy land. The project’s tried-and-tested… DAIRYMilk production under way at floating farmThe world’s first floating dairy farm has begun producing more than 600 litres of milk a day from the centre of Rotterdam in the Netherlands. The aim The company’s aim… AWARDSFarmers Weekly Awards: Grassland Manager finalists 2019All three finalists were focusing on growing quality grass and forage to reduce their reliance on bought-in feed and were shining examples of how farms can be productive while enhancing… TAKING STOCKMilker shortage lifts values 16-18% on yearCommercial dairy cattle prices are more than £200 dearer than this time last year, with a shortage of stock creating a buoyant market. Freshly calved commercial heifers averaged £1,502 in… CLOTHINGSkee-Tex and Muck Boot unveil new welly rangesSkee-Tex has unveiled a new lightweight welly boot with extra insulation for plodding around farm yards in the winter. Its Ultralight Tuff Boots come with a stiff insole and sock… FARMER FOCUSFarmer Focus: 2019 is the year the shepherds got harvest inShepherd James has got flock lameness under control while we’ve been distracted with the harvest. Our first draw of lambs is being pulled together and we are trying to select… FLINDT ON FRIDAYFlindt on Friday: Rain makes way for farm and farmer repairsI hesitate to say this, bearing in mind what some parts of the country have gone through, but a spell of wet days in August is quite handy. (It’s also… More articles
