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All the latest agricultural news for the arable and livestock farming sectors across the UK. Keep up up-to-date with farming policy from Defra and the devolved governments, agricultural subsidies and grants, farm compliance, farming business news and rural issues.

Advice and tips

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Top tips for how to take on dangerous job of mixing slurry

Farmers are being warned by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) to take extra care when planning the dangerous job of mixing slurry. Slurry gas is a…

TENANCIES AND RENTS

How to become a county council farm tenant

County council farms provide a great opportunity for people looking to reach the first rung in the farming ladder and many holdings are designed specifically with new entrants in mind.…

NEWS

Farm security advice to combat rural crime

Countryside criminals are becoming more brazen and farmers are having to go to extra lengths to ramp up security and protect their livelihoods. Some farmers are turning their farmyards into…

NEWS

NFU practical farm advice for dealing with activists

This month has seen an unparalleled step up in activist activity on farm and online, coinciding with the dairy industry’s #Februdairy promotional campaign. Reports of trespassing, threats of violence and…

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Case studies

NEWS

Farmers Weekly Awards – Young Farmer finalists 2018

Young farmers are the future of the agricultural sector and are coming into the industry by working on family farms, starting new businesses and competing for tenancies. Some sell themselves…

NEWS

Mooing cattle recorded in bitter row over noise

Mooing cattle on a Yorkshire farm will be recorded for a year in a bid to end a bitter planning row between an organic beef farmer and his neighbour. The…

AWARDS

FW Awards winners – on farming, winning and judging

With just two weeks to go until the closing date, if you haven’t already entered or nominated someone for a Farmers Weekly Award this year, there’s no better time to…

NEWS

Video: How Gloucs farmers are working to prevent flooding

Farmers and landowners in Gloucestershire’s Upper Thames area are working together to manage the land to provide catchment-scale solutions to prevent future floods while making businesses resilient.  When storms Eva…

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Community

OPINION

Opinion: Never mind Brexit, what about my meniscus?

Neighbour: "Did you properly check your meniscus?" Me: "I didn't know I had one." This has been the flavour of the farming conversation round these parts throughout April and May.…

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Insights

FARM POLICY

Defra farm minister Eustice answers your questions

Ahead of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham this weekend, we invited questions from you and put them to Defra farm minister George Eustice. From questions on bovine TB, to…

BREXIT

Agriculture Bill seeks better deal for farmers in supply chain

The new Agriculture Bill, tabled in parliament just over a week ago, commanded a large number of column inches in the national and specialist media, mainly focused on the government’s continuing…

BREXIT

Interview: Lib Dem leader Vince Cable on Brexit and farming

As well as being leader of the Liberal Democrats and a former cabinet minister, Sir Vince Cable is well versed in the fundamentals of farming; his wife Rachel Smith raised…

NEWS

Survey: Farmers hopeful despite longer term uncertainty

More than three-quarters (76%) of farmers feel fairly or very optimistic about their business prospects in the next six months – despite the obvious challenges caused by a lack of…

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News

CRIME

Four suspected hare coursers banned from Cambs farms

Four men suspected of nearly 60 hare coursing offences have been banned from entering farmland in Cambridgeshire. Denny Loveridge, James Crickmore, John Jefford and Mark Loveridge were caught by police…

FARM POLICY

Scots and Welsh seek assurances on funding after Brexit

Farm leaders in Scotland and Wales are seeking further guarantees following a Westminster government pledge that agricultural will be fairly funded after Brexit. It comes after Defra secretary Michael Gove…

WEATHER

Flood warning issued as Storm Callum hits farms

Farmers in western parts of the UK are braced for the effects of Storm Callum, with wind speeds of up 80mph to hit farms, posing risks to property, machinery and…

BREXIT

Under fire: Gove's Brexit plan for agriculture

Defra secretary Michael Gove faced repeated calls this week to put food at the heart of his flagship policy for farming and countryside, as MPs debated the future for British…

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Opinion

NEWS

Opinion: History shows we ignore food security at our peril

In English history books, the year 1765 may not loom large, but it was a fateful one for this country. In that year, for the first time, our imports of…

NEWS

Opinion: A second referendum on Brexit makes good sense

A while ago a landowner from the “I’m-alright-Jack-whatever-the-outcome” wing of the Brexiteers asked me breezily what I had to worry about with Brexit. So here it is… As upland beef…

NEWS

Opinion: Looking for breeding traits is a family affair

Two new toys have been purchased for our farm recently. The new stud ram and the new tractor were both much needed and each will play a vital role in…

NEWS

Opinion: Ag Bill ignores views of those it is meant to serve

Like 44,000 other individuals who responded to the Health and Harmony consultation earlier this year, I recently received an email from Defra. It said the department was delighted to announce…

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Test and reviews

16 essential farming apps for 2014

Smart phones have revolutionised how farmers run their businesses, with apps doing anything from identifying weeds to recording and managing grazing platforms. There’s an amazing array of apps on the…

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Video

WEATHER

Video: Drought-hit dairy farmers determined not to sell cows

Two Anglesey dairy farmers who have been among the hardest-hit by the drought are determined to spend their way out of trouble instead of selling cattle. Business partners Johnjo Roberts…

WEATHER

Video: Farmers trade water in battle to save crops

The Environment Agency says it will fast-track applications from drought-hit growers who want to trade water with other farmers in a bid to save crops. Agency team leader Jonathan Thompson…

NEWS

Video: How Next Generation network is helping young farmers

The next generation of farmers are young, passionate, experimental and brave – but most importantly, they are succeeding. The Exmoor Hill Farming Network is one organisation that has prioritised supporting…

NEWS

Video: Farmer's camera catches fly-tipper in the act

A dairy farmer is appealing to the public to help identify a shameless woman caught on camera appearing to fly-tip on his land. Joe Tucker, 19, installed a small camera…

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