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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

Renewed call for safety after two more farm deaths

Two fatal farm accidents have prompted reminders for farmers and farm-workers to stay safe at what is one of the busiest times of year. The separate and unrelated fatalities saw…

FLY-TIPPING

What to do if you’re a victim of… fly-tipping

Farmers and landowners are plagued by fly-tipping and there is widespread anger and frustration that existing laws do not go far enough in supporting victims. Fly-tipping incidents in England have…

HEALTH AND SAFETY

How to work safely near overhead power lines on farmland

According to the Farm Safety Foundation, at least one farmworker dies each year as a result of contact with an overhead power line. In the past five years, there were…

CRIME

Video: Quad bike theft – how to avoid being a victim

Every farmer would be lost without their quad bike to get around the farm and yet, they are still the farm vehicles stolen most often. In this video hear from…

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Case studies

ENVIRONMENT

Organic farmer branches out into agroforestry

Eastbrook 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…

CRIME

Video: Farm bunds fend off rural criminals

It’s a simple but effective crime prevention measure that doesn’t cost farmers the earth. For centuries, earth bunds were used to protect areas and keep unwanted visitors off land near…

CRIME

Video: Farms turned into fortresses to battle rural crime

Farmers from Ambion Contractors Ltd, near Sutton Cheney in Leicestershire, in the shadows of the Bosworth battlefield, are engaged in their own battle – the constant fight against rural crime.…

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…

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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

ENVIRONMENT

Why farm policy should support agroforestry

One 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…

ENVIRONMENT

Q&A: Should you consider agroforestry on your farm?

Agroforestry is something of the ‘poor relation’ when it comes to increasing the country’s tree cover, but its potential contribution to offsetting climate change should not be underestimated. So, what…

ENVIRONMENT

12 things we learned from the IPCC climate land report

A major report on global land use and agriculture has been published by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report recognises the important role animal products play…

FARM POLICY

Theresa Villiers: 11 facts you need to know

Appointed as the new Defra boss by incoming prime minister Boris Johnson, Theresa Villiers takes the job at a critical time in our industry’s history. Farmers Weekly explores the views…

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News

BREXIT

Lib Dems warn of Brexit risks to upland sheep farmers

Sheep farmers will need specific, targeted aid in the event of a no-deal Brexit if they are to survive the loss of markets and the potential drop in support, visitors…

ENVIRONMENT

UK food security threatened by climate change – MPs

Climate change is threatening the UK's food security, says a report by MPs which calls for government action to curb greenhouse gas emissions. A high dependency on imported fresh food,…

NEWS

Fears grow for welfare of missing farmer

Fears are growing for the welfare of a Hertfordshire farmer who has been missing for 11 days. Alex Wilcox has not been seen since 9.15am on Thursday 5 September when…

SUGAR BEET

Breakthrough in battle against virus yellows

Sugar beet varieties resistant to virus yellows could be available to growers within three years – helping to secure the viability of the crop without neonicotinoid seed treatments. It follows…

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Opinion

NEWS

Opinion: Sheep EBVs are not worth the paper they are written on

The final nail has been driven into the coffin of our sheep-recording dream. Our estimated breeding values (EBVs) have now been filed in the bin. I just hate to abandon…

NEWS

Opinion: Apprenticeships can help bridge the skills gap

Over the past few weeks I’ve been riding a roller-coaster of information relating to apprenticeships and the new T Levels. I feel honoured to be part of the vital process…

NEWS

Opinion: 'Licence to farm' needed to secure taxpayer support

There is a maxim that goes something like “A good big ‘un will always beat a good little ‘un”, implying that in any sporting or military contest, size and power…

NEWS

Opinion: Complain about the media, but it’s not all bad news

Farming has always had an uneasy relationship with the media. Almost exactly a century ago, the newspapers of the time were suggesting farmers had profiteered from the First World War.…

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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: Farmer shows footage of floods engulfing his farm

A Yorkshire farmer has told how he saw walls, trackways and tonnes of topsoil washed away by flash floods. Swaledale farmer Matt Barker had just finished sowing a field of…

CRIME

Video: Fly-tippers blamed as barley crop goes up in smoke

A Suffolk farmer has been inundated with messages of support after a field fire consumed 14ha of barley. Fly-tippers burning rubbish in a field gateway are believed to have caused…

CRIME

Video: Farm bunds fend off rural criminals

It’s a simple but effective crime prevention measure that doesn’t cost farmers the earth. For centuries, earth bunds were used to protect areas and keep unwanted visitors off land near…

ENVIRONMENT

Video: Why cattle and a combine are environmental champions

Farming is often painted by environmental groups as the bad guy but a project to improve water quality and carbon storing are proving that farming holds some of the answers…

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