SUMMARY
SUMMARY
Superstores shrug off plunging lamb price
Lamb prices at the farm gate plummeted more than a fifth over the past month, but shoppers paid just 6% less. Welsh farm unions have been quick to condemn the figures, but one big retailer says their comments are misplaced………..p22
Milk money wrangle
Negotiations to set autumn milk prices will soon be under way, but sellers could have a tough job persuading dairies to pay more, says one consultant. A milk shortage seems to be the best bargaining point….p23
Stink over fertiliser
Brussels decision to apply a provisional import tariff on urea has been slammed by farmers leaders across the EU. Incomes are at rock-bottom and fertiliser prices jumped 50% last year, they say……p23
Branching into timber
Timber is the latest cash crop at Tirinie, our adopted farm in Scotland. But it has been far from easy to turn a profit, and putting the wood to good use on the farm has proved the best option for owner Ian Duncan Millar……………….p24
Co-op wants you
In a bid to secure more recruits, First Milk is the latest co-op to appoint a group of farmers to re-establish contact with direct suppliers and persuade them to sign up………p24
Scots stocking up
Some Scottish producers who saw their herds wiped out by foot-and-mouth disease have been busy restocking with suckler cows and calves. Auctioneers say prices are up slightly on those paid before the disease struck……………p27