This Week in Farming: Looking back and looking ahead
© Anne Dusi Hello and welcome to This Week in Farming, your one-stop shop for the best Farmers Weekly content.
Normally I round up what’s been published over the past seven days, but today it’s a special festive recap edition to encompass the whole Christmas period.
Let’s get into it.
About the author
The year that was…
The Oasis reunion may be a fond memory of 2025 for Britpop-loving farmers and if “Don’t Look Back in Anger” is your motto, you may relish a recap of everything that happened in farming in the past 12 months.
We broke the year down into six two-month sections with bitesize reminders of what happened when:
- January and February
- March and April
- May and June
- July and August
- September and October
- November and December.
…and the year to come
However, looking ahead may be more on your mind now that you’ve started the 2026 calendar.
Farmers Weekly has once again partnered with farm consultancy firm Andersons to provide a sector-by-sector outlook for the year ahead.
There’s also an overarching view of farm policy in each nation and what the economy means for farming.
They all feature in a special section in this week’s print edition (2 January), but not all are published online yet.
However, you can already read the outlook for:
Keep checking the Business page for the remainder, or see next week’s bulletin.
Generation game
Our Christmas edition’s special was packed with positive stories to end the year on a good note.
We took an in-depth look at how a Derbyshire dairy family had navigated their way through planning red tape to gain permission for an additional family home, solving their succession problems.
There was also the tale of Ian and Ross Adam, a father and son who have doubled their sheep flock in Aberdeenshire over the past five years after a change of system.
“We are a typical father and son: we don’t speak enough or set out a plan – things happen as opportunities come up. And we argue, but always make up,” says Ross.
That sounds familiar.
Spring cropping outlook
The arable spring workload will soon be here and we’ve published a slew of pieces to help with the decisions that will need to be made before the season kicks in.
Malting barley seems beset with problems at the moment, with poor market demand following a challenging growing year for many.
Here’s a piece for Scottish growers on what can be learned from last year.
It may not be all bad news, though, with one trader thinking the market will be helped this year by a plunge in the spring barley planted area.
One spring crop seeing an uptick in area is maize, with deputy arable editor Emma Gillbard taking a close look at a new triple-use variety that may be a useful Addition (which is its variety name).
Who’s up and who’s down?
Starting 2026 with a spring in their step will be Reform UK, after Farmers Weekly research revealed that 40% of respondents to our annual Sentiment Survey would vote for the party if there was an election tomorrow.
But feeling glum will be the farmers and others affected by bluetongue and avian flu, after both diseases showed an increase over the festive period.
Our best wishes to all affected – hope you bounce back as soon as possible.
Listen to the FW Podcast
Don’t forget to tune in to the Farmers Weekly Podcast, with Johann Tasker, Louise Impey and Hugh Broom.
The team released a special additional podcast following the pre-Christmas inheritance tax news and will be back shortly with their first of 2026.
You’ll find it anywhere you get your podcasts, or listen free on the FW website.