This Week in Farming: Politics, new kit, disease and opinion
© Phil Weedon Welcome to the latest edition of This Week in Farming – our weekly round-up of the best news and views from our website over the past week.
First, here are your market prices (opens as PDF). Buoyant times continue for finished steers and lambs, though finding replacements comes at a cost as well.
It’s certainly been a chilly week, with most farmers feeling the first proper blast of winter – perhaps a welcome change after the warm wet spell. It’s not going to help fill those depleted reservoirs, however.
Without a wet winter, the Environment Agency is warning England is on course for widespread drought next year, raising fresh concerns for farmers, wildlife and water supplies.
See also: FW Inventions Comp opens for entries with £2.5k prize pot
About the author
Politics to the fore
The cold weather was not enough to deter a motivated bunch of farmers descending on Westminster this week to protest against the impending family farm tax.
It was good to see a handful of Labour backbenchers put their heads above the parapet too, while the return of Vicky the Limousin heifer to Westminster served as a timely reminder to politicians that farming has not gone away.
The Conservatives got in on the act too, holding an emergency summit to demand an urgent inheritance tax (IHT) reversal ahead of next week’s Autumn Budget.
Those hoping for a boost from Defra secretary Emma Reynolds would have been left disappointed by her lacklustre speech at the CLA rural business conference two days later.
New CLA president Gavin Lane is far from impressed, attacking Labour’s anti-family business ideology from the podium.
There were some grains of hope identified by Farmers Weekly editor Andrew Meredith in his Editor’s View column, though he concluded that failure to at least amend the IHT proposals will eventually be felt at the ballot box.
Business round-up
It’s not all bad news in farming, and latest figures from Defra show that average farm incomes have climbed from £49,700 to £71,200.
The downside is that these figures relate to last year, and since then things for many have taken a turn for the worst.
Ongoing pressure on grain margins means the barley area is set to fall, while the wheat area will remain below the five-year average.
The recent collapse in milk prices is also causing dairy farmers to offload cull cows, hoping to recoup cashflow from a more buoyant meat trade.
Farmers putting livestock through the ring are being urged to pledge 30p a head on sheep and pigs, and £1 a head on cattle sales, to generate funds for those in need of help through the Addington Fund’s Give a Little, Make a Lot scheme.
Meanwhile, land values have been holding up well in the North West, according to our regional round-up.
And stocked forestry values have climbed to £19,200/ha, according to latest figures from Goldcrest Land & Forestry Group and Tilhill Forestry.
Sadly, County Council farm tenancies continue to disappear in England.
Agritechnica 2025
Last week’s This Week in Farming featured a selection of fab new kit from the Agritechnica 2025 machinery show in Hanover – but it really is the gift that keeps giving…
Here are another five pieces that kept our web pages full near the start of this week:
- John Deere goes electric with 130hp EPower
- Vaderstad Spirit gets coulter pressure boost
- 195-272hp Versatile Nemesis hits Europe
- Lemken goes no-till with NT disc drill
- Sky Falcon spreader goes high-tech
Oh, and why not have another one… Handy new workshop tools and gadgets
Disease pressure
The onset of winter has brought renewed disease pressure, especially for the nation’s poultry flock, with the British Free Range Egg Producers Association warning of a worst year ever for avian influenza.
Northern Ireland is also tightening its bovine viral diarrhoea rules from December, in the wake of further incursions from the South.
There is better new on antibiotics, with latest data from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate and the Animal and Plant Health Agency putting sales at their lowest levels on record.
In more good news, the Livestock desk reports on how one Wiltshire dairy farmer has managed to cut Johne’s disease to less than 2% though smart management.
Spare a thought for farmers on the Isle of Man, however, who face the prospect of the island’s only major farm vet closing for business next year.
Opinions galore
As ever, our web pages have been full of farmer opinion.
This week, Will Evans considers what was on the menu at the recent Earthshot environmental awards event in Rio, while Chris Bennett weighs up the impacts of climate change.
Peter Gittins shares his views on advanced technology, and Julia Stoddart argues that progress is made in the field, not the laboratory.
In addition, we are looking for some new writers. Could it be you?
And finally…
Hundreds of people attended a memorial service of thanksgiving for the life of Norfolk farmer, journalist, broadcaster and former Farmers Weekly columnist David Richardson.
Members of the farming community, media, friends and family gathered at the Royal Norfolk Showground last Friday to celebrate his life. Our report on the service captures a flavour of the occasion.
Listen to the FW Podcast
Don’t forget to tune in to the Farmers Weekly Podcast with Johann Tasker, Louise Impey and Hugh Broom.
You’ll find it anywhere you get your podcasts, or listen free on the FW website.