Rachel Martin

Rachel Martin Profile Picture

Rachel Martin specialises in writing about agri-business, food production and dairying. Previously she worked as a business reporter at one of Northern Ireland’s biggest daily newspapers. In 2017, she was named one of IFAJ's 10 Young Leaders in Agricultural Journalism. She is currently secretary of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists in Northern Ireland. When she’s not writing, Rachel can usually be found in the milking parlour at home in Co. Down with her family's 130 cows.

GrassCheck: Testing samples ‘essential’ for a good first cut
GrassCheck: Testing samples ‘essential’ for a good first cut

The recent growth spurt has put grass growth almost back on par with the April average, the latest GrassCheck figures...

Biosecurity: Big issues facing post-Brexit disease control
Biosecurity: Big issues facing post-Brexit disease control

Brexit could be an opportunity to bolster the UK’s biosecurity efforts – but much could be at stake if the...

DAERA outlines progress in tackling ammonia
DAERA outlines progress in tackling ammonia

Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has published a report outlining its progress on ammonia. The...

GrassCheck: A second boom week on the cards
GrassCheck: A second boom week on the cards

Grass growth has rocketed this week across Northern Ireland dairy farms. The latest GrassCheck data recorded an average of 69.4kg...

Half of NI Single Application forms still outstanding
Half of NI Single Application forms still outstanding

Less than two weeks until the deadline, almost half of Northern Ireland’s Single Application forms are yet to be received....

Ammonia deadlock: Department to process 100 applications this month
Ammonia deadlock: Department to process 100 applications this month

Good news is on the horizon for those behind the 100 farm planning applications caught up in the ammonia deadlock....

Tier 1: Extra £400,000 added to second tranche
Tier 1: Extra £400,000 added to second tranche

An additional £400,000 (€455,000) has been made available for the second tranche of Tier 1 of the Farm Business Improvement Scheme...

Mart trade: 80 entered for Limousin spring sale
Mart trade: 80 entered for Limousin spring sale

A total of 80 animals – including 64 bulls and 16 females – have been entered for next week’s Limousin...

Reactor fraud: Illegal TB tag swapping suspected in the North
Reactor fraud: Illegal TB tag swapping suspected in the North

Some “selfish” owners of TB reactor cattle have been suspected of swapping ear tags in a bid to get rid...

Confusion risks NI being shoehorned into English farm policies
Confusion risks NI being shoehorned into English farm policies

Northern Ireland risks seeing major agricultural policies designed with rural England in mind shoe-horned into its post-Brexit legislation, Queen’s University...

Masons to double production capacity with new blending plant
Masons to double production capacity with new blending plant

One of Northern Ireland’s largest compounders is set to more than double its production capacity with a new plant, AgriLand...

Nature organisation blames CAP for ‘biodiversity decline’
Nature organisation blames CAP for ‘biodiversity decline’

An environmental lobby group has called for Northern Ireland’s future agricultural subsidies to ditch the notion of rewarding intensive food...

Grass: 6 tips for managing the swing from shortage to excess
Grass: 6 tips for managing the swing from shortage to excess

With grass growth expected to rapidly accelerate, senior advisors at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) are...

Michel Barnier to meet with small businesses on cross-border tour
Michel Barnier to meet with small businesses on cross-border tour

The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, is set to visit Newry, Derry and Dungannon as part of a...

Glarryford clinches top club title at young farmers’ AGM
Glarryford clinches top club title at young farmers’ AGM

A Co. Antrim club has clinched this year’s Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) Club of the Year title at...

Glarryford clinches top club title at young farmers’ AGM
Glarryford clinches top club title at young farmers’ AGM

A Co. Antrim club has clinched this year’s Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) Club of the Year title at...

Poll results: 1 in 5 still haven’t got their cows out
Poll results: 1 in 5 still haven’t got their cows out

A poll carried out by AgriLand shows that almost a fifth of dairy farmers who voted have still not been...

McGlone: ‘Brexiteers cannot be trusted to act for Ag’
McGlone: ‘Brexiteers cannot be trusted to act for Ag’

SDLP rural affairs spokesman Patsy McGlone MLA has said that the labour struggle that farmers could face after the UK...