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.

2 Sisters: Major review launched into UK slaughterhouses
2 Sisters: Major review launched into UK slaughterhouses

A major review into hygiene controls in UK slaughterhouses has been launched in light of the 2 Sisters investigation. The...

Demand hikes Northern agricultural land prices up £1,000
Demand hikes Northern agricultural land prices up £1,000

A surge of activity in the first two months of 2018 has put Northern Ireland’s agricultural land market back into...

2018 Single Application process opens: What you need to know
2018 Single Application process opens: What you need to know

The online Single Application service has opened for 2018, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has announced....

Behind the scenes: £23m world-first poultry litter AD plant in Ballymena
Behind the scenes: £23m world-first poultry litter AD plant in Ballymena

A £23 million (€26 million) anaerobic digestion (AD) plant in Ballymena has become one of the first of its kind...

What can you do with unlifted swards?
What can you do with unlifted swards?

With many acres of last year’s grass still lying rotting across Ulster, and wet weather conditions continuing, the College of...

What can you do with unlifted swards?
What can you do with unlifted swards?

With many acres of last year’s grass still lying rotting across Ulster, and wet weather conditions continuing, the College of...

Burnt factory’s diverted pigs push NI numbers up year-on-year
Burnt factory’s diverted pigs push NI numbers up year-on-year

The number of pigs in Northern Ireland grew by almost a fifth year-on-year, as imports of fattened pigs coming here...

Northern sheep numbers hit highest since 2004
Northern sheep numbers hit highest since 2004

The number of sheep in Northern Ireland has hit its highest in 13 years as breeders focus on fattening stock...

Northern milk production smashes December record
Northern milk production smashes December record

Northern Ireland dairy farms produced a record milk volume output in December, the latest agricultural survey figures reveal. It follows...

NI herds to go paperless by May – but union wants a consultation
NI herds to go paperless by May – but union wants a consultation

Union officials say the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture’s plans for herd birth and movement registrations to go paperless by...

International Dairy4Future research programme looking for pilot farmers
International Dairy4Future research programme looking for pilot farmers

A total of 10 Northern Ireland dairy farmers have the opportunity to get involved in ‘Dairy4Future’ – an international research...

How one north-west family made decent silage during the ‘worst summer in a generation’
How one north-west family made decent silage during the ‘worst summer in a generation’

The headlines from the north-west last summer were far from good for grassland farmers – yet good silage was still...

Agri-pharma firm Norbrook’s profits soar in latest accounts
Agri-pharma firm Norbrook’s profits soar in latest accounts

Agri-pharmaceutical firm Norbrook has seen its profits soar by more than 40% in just a year, according to its most...

Northern silage yield drops to lowest in 12 years
Northern silage yield drops to lowest in 12 years

Following the summer no farmer will forget – for all the wrong reasons – silage yields in Northern Ireland hit...

Majority of NI’s 2,200 gorse fires ‘started deliberately’
Majority of NI’s 2,200 gorse fires ‘started deliberately’

A public consultation has been launched into reducing the threat of wildfires in the countryside as firefighters warn the majority...

First female NFU president elected at annual conference
First female NFU president elected at annual conference

Minette Batters has made history becoming the first female president of the National Farmers’ Union. Batters, a beef farmer from...

BVD cattle ban secured across NI abattoirs
BVD cattle ban secured across NI abattoirs

An agreement has been reached with the Northern Ireland Meat Exporters Association to ban persistently infected (PI) cattle from slaughter...

TB risk: Restaurant-style ratings for farms?
TB risk: Restaurant-style ratings for farms?

A Northern Ireland pedigree society has written to the chief veterinary officer asking that a tiered approach is taken towards...