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.

AD plant found operating without licence fined over fish kill
AD plant found operating without licence fined over fish kill

A mid-Ulster anaerobic digestion (AD) plant has been forced to cough up almost £3,500, after it was found to have...

AHDB board positions open to NI applicants
AHDB board positions open to NI applicants

The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is currently seeking applications for two new members to join its main board,...

Meeting KPIs: How it’s done at the ‘Future Herd’
Meeting KPIs: How it’s done at the ‘Future Herd’

Farmers at the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) Dairy Open Days were told how benchmarking key performance indicators (KPIs)...

Grassland farmers could soon avail of tool aiming to increase fertiliser savings
Grassland farmers could soon avail of tool aiming to increase fertiliser savings

Fertiliser giant Yara is set to pilot its sensor technology on grassland farms in the UK and Ireland, AgriLand can...

YFCU president: Young Farmers’ Payment changes ‘correct an imbalance’
YFCU president: Young Farmers’ Payment changes ‘correct an imbalance’

Young Farmers’ Clubs of Ulster (YFCU) president James Speers has welcomed changes to the Young Farmers’ Payment (YFP) meaning all...

TB costs to ‘spiral’ under status quo – proposals show
TB costs to ‘spiral’ under status quo – proposals show

Maintaining of the status quo over the next 40 years would cost Northern Ireland an estimated £1,055 million (€1,189.8 million)...

New TB quangos to cost NI up to £20,000 a year
New TB quangos to cost NI up to £20,000 a year

New TB quangos – including TBEP – are expected to cost Northern Ireland up to £20,000 a year, according to...

Dairy farming in a volanic valley and exporting to China: Heather reports from Australia
Dairy farming in a volanic valley and exporting to China: Heather reports from Australia

Just two months ago Co. Down dairy farmer Heather Martin found out she would take part in the trip of a lifetime...

RUAS new chief executive named and set to take up role before Balmoral
RUAS new chief executive named and set to take up role before Balmoral

The Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) has named its new chief executive. It’s expected Alan Crowe will take up the role...

TB vet: ‘It took a year to keep me out of prison and for me to keep my job’
TB vet: ‘It took a year to keep me out of prison and for me to keep my job’

Pioneering vet Dick Sibley thought he would have been lauded after he managed to clear a chronically infected herd of...

Dick Sibley’s TB Quad System: ‘There’s no point crossing the road and only looking one way’
Dick Sibley’s TB Quad System: ‘There’s no point crossing the road and only looking one way’

Pioneering TB vet Dick Sibley introduces himself with a disclaimer: “Anything other than an approved test is a criminal offence...

‘No one talks about the suffering badgers’
‘No one talks about the suffering badgers’

Farmers at an Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) meeting held earlier this week said they felt appalled that badgers were being...

TB crisis: ‘There is no justification that farmers should be asked to fund failure’
TB crisis: ‘There is no justification that farmers should be asked to fund failure’

Pedigree breeders in the North say they feel they are being punished over TB because of “government failure”. Asking farmers...

TB levy proposals could raise up to £4.8 million a year
TB levy proposals could raise up to £4.8 million a year

Proposals for an industry-led TB levy could raise up to £4.8 million a year if the maximum £3 per animal...

£700,000 cooked vegetable processing site opens in Co. Down
£700,000 cooked vegetable processing site opens in Co. Down

Fresh foods producer Willowbrook Foods has invested £700,000 (€794,000) in developing a state-of-the-art production facility in Newtownards, Co. Down, with...

DAERA extends TB consultation despite TBEP closing date passing
DAERA extends TB consultation despite TBEP closing date passing

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has announced an extension to the closing date for responses to...

‘Agri-food: Ignore consumer data at your peril’ – industry analyst warns
‘Agri-food: Ignore consumer data at your peril’ – industry analyst warns

Just five key points form the basis of consumer food buying decisions, Mintel’s Brian O’Connor told an audience of Northern...

DAERA announces changes to CAP area-based schemes for 2018
DAERA announces changes to CAP area-based schemes for 2018

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has announced changes to Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) area-based schemes for...