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.

Salad giant Willowbrook secures €2.5m of additional business in ROI
Salad giant Willowbrook secures €2.5m of additional business in ROI

Ireland’s largest bagged salad producer Willowbrook Foods has secured an additional €2.5 million worth of business in the Irish market...

Poor heifer management could be costing your business
Poor heifer management could be costing your business

Waiting longer to calve heifers could be costing Northern Ireland farmers thousands according to researchers, with a three-month delay on...

Reminder: Important NI slurry dates you need to know
Reminder: Important NI slurry dates you need to know

With slurry tanks already nearing capacity following a wet summer and autumn, many farmers are eagerly anticipating the start of...

Bird flu cases discovered in UK; flock keepers asked to remain alert
Bird flu cases discovered in UK; flock keepers asked to remain alert

Northern Irish flock keepers and poultry farmers have been warned to maintain high levels of biosecurity after 17 cases of...

Northern production hits November record as milk prices rise above 33p/L
Northern production hits November record as milk prices rise above 33p/L

Northern Ireland milk production has hit its highest ever November yield as dairy farmers produced 171 million more litres of the...

Brexit modelling: How the likely options will hit tillage
Brexit modelling: How the likely options will hit tillage

Post-Brexit subsidy changes will have a much bigger effect on farm viability than any other factor, according to one of...

YFCU roadshows to feature business consultants, land mobility and valuation experts
YFCU roadshows to feature business consultants, land mobility and valuation experts

Several rural experts will travel to a series of events across Northern Ireland to discuss the issue of land mobility,...

How more than 100 Scottish farmers pooled together for fairer prices
How more than 100 Scottish farmers pooled together for fairer prices

A group of farmers in Scotland, who banded together to negotiate the first post Milk Marketing Board milk price contract,...

CAFRE cows to welcome visitors on dairy open days
CAFRE cows to welcome visitors on dairy open days

Upcoming College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) open dairy days will focus on six main themes, including: feed...

‘Ammonia recommendations highlight need to work together’
‘Ammonia recommendations highlight need to work together’

Department officials have said the ammonia recommendations made this week highlight the “need for the government and agri-food sector to...

Ammonia deadlock stalling farm planning applications but ‘no one thought to tell farmers’
Ammonia deadlock stalling farm planning applications but ‘no one thought to tell farmers’

Northern Ireland’s environment agency (NIEA) is understood to have put a virtual deadlock on many major farm building projects because...

Gove’s Oxford Farming Conference remarks ‘an insult to farmers’
Gove’s Oxford Farming Conference remarks ‘an insult to farmers’

Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has hit out at comments made today at the Oxford Farming Conference by UK...

Gove’s Oxford Farming Conference remarks ‘an insult to farmers’
Gove’s Oxford Farming Conference remarks ‘an insult to farmers’

Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron has hit out at comments made today at the Oxford Farming Conference by UK...

Ammonia action ‘urgently needed on every farm’
Ammonia action ‘urgently needed on every farm’

A working group commissioned by Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture has published several recommendations to curb the problem of excess...

Plant protection product given approval for UK use in record time
Plant protection product given approval for UK use in record time

UK herb growers will be able to protect their crops with a new weed control product approved in record time,...

‘Moving the goalposts’: Tier 2 farmer out £15,000 blames NIEA for planning ordeal
‘Moving the goalposts’: Tier 2 farmer out £15,000 blames NIEA for planning ordeal

A Co. Antrim farmer who says he has been put out around £15,000 (€16,900) preparing for a Tier 2 application...

Voluntary AD certification scheme could improve farm businesses
Voluntary AD certification scheme could improve farm businesses

The “most comprehensive scheme of its type” has been launched to certify Anaerobic Digestion (AD) plants in the UK. The voluntary,...

Soil: Taking the pressure off this winter
Soil: Taking the pressure off this winter

You might feel like you need tracks – or maybe even a raft – to cope with some of the...