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.

Poll results: Almost 40% of farmers fear fodder shortage this winter
Poll results: Almost 40% of farmers fear fodder shortage this winter

Poor weather across the island has left many farmers facing a very bleak winter, with significant numbers already concerned that...

Ambitious two-year target set for Northern land mobility scheme
Ambitious two-year target set for Northern land mobility scheme

As many as 100 land mobility agreements could be made between farmers in Northern Ireland by 2019, those behind the...

How land mobility could push farm productivity
How land mobility could push farm productivity

Better land mobility could push productivity rates and allow the North’s agricultural sector to grow, it has been claimed. The...

Land mobility: How does it work, how are profits split and what about subsidies?
Land mobility: How does it work, how are profits split and what about subsidies?

A ‘land mobility’ programme aiming to pair up farmers into working partnerships and solve the problem of access to land...

‘Automation could solve the agri-food industry’s labour shortage problems’
‘Automation could solve the agri-food industry’s labour shortage problems’

Robots that pick fruit, weeds, and even go out into the field and feed the cows could become a common...

Northern Ireland Holstein breeders manage impressive All-Britain campaign
Northern Ireland Holstein breeders manage impressive All-Britain campaign

Northern Ireland Holstein breeders impressed judges at the weekend’s All-Britain All-Breeds Calf Show in Malvern, Worcestershire. The region’s team of around...

TB levels in the North peak at highest rate in over a decade
TB levels in the North peak at highest rate in over a decade

Tuberculosis (TB) rates have hit their worst level in Northern Ireland in more than a decade, the latest figures reveal....

Ophelia: NI and GB damage estimated to cost up to £10m
Ophelia: NI and GB damage estimated to cost up to £10m

The repair bill for ex-hurricane Ophelia could hit up to £10 million, rural insurer NFU Mutual has estimated. The firm...

‘Hope for the best; plan for the worst’: How British tillage experts are planning for Brexit
‘Hope for the best; plan for the worst’: How British tillage experts are planning for Brexit

UK cereal farmers are being urged to proactively plan for Brexit and not to “wait and see” what happens. Tillage...

Court forces fuel-laundering farmer to pay back £15,500
Court forces fuel-laundering farmer to pay back £15,500

A Crossmaglen farmer involved in fuel laundering has had £15,571 (€17,518) confiscated in court after 127t of domestic and commercial waste...

Former Dunbia boss sets up agri-food consultancy firm
Former Dunbia boss sets up agri-food consultancy firm

A meat industry, heavy-weight who once directed one of the island’s largest meat firms, has ventured out on his own...

Major poultry conference to take place in Co. Tyrone
Major poultry conference to take place in Co. Tyrone

A major poultry conference encouraging Northern farmers to keep ahead of the industry’s challenges is set to take place next...

Two farmers hospitalised just hours before slurry ban deadline
Two farmers hospitalised just hours before slurry ban deadline

Two Co. Tyrone farmers have been hospitalised, and three animals have died, in a slurry accident just hours before this...

Trans-frontier: How AD industry experts say Brexit will hit Ireland’s biogas sector
Trans-frontier: How AD industry experts say Brexit will hit Ireland’s biogas sector

Access to finance, land and maintaining cross-border relationships are some of the biggest challenges the island’s Anaerobic Digestion (AD) industry will...

Could NI’s AD industry be used as a pilot for nutrient management?
Could NI’s AD industry be used as a pilot for nutrient management?

Anaerobic Digestion (AD) could allow farmers to more effectively manage nutrient loading if digestate is correctly applied, researchers told delegates...

103 Anaerobic Digestion plants approved in Northern Ireland as AD sector booms
103 Anaerobic Digestion plants approved in Northern Ireland as AD sector booms

Northern Ireland’s Anaerobic Digestion (AD) sector is set to rocket within the next half decade. A government official who deals...

Caterpillar fined for diesel spill which saw 40,000L end up in the Irish Sea
Caterpillar fined for diesel spill which saw 40,000L end up in the Irish Sea

Caterpillar (NI) has been fined after a spill at its Co. Antrim factory saw more than 40,000L of diesel make its...

‘Slow Food’ festival celebrates return with two local product launches
‘Slow Food’ festival celebrates return with two local product launches

A festival celebrating the best of the north west’s home-grown produce will return to the ‘maiden city’ next weekend. Northern...