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.

NI farmers to receive full Direct Payments in October for the first time
NI farmers to receive full Direct Payments in October for the first time

Farmers in Northern Ireland will, for the first time, receive their full Direct Payments this month, the region’s Agriculture Minister...

Poots: The EU needs to back off and butt out
Poots: The EU needs to back off and butt out

Northern Ireland’s Minister of Agriculture Edwin Poots has warned the EU to “back off” and “butt out” of decisions over...

Prisoners’ recycling and horticultural projects raise £5,000 for Air Ambulance NI
Prisoners’ recycling and horticultural projects raise £5,000 for Air Ambulance NI

Recycling and horticultural projects by staff and prisoners at Maghaberry during the Covid pandemic have raised £5,100 for Air Ambulance...

NI vet shortage: Poots insists new TB strategy is ‘a priority’
NI vet shortage: Poots insists new TB strategy is ‘a priority’

Fears Northern Ireland’s bovine TB woes could yet again be put on the backburner have been dismissed by Agriculture Minister...

NI agri-food duo make Queen’s birthday honours list
NI agri-food duo make Queen’s birthday honours list

Two businessmen at the helm of Northern Ireland’s agri-food sector have made it on to this year’s Queen’s birthday honours list....

Stormont Agriculture Committee accused of ‘playing politics’ over Brexit legislation
Stormont Agriculture Committee accused of ‘playing politics’ over Brexit legislation

Stormont Agriculture Committee members took a 15-minute closed session on Thursday, October 1 after tensions rose during a heated discussion...

Cost of tractor fires soars to £19 million in the UK
Cost of tractor fires soars to £19 million in the UK

Overloaded battery terminals are behind an increasing number of tractor fires, an investigation of almost 1,000 carried out by rural...

Work underway in NI on region’s first ever Clean Air Strategy
Work underway in NI on region’s first ever Clean Air Strategy

Northern Ireland will soon move forward on a clean air strategy that aims to make air quality better, improve health...

QUB scientists support major African food fraud investigation
QUB scientists support major African food fraud investigation

Food security scientists at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) have helped identify the cause of a humanitarian crisis and avert a...

NI beef processors place hope in US to replace ‘lost’ Canadian market
NI beef processors place hope in US to replace ‘lost’ Canadian market

Meat processors in Northern Ireland are hoping newly-cleared access to the US could replace sales to the Canadian market, should...

Race is on for NI firms to secure US customers for beef
Race is on for NI firms to secure US customers for beef

Thousands of Northern Irish farmers will soon see their produce represented in the US as two of the region’s major...

RUAS makes decision on 2020 Winter Fair plans
RUAS makes decision on 2020 Winter Fair plans

The Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS), which organises the North’s annual flagship dairy show, has made a decision on whether...

Chief vet warns of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ for NI Brexit preparations
Chief vet warns of ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’ for NI Brexit preparations

A shuffle underway at Dundonald House to redeploy staff to ramp up Brexit preparations has sparked concern animal health programmes,...

DAERA permanent secretary admits ‘acting against minister’s wishes’ over Brexit plans
DAERA permanent secretary admits ‘acting against minister’s wishes’ over Brexit plans

Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) permanent secretary Denis McMahon has admitted acting against the minister’s wishes to...

2020 Dairy Industry Woman of the Year winner announced
2020 Dairy Industry Woman of the Year winner announced

Cheshire dairy farmer Karen Halton has scooped this year’s prestigious Dairy Industry Woman of the Year award at the virtual...

Women in Dairy conference: Covid-19 is our chance to create a sustainable supply chain
Women in Dairy conference: Covid-19 is our chance to create a sustainable supply chain

How often, or when was the last time, you had a conversation about your farm’s emissions with your feed company?...

LAMMA show postponed for 2021
LAMMA show postponed for 2021

Organisers of LAMMA, one of the UK’s biggest machinery shows, have made the decision to push their 2021 event back...

Calf-rearing: ‘I don’t want the calf to ever know I’m not here’
Calf-rearing: ‘I don’t want the calf to ever know I’m not here’

Reducing heifer calf mortality could lower costs and improve profitability on many UK and Irish dairy farms; yet on some...