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.

EFS Wider Level to open on Monday for applications
EFS Wider Level to open on Monday for applications

Applications for tranche four of the Environmental Farming Scheme Wider Level (EFS) will open on Monday (August 17), DAERA Minister...

Environmental legislation to be biggest limiting factor for NI dairying in 2030
Environmental legislation to be biggest limiting factor for NI dairying in 2030

One of Northern Ireland’s leading dairy researchers has warned he expects environmental legislation to be one of the biggest limiting...

Calls for Northern Ireland environmental planning quango to be disbanded
Calls for Northern Ireland environmental planning quango to be disbanded

Ulster Farmers’ Union president Victor Chesnutt has called for an environmental planning quango, which effectively stalled agricultural planning applications in...

Milk composition a ‘lost opportunity’ for NI’s dairy sector
Milk composition a ‘lost opportunity’ for NI’s dairy sector

Northern Ireland’s poor milk composition is costing farmers poor milk prices, according to Agri Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) researcher...

4 new AgriSearch projects secure stage one funding
4 new AgriSearch projects secure stage one funding

Agricultural research body AgriSearch has secured stage one funding for four Northern Ireland based projects. The projects will see AgriSearch...

Glenelly Valley flood farmers: ‘We are as much value as the Primark fire businesses’
Glenelly Valley flood farmers: ‘We are as much value as the Primark fire businesses’

Tyrone farmers whose businesses were devastated by flash flooding three years ago say they feel “let down” by empty promises...

North-west farmers plea for help 3 years on from devastating floods
North-west farmers plea for help 3 years on from devastating floods

Three years on from catastrophic flash flooding, farmers in Northern Ireland’s north-west are still pleading for government support. The floods...

Defra to draw up national beaver reintroduction plan following 5-year trial
Defra to draw up national beaver reintroduction plan following 5-year trial

Defra plans to draw up a national plan on the management of beavers in the wild and national approach for...

Poots rejects ammonia threshold at the centre of NI’s agricultural planning row
Poots rejects ammonia threshold at the centre of NI’s agricultural planning row

Northern Ireland’s Minister of Agriculture Edwin Poots has refused to accept a decision made by an environmental quango to lower...

British lamb sales up 20% over spring and summer
British lamb sales up 20% over spring and summer

Newly-released figures have shown retail sales of fresh lamb jumped almost 20% during the spring and early summer in Britain. Data...

New TV show hopes to get NI farmers ‘Coortin’ In the Kitchen’
New TV show hopes to get NI farmers ‘Coortin’ In the Kitchen’

A new rural TV show hopes good farmhouse cooking can help pair up single farmers with potential love matches. ‘Coortin’...

MSD completes $55 million acquisition of Vecoxan
MSD completes $55 million acquisition of Vecoxan

MSD Animal Health has completed its $55 million acquisition of the worldwide rights to Vecoxan (diclazuril), an oral suspension for...

Minister announces ‘phased return’ of face-to-face industry support by CAFRE
Minister announces ‘phased return’ of face-to-face industry support by CAFRE

DAERA Minister Edwin Poots has announced plans to gradually reintroduce CAFRE’s face-to-face knowledge and technology programmes in Northern Ireland. To...

Almost 15,000 cattle ‘stolen’ in NI in just 4 years
Almost 15,000 cattle ‘stolen’ in NI in just 4 years

“Astonishing” figures show as many as 14,506 cattle have gone missing in Northern Ireland over the last four years. The...

Almost 18,000 sign campaign for wool to be mandated in construction
Almost 18,000 sign campaign for wool to be mandated in construction

Almost 18,000 people have signed a petition calling for wool-based insulation and carpeting to be made mandatory in publicly-financed building...

BVA to host first stand-alone conference in 8 years in 2021
BVA to host first stand-alone conference in 8 years in 2021

The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has announced plans to launch a major new conference and exhibition for the veterinary profession....

Post-lockdown tractor run raises £9,000 for Air Ambulance NI
Post-lockdown tractor run raises £9,000 for Air Ambulance NI

Tractor drivers from across Co. Down have smashed the £9,000 mark for Northern Ireland’s Air Ambulance. The Ards Peninsula Tractor...

Farmers warned ‘HSENI could close marts at any time’
Farmers warned ‘HSENI could close marts at any time’

The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has warned farmers that the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) could order...