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.

Herts County Show to go digital this Bank Holiday Weekend
Herts County Show to go digital this Bank Holiday Weekend

Covid-19 has cancelled many family events around Hertfordshire, but not the county show. The show will go on as organisers...

Cumbrian agricultural college to close permanently in 2021
Cumbrian agricultural college to close permanently in 2021

A Cumbrian agricultural college has been earmarked for closure in July 2021 after an independent review ruled it was not...

Single Applicaion success raises hopes of prompt Scottish payment
Single Applicaion success raises hopes of prompt Scottish payment

A highly successful campaign encouraging Scotland’s farmers and crofters to meet the May 15 Single Application deadline should smooth the...

Farmers warned of surge in tractor GPS thefts
Farmers warned of surge in tractor GPS thefts

Farmers are being warned to ramp up security after a spate of thefts has seen tractor GPS equipment stolen from...

Oxford Farming Conference to proceed as digital event in 2021
Oxford Farming Conference to proceed as digital event in 2021

Plans are already being put in place for the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC) to run as a digital event in...

Latest figures show 15% fall in UK lamb exports in 2020
Latest figures show 15% fall in UK lamb exports in 2020

Newly-released trade figures from HM Revenue and Customs show that the volume of sheepmeat exported from the UK in the...

Second man dies after Monmouthshire water buffalo incident
Second man dies after Monmouthshire water buffalo incident

Gwent Police has confirmed a second man has died following a farm accident involving water buffalo near Usk, Monmouthshire. Officers were...

ITV partners with Waitrose to back ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign
ITV partners with Waitrose to back ‘Pick for Britain’ campaign

Waitrose and ITV have joined forces to launch a new, warts-and-all advertising campaign urging members of the public to join the...

CAFRE Level 2 courses to be ‘open for business’ from June
CAFRE Level 2 courses to be ‘open for business’ from June

Northern Ireland’s College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) has announced plans to open applications for the next round of...

Livestock worrying bill introduced to Scottish Parliament
Livestock worrying bill introduced to Scottish Parliament

A bill to implement tough, new measures to tackle livestock worrying is set to begin its three-stage passage through the...

Minister Poots to begin work to divvy up £25 million Covid fund
Minister Poots to begin work to divvy up £25 million Covid fund

Northern Ireland Minister of Agriculture Edwin Poots has said he will soon start work to divvy up a £25 million...

Farming unions warn UK Global Tariffs could be ‘negotiated away’
Farming unions warn UK Global Tariffs could be ‘negotiated away’

The UK’s farming unions have welcomed the government’s Global Tariff announcement as a “step in the right direction” but warned that...

24,500 Single Applications submitted on time in Northern Ireland
24,500 Single Applications submitted on time in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has confirmed that 24,494 Single Applications were received by the...

Dale Farm boss appointed as new NIFDA chairman
Dale Farm boss appointed as new NIFDA chairman

Dale Farm group chief executive Nick Whelan has been appointed as the new chairman of the Northern Ireland Food and Drink...

MPs urged to press for details of how food standards will be protected in trade deals
MPs urged to press for details of how food standards will be protected in trade deals

The National Farmers’ Union is urging MPs to ask how the government intends to honour its pledge to protect British...

UK Government and Prince Charles urge workers to ‘Pick for Britain’
UK Government and Prince Charles urge workers to ‘Pick for Britain’

The UK Government and the Prince of Wales have urged students and furloughed workers to apply for seasonal farm work....

NI allocates £25 million of its Covid emergency fund to agri-food
NI allocates £25 million of its Covid emergency fund to agri-food

Northern Ireland’s Department of Finance has made £25 million emergency Covid-19 funding available to the region’s agri-food sector. The money...

Beef Expo delayed until 2021
Beef Expo delayed until 2021

The National Beef Association (NBA) has decided to cancel its flagship event – Beef Expo – for 2020. The event,...