N.Ireland
Farmers are the true custodians of the soil
December 5 this year was World Soil Day. I hope it provided members of the general public everywhere with the...
Opinion
Opinion
Farmers are the true custodians of the soil
December 5 this year was World Soil Day. I hope it provided members of the general public everywhere with the opportunity...
Opinion
India is turning out to be a good news story for the UK’s sheep industry
The news that sheep meat exports will soon be making their way from the UK to India is to be...
Opinion
Preventing animal disease is the next frontier for agriculture in the UK
Improving animal health standards and reducing disease levels represent the next challenge for British agriculture. A case in point is...
Opinion
NFU has gotten its principles all wrong
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) is at least one ‘principle’ short, if my reading of the organisation’s latest Brexit demands is...
Opinion
It really is time to support home-grown produce
I am aware of the ongoing debate within the fresh produce sector as to what proportion of the monies coming...
Opinion
Beef and sheep farmers need Brexit certainty now
Assuming Theresa May gets a Brexit deal across the line with her parliamentary colleagues over the coming weeks, then the...
Opinion
Dairy fairs are a winter wonderland for milk producers
Take the latest farm gadgets, the country’s best stock, copious amounts of tea and then make boots and coats the...
Opinion
'Guess what, rural businesses are totally unprepared for Brexit - but can't blame them'
So only 20% of rural businesses across the UK are Brexit-proofed. Or, put another way, 80% aren’t. These are astonishing...
Opinion
Government must appoint a food ombudsman with real teeth
Food prices continue to fall in real terms. This is good news for consumers. However, it’s a real kick in...
Opinion
'Beef farmers must become more efficient – there’s no other show in town'
The Christmas beef shows and sales are about to get into full swing around the country. And they are all...
Opinion
Farmers will always work for the public good
Environmental groups continue to lobby for a farm support policy, post-Brexit, that delivers in terms of the public good. Significantly,...
Opinion
Is the Brexit deal a case of perfect timing?
They say that timing is everything in life. And where Theresa May is concerned, the fact that she has left...
Opinion
'CCC report is nonsense but the NFU has been asleep at the wheel'
Forget Brexit, the truly worrying story to come out of London this week was the report from the Government’s advisory...
Opinion
Bovine TB: Could chipping or electronic ID be part of the solution?
The latest public declaration by a number of veterinary surgeons to the effect that badger culling is not controlling Bovine...
Opinion
WWI: What can we learn from the few who fed the many?
I never met either of my grandfathers but, as far as I can gather, the Martin and Wallace men continued...
Opinion
It’s time to sort out the UK’s post-Brexit farm support budget
Stakeholder groups can talk about the post-Brexit support policies required by the farming industry until they are blue in the...
Opinion
'We must act now to protect one of the UK's most valuable farming sectors'
The physical output of the sheep sector in 2019 is currently being determined as farmers put their rams in with...
