This Week in Farming: Fencing kit, ram sales and Labour

Welcome back to This Week in Farming, your rapid round-up of the best Farmers Weekly content from the past seven days.

But first, here’s your markets – including another welcome drop in the price of red diesel.

Now, on with the show.

Labour party conference

The red flags are being put away for another year, but what did we learn about Labour’s plans for farming at their party conference this week?

Deputy editor Abi Kay reported on mounting frustrations that a number of Defra plans are being paused as work on proposed budget cuts has taken precedence.

She also filed this editorial on the strangely subdued atmosphere in Liverpool given the huge victory just a few months ago.

Housing coverage

It’s the turn of Shropshire dairy farmers, the Mottershead family, to throw open their doors for this week’s What’s In Your Livestock Shed?

They talk through redesigning their calf-rearing facilities to tackle a pneumonia problem.

Also in the livestock section this week is a look at the benefits of giving dairy calves toys to help with their development, and six top tips for shepherds on making the most of a portable handling unit.

Do fence me in

Good fences make good neighbours, and we’ve got a round-up of some of the latest kit needed to keep yours happy this week with a look at new Stihl and a battery-powered Milwaukee chainsaws.

There’s also a look at two options for long-life fence posts – one firm is replacing shortly-to-be-banned creosote with copper oil and another is launching a new metal fencing system.

Harvest update

In what is surely one of the last harvest updates for this season, the arable team have spoken to farmers across the country finishing up the job in a year that many are looking forward to putting behind them.

And for those with seed dressing decisions still to make for this autumn, here’s the latest advice on how to proceed.

Who’s up and who’s down?

Feeling cheerful this week will be ram vendors who sold at the National Sheep Association’s annual mega sale at Builth Wells on Monday, with the sale average up by £191 on the year.

In the glum corner is Wild Justice and the Badger Trust.

Chief reporter Phil Case learned that they may be significantly out of pocket if they loose their legal challenge to halt the government’s decision to issue supplementary badger culling licences in England. Poor them.

Listen to the podcast

Don’t forget to tune into this week’s FW podcast, with Johann Tasker and guests.

You’ll find it anywhere you listen to podcasts, or free to listen to on our website.