This Week in Farming: FW’s 90th, election battles and more
Welcome back to another edition of This Week in Farming, your regular round-up of the best FW content from the past seven days.
Before we go any further, here’s the latest summary of market prices, including our exclusive farmgate cereal prices and diesel price survey,
Now, on with the show.
90th anniversary celebrations
It’s nine decades since Farmers Weekly was founded, and to celebrate we’ve reprinted a version of the first ever edition and bundled it in with this week’s magazine.
However, if you want to take a look at it in a way that a farmer from that era could barely comprehend, then see the digital version here.
“They keep telling me to pack up but I shan’t pack up, when I pack up they’ll dig the hole for me,” said 92-year-old farmer Fred Campling with a twinkle in his eye.
He’s the first in our monthly 90 and Counting series which will take the wisdom of a farmer born in each decade since our founding.
We’ll have more celebratory content for you next week.
Election latest
As polling day in the general election draws closer, the war of words between the major political parties over the shortcomings of each other’s manifesto commitments has intensified, as well as inheritance tax.
Rishi Sunak spoke to chief reporter Phil Case while on a campaign stop at a farm in Devon to blast Labour’s failure to commit to a bigger budget for Defra and the other parties have responded with attacks of their own.
But what are each party actually committing to? We’ve had a calmer look at the detail.
Poultry density
Tesco has become the latest supermarket to adopt a stocking density for chickens below the maximum limit set in Red Tractor guidelines of 38kg/sq m.
It will tell producers to drop down to 30kg/sq m, bringing it into line with a key ask from lobby group Compassion in World Farming’s Better Chicken Commitment, meaning more shed space will be needed for production to be maintained.
In other news, avian influenza continues to cause concern in the US after the disease jumped to cattle, with 94 herds in 12 states now reporting detectable symptoms.
Leccy Landie
The Land Rover Defender may be one of the ultimate choices for rural petrolheads, but that hasn’t stopped retrofit companies from queuing up to offer customers the opportunity to switch their classic vehicles to electric power.
Electric drivetrain specialist Bedeo is the latest to enter the fray with an offering that replaces not just the engine and transmission, but driveshafts too.
If it’s a combine you’re in the market for, then keep an eye out for the latest range of John Deere options, after the US-based megabrand unveiled the T5 and T6 range to replace the T500 and T600 models.
Last week the company also soft launched its 6M 185 tractor at Cereals, promising 200hp and a 50k box in a fairly lightweight package.
Who’s up and who’s down?
Feeling glum this week will perhaps be the leadership team at Welsh red meat levy board Hybu Cig Cymru, with reports of significant discontent within the organisation and no board meeting minutes published since 2022.
After battling high costs, some cheer this week for organic milk producers after prices from a number of the key buyers edged higher this month.