This Week in Farming: Political moves, flower crops and badger battle

Hello and welcome to This Week in Farming. It’s been an absolute scorcher of a week – the hottest the UK has ever seen in September.

Here’s hoping this last-minute blast of sunshine has helped you kick on and harvest any uncut crops.

As always, here are the best stories from Farmers Weekly in the past seven days.

Political moves

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer made some changes to his top team this week, building a shadow cabinet that could well become our next government.

His appointment of North Croydon MP Steve Reed to the post of Defra secretary raised some eyebrows in the industry, and on his first day in post, he told radio station LBC that his job was not to “represent a particular industry.”

You can get the full lowdown on his farming views (note, he doesn’t have many) in our Farmers Weekly profile.

I’ve also written an editorial on why the appointment of ministers with no experience relevant to their brief is not actually a bug in our system, but a feature.

Flower power

Chief reporter Philip Case wrote our lead story for the magazine this week about how farmers are considering growing more crops for pollinators and wild birds, rather than other arable crops, in order to reduce future risks after a costly harvest.

But there is concern about what would happen to UK food production in the long-run if this became the norm – with self-sufficiency already at just 60%.

Badger battle continues

We have the latest on Defra plans to consult on targeted badger culling, where epidemiological assessment points to a reservoir of disease in wildlife.

Animal rights groups have accused the government of performing a U-turn on its badger culling policy, after it stated intensive culls would end by 2025 and be replaced by vaccination of both cattle and badgers.

Could this be a hand grenade thrown into the Labour camp ahead of a general election, with the party committed to ending all badger culling?

Unsettled weather hits wheat and barley quality

We’ve got the latest on harvest 2023, with farmers reporting dropping quality of wheat and barley grain, as well as disappointing yields.

Wheat and barley grain quality is sliding following poor summer weather, with yields also proving slightly disappointing.

The last minute heatwave has, however, not helped OSR growers who are battling flea beetle.

Best job in the world

For something more uplifting, you can check out Will Evans’ latest column  where he shares a heart-warming tale of juggling parenthood and farming.

Good week/bad week

It’s been a good week for Paul and John Cherry, the founders of Groundswell, farming’s answer to Glastonbury.

At the Royal Agricultural Society of England (Rase) awards, they became the first ever winners of the Farm of the Future Award, in recognition of how their event has promoted regenerative agriculture and given farmers the “confidence to start their journey towards more sustainable farming”.

Irish agriculture minister Charlie McConalogue has definitely had a less fun week.

A meeting he organised on Friday was picketed by farmers affiliated to the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) angry about tougher rules on slurry spreading and delays to subsidy cheques.

Listen to the FW podcast

And finally, don’t forget to listen to the latest edition of the Farmers Weekly podcast, hosted this week by Hugh Broom and yours truly, in Johann’s absence.

We talk about how the government has been accused of falling behind on pledges made by Number 10 following the food security summit in May, the deadlock in NFU and British sugar price talks, and the 94-year-old who’s still competing in his local ploughing match.