This Week in Farming: Protest plans, drilling and Pompeii

Welcome back to This Week in Farming, your one-stop shop for great Farmers Weekly content from the past seven days.

First, here’s your latest market data, and its another week of up horn, down corn.

Now, on with the show.

Budget: All eyes on Westminster

We are just days away from thousands of farmers descending on London to protest against the changes to inheritance tax set out by Labour chancellor Rachel Reeves at the Budget.

Some 1,800 NFU members will participate in a mass lobbying event organised by the union, with many of them set to join thousands more at a peaceful demonstration around Whitehall on Tuesday (19 November).

Demonstration organisers are urging all participants to register their intention to attend so that they can stay up to date with last-minute information and assist the police with an accurate crowd size estimate.

There will also be protests in Cardiff today (16 November) and other regional events on Tuesday (19 November) for those unable to make the journey to London.

In my editorial this week, I offer some breezy optimism about the hoped-for outcome of next week’s events, along with a note of caution.

Budget: What’s happened this week?

Farming minister Daniel Zeichner was back out this week at the Egg and Poultry Industry Conference to defend the inheritance tax measures as fears grew of what may happen to the Defra budget in the longer term.

Mr Zeichner later popped up in parliament after he and his boss, secretary of state Steve Reed, were summoned to the House of Commons for another urgent question from Conservatives who challenged Defra to publish a full impact assessment of the measures.

In Scotland, first minister John Swinney led Scottish National Party opposition to the measures when he spoke at the AgriScot event on Wednesday (13 November) before the measures were condemned in a debate at Holyrood.

And the Country Land and Business Association has kept the pressure up by publishing further detailed analysis of the tens of thousands of pounds the changes will cost many farmers on typical-sized holdings.

Drill, baby, drill

Away from the politics, it was the turn of drill manufacturers to get the attention of the machinery desk this week with the publication of this year’s ultimate guides to buying this vital bit of kit.

We’ve sifted through the detail on combination drills, tine drills and disc drills so that you can have all the information at your fingertips.

And check out how one Lincolnshire contractor has turned a Hilux into a nifty, lightweight sprayer with three interchangeable rear bodies: a paddock sprayer, Avadex applicator and slug pelleter.

Growth agenda

The settled autumn weather most of the UK is enjoying continues to bring relief to hard-pressed arable farmers, many of whom are still busy with their existing drills.

We are in a “mad, mad” world when early November seed-beds trump any of those produced in October, completely against the expectation we had a month ago, says Crop Watch agronomist Antony Wade this week.

In other welcome news for growers, there has been full brewing approval for another winter barley variety, Buccaneer, giving a pleasing fourth option for those who may have been considering dropping the crop from rotation.

Who’s up and who’s down?

Feeling glum this week are maize growers, after Trouw Nutrition confirmed that typical dry matter yields are significantly lower than last year after the patchy growing season left an impact.

And on the up this week is definitely columnist Will Evans after a well-deserved family holiday to see some of the sights of Pompeii – although there were one or two Italian things he was glad Mrs Evans didn’t see any more of.

Listen to the podcast

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

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