This Week in Farming: Protests, prices and inventions comp

Welcome back to This Week in Farming, your one stop shop for the best FW content from the last seven days.

There are just 11 days to Christmas, and if you’re a red meat seller there are festive treats aplenty in this week’s market prices as deadweight lamb continues its seemingly remorseless march towards £7/kg.

How far can it rise before demand is curtailed? Only time will tell. Now, on with the show.

IHT protests intensify

Farmers are determined to keep on protesting inheritance tax until they get a result.

That was the message coming from this week’s London tractor protest, as a reported 600 tractors took over Westminster to air concerns about the changes imposed by Chancellor Rachel Reeves.

We’ve got pictures and video from the big day and our podcast team were on the ground too (see link at the end).

There was also action in Cardiff, Melton Mowbray and York.

In this week’s editorial, I note that we may be edging closer to direct action, such as blockades, if Labour’s stubborn refusal to reform remains unchanged.

Health, and safety

It’s another useful and timely intervention from Farm Doctor Camilla Baker this week, as she runs through how to spot breathing problems in children and what to do if symptoms appear.

And we’ve also got an important article for employers to read on a change in the law around tackling sexual harassment in the workplace.

There’s now a legal duty to take proactive action to prevent it happening.

On the tools

Good news for workshop whizzes, as it’s the return of the annual Farmers Weekly Inventions Competition, with a prize pot of £2,550 on offer across several categories.

And for those that prefer to buy their kit ready-made, we’ve got a preview of the most interesting machinery launches available to view at LAMMA next month.

Finally, for anyone who has cursed their straw spreader lately, here’s a useful rundown of the non-blower options on the market.

AHDB tools and tips

Two AHDB-linked articles stand out this week, with the first being a new tool to tackle barley yellow dwarf virus developed with their backing.

Experts say it’s an improvement on several fronts compared to the current T-sum method.

For dairy farmers, we’ve also got this information to keep in mind before installing a new dairy parlour, with advice from farmers and AHDB lead environmental adviser David Ball.

Who’s up and who’s down?

Sellers at Christmas fatstock sales will be feeling chipper this week after a stonking trade at marts across the country.

Less cheerful are Northern Ireland’s arable farmers, who are caught in a post-Brexit bureaucratic trap that is limiting their access to agchem products.

Listen to the podcast

Don’t forget to tune into this week’s FW podcast, with Johann Tasker and Louise Impey, who this week joined tractor-driving farmers protesting the IHT changes in Westminster.

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