This Week in Farming: Protests, pricey rams and RT latest

Welcome back to This Week in Farming, a round-up of some of the best and most interesting content from Farmers Weekly, as chosen by the editor.

Before we get into that, if you’re reading this in the storm-afflicted parts of the country, I hope you and your family are safe and well. There’s nothing more important than that.

Now, on with the show.

Retailers feel farmer backlash

There’s been anger with the retailers on two fronts this week. First, a physical protest by farmers at several distribution hubs last Friday brought lorries to a standstill.

Chief reporter Phil Case was on the scene in Basingstoke to hear directly from those blockading entrances.

Second, the retailers’ hand in Red Tractor’s new Greener Farms Commitment was roundly criticised at a meeting of the NFU council this week as anger spilled out into the open over what role the NFU should play in opposing the new assurance standard.

In my editorial this week, I analyse the tricky spot the NFU leadership have got themselves in and ask why it has come to this.

Welsh budget cuts

In other major farming news this week, unions in Wales have reacted with fury and disappointment to the news that money is being cut from the farming budget and sent to other departments.

While the government has claimed this is as a result of underspend, NFU Cymru deputy president Abi Reader said it was in large part due to the barriers that government itself had put in the way of farmers.

The union has sought assurances that capital spending help, including for slurry stores, would not be affected, but no firm commitments have as yet been made.

Cultivation comeback

We’ve devoted a lot of space in the arable section to regenerative agriculture in recent years, and particularly one component of it – reducing cultivations – with reduced and zero tillage methods commanding significant farmer interest.

But some farmers – even converts to these methods – are starting to swing the pendulum back the other way a touch.

In Mike Abrams’ interesting chat with Wiltshire farmer George Hosier, he reveals which cultivation tool is coming back to his formerly zero-till farm – and why it’s going to help earn him a premium.

In other arable news, global agrochemical firm Bayer held a splashy launch event for its new fungicide in London last week. David Jones speaks to the experts to find out what impact it may have.

One (shed) door closes, another opens

It’s the turn of a Herefordshire farming family, the Wildigs, to throw open their barn doors in the latest edition of our popular series What’s in Your Shed?

James Andrews went to dig around the buildings of the contracting and straw dealing business, including viewing the oldest piece of kit that still gets used regularly – a 1987 Case 885XL.

Who’s up and who’s down?

Rarely a week goes by when there isn’t someone in farming who’s celebrating, and this week it’s the turn of Penrith Swaledale breeders W Richardson and Son.

They smashed the breed record at a ram sale when a shearling of theirs went under the hammer at Kirkby Stephen for a frankly astonishing £105,000.

Not having a good week are bods at the Environment Agency after a judge gave an environmental charity permission to take them to court over their failure to protect the River Wye from excessive nutrient pollution.

A date for the further hearing is yet to be set.