Latest farming opinions OPINIONOpinion: Import tariffs could level the playing fieldFarming’s poor return on capital and lack of profitability has been put in the spotlight recently because of how unaffordable the proposed inheritance tax change is. But why do we… OPINIONOpinion: Small abattoirs at risk from higher vet chargesSmall abattoirs are facing a set of very challenging conditions and sadly, closures continue. However, the past two years have also seen important progress in the effort to reverse the… OPINIONOpinion: Knowing carbon footprint makes good business senseThere’s a perception in some quarters of the industry that if we keep our head down carbon accountability is going to pass us by. By carbon accountability, I mean knowing… OPINIONEditor's View: Reed's speech fails to match the momentDefra secretary Steve Reed clearly spent Christmas pondering a new defence to farming’s outcry over Labour’s changes to inheritance tax. Perhaps it was after a festive game of Buckaroo when… OPINIONOpinion: Reintroducing a keystone species - the farmerIn a not-too-distant dystopian future, a new oilskin-clad hero emerges from a dented Toyota Hilux. The year is 2125. There’s no food in the shops and woolly mammoths run wild… OPINIONOpinion: Make 2025 the year for a farm safety cultural shiftIt’s a sad and tragic fact that in 2024 too many of you reading this will have known someone, or known of someone, who died farming. The release of the… OPINIONEditor’s View: Heavy contraction leaves me feeling painedEverywhere you look in our upcoming special outlook section (in partnership with Andersons) there is talk of sectoral contraction. Take sheep, for example. The national flock now stands at 13.8… OPINIONOpinion: BPS cash was simply 'too good to be true'What is it we tell our children (and ourselves) over and over again? “If it seems too good to be true, then it is.” I’ve neglected to follow this advice… OPINIONOpinion: Quiet time at Christmas worth the compromiseThere’s another explanation as to why the innkeeper sent Mary into the stable to have her baby. He knew that immediately after the birth, she would wrap Baby Jesus up… OPINIONEditor's View: I've seen Santa's naughty and nice listHe’s written his list, he’s checked it twice, he’s made up his mind who’s naughty and nice… Yes, that’s right, freshly delivered down my chimney is Santa’s list of who’s… OPINIONOpinion: I can't avoid task of gifting farm to my kids“Starmer The Farmer Harmer” read a discarded banner I nearly tripped over on Westminster Bridge in the aftermath of the NFU-led protest about inheritance tax (IHT). A clever slogan, but… OPINIONOpinion: How innovation in agriculture is undervaluedThe scale and pace of global population growth, economic development and the transition to net zero are driving unprecedented demand for the agricultural science, technology and innovation needed to produce… OPINIONOpinion: The government needs a lesson in thermodynamicsBefore building my last potato store, I instructed a test piling company to report on conditions below ground. Admitting defeat two days and 27m of vertical drilling later, we had… OPINIONEditor's View: We've won argument on IHT but not the fightThe question of how to bring Labour to the negotiating table in order to extract sensible reforms to inheritance tax should not be a difficult one. Were they to act… OPINIONOpinion: Government should learn from Trump to value farmersHave you ever wondered why farmers are hated so much? Are people conditioned into thinking, from times gone by, that we are all Lords and Ladies of the Manor? Do… OPINIONOpinion: Budget was just the start of Labour's 'class war'After the Budget’s inheritance tax bombshell, it was inevitable that us consultants – land agents, lawyers, tax advisers – would go into full pro-mode and fill social media with articles… OPINIONEditor's View: Why Bovaer bashers should stop and thinkWhat are we to learn from the online uproar following Arla’s announcement about a trial of the methane-reducing supplement Bovaer? I would say it shows that solidarity in farming is… OPINIONOpinion: Let's hope there are farms left for vets to visitI found the recent television series All Creatures Great and Small irritatingly unfaithful to the James Herriot books that I love, so it was a delight to discover the 1970s… NEWSOpinion: Seeing the wood for the trees - don't miss outIn the current climate, I am well aware there are many deep concerns in the farming community, and implementing change at this time can feel overwhelming and inaccessible, but we… More articles
