Latest farming opinions OPINIONOpinion: Rural young men need positive role modelsMatchmaking wasn’t on my list of future careers when I left school, but once again I found myself hosting the Callander Young Farmers Take Me Out competition. Not every guy… OPINIONOpinion: Food and farming need 'executive council'Anyone who has dabbled with boats will know a tiller and daggerboard are essential parts of a vessel. Without the former, the helmsman is unable to dictate a direction of… OPINIONEditor's View: Lax food security must end in dangerous worldThe flow of illegal meat imports across the border has for some time been one of the most salient threats to both the food and farming industry. So it was… OPINIONOpinion: IHT change is welcome, but it's still a bad policyThe increase in the agricultural and business property relief announced before Christmas was a welcome surprise. The rise from £1m to £2.5m came on the back of lots of hard… OPINIONOpinion: Farmers need to form alliances to gain political cloutFarmers are practical people. They rise early, work hard, and deliver the food that sustains the nation. Yet in the world of politics, they too often find themselves at the… OPINIONOpinion: Farmers have a 'bone-deep resilience'He was an upland farmer high in England’s north country, in a place way off any tourist trail. The farm driveway led from tarmac into stoney soil, grass-grown in the… OPINIONEditor's View: Bradshaw's Defra gambit has paid off - for nowCall up the gossip columnists at Tatler, there’s a new countryside power couple stepping out together: Tom Bradshaw and Emma Reynolds. Not romantically, you understand, but as a political relationship… OPINIONOpinion: Fight against 'cruel' IHT policy isn't finished yetOn 17 October 2018, I found myself in London listening to Dr Liam Fox, a minister with the breezy confidence that comes with knowing that consequences would always be borne… OPINIONOpinion: Invisible support networks among our greatest assetsWhen I close my eyes and think about home, I imagine it like a root system – thin, tiny connections spreading deep underground. Years ago at Groundswell, I learned that… OPINIONEditor's View: Why taboo over farming’s pain needs breakingFarmers have always prided themselves on being tough, with whole identities built on endurance, self-reliance and getting on with the job without making a fuss. These are admirable qualities, and… OPINIONOpinion: Why I don’t like the word 'diversification'“What do you farm?” is a question I find surprisingly hard to answer, which is a bit left field for a Farmers Weekly columnist. I struggle because my response usually… OPINIONOpinion: Forget the hype – the 'Clarkson effect' is a mythI’m a farmer. I also co-own a pub and I write the odd column in the mainstream media so, sooner or later, someone was going to joke to me: “Are you… OPINIONOpinion: Why farm assurance claims need to be squeaky cleanThe banning of a TV advert for the Red Tractor scheme in the autumn of 2025, over claims aimed at consumers, caused quite a stir in the farming industry. The… OPINIONEditor's View: APR - a late gift and a hard lesson for farmersBy now, most readers will be well aware of the last-minute gift the government has slipped into farmers’ stockings: an increase in the agricultural property relief (APR) and business property… OPINIONOpinion: LENs foster invaluable co-operation in food chainFarmers often don’t get listened to, so it makes a welcome change to be involved with Yorkshire Landscape Enterprise Networks (LENs). This initiative encourages demand-side companies, such as Nestlé Purina,… OPINIONOpinion: Small signs of positivity welcome, but work to be doneThere is no doubt that the past 12 months have been tough for farmers, so it is reassuring to see the latest Farmers Weekly Sentiment Survey, published this week, showing… OPINIONOpinion: High energy costs are killing our veg-growing sectorWe have the most expensive commercial electricity in the world, with unit costs on the near Continent typically half or less of what businesses on this side of the Channel… OPINIONEditor's View: The Merry Ballad of the Batters ReportThis week I wrapped tinsel around my keyboard, ate four mince pies and summoned my most festive spirit to deliver an editorial of seasonal verse. In tribute to this month's… OPINIONOpinion: Farm visits make me view what we do in a new lightAny farmer questioning their future and weighing up the pros and cons of continuing to knacker themselves out on a daily basis for nothing would be forgiven for throwing in… More articles
