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Latest farming opinions

OPINION

Opinion: Why forestry and farming must go hand in hand

For many farmers and landowners, the conversation around tree-planting can feel like yet another demand, set against a challenging backdrop of weather, policy and geopolitics. The UK is a small…

OPINION

Editor's View: Fear of reprisals is a rot in our industry

It’s not been a great week for the dairy industry. A major probe into alleged breaches of animal welfare across more than a dozen Arla farms has posed fresh questions…

OPINION

Opinion: Growing beet subject to 'death by a thousand cuts'

I have just plucked up the courage to check on our recent sugar beet returns. Admittedly this year’s crop was not my finest work – it was on relatively heavy…

OPINION

Opinion: There's nothing scarier than Defra at Halloween

As Halloween approaches, the most ominous knock at the door for farmers is unlikely to come from the neighbours dressed as the Flintstones. Instead, the Environment Agency, HSE or even…

OPINION

Editor's View: Budget doesn't live up to PM's farming pledge

When new prime minister Andy Burnham visited Cornwall on 15 August to see how farms were coping in the middle of the drought, he revealed £65m of Defra’s existing funds…

OPINION

Opinion: I won't be wasting my time on SFI27

As the nights darken, so too has the farming mood. The warm and dry summer is but a distant memory and winter is looming. I’ll be honest – I’m struggling…

OPINION

Opinion: Harvest festival prompts prayer for self-sufficiency

There were about 15 worshippers for harvest festival this year in our little church in Holbeach St Marks. In the interests of full disclosure, I’ve included Neil, the organist, the…

OPINION

Opinion: Lowe's Defra challenge ignores Brexit

Restore Britain MP Rupert Lowe's recent confrontation with Defra permanent secretary Paul Kissack in Westminster exposed genuine problems facing British agriculture: rising costs, shrinking margins, policy instability and threats to…

OPINION

Editor's View: I see more threats than opportunity from AI

"Bulldozing the moat" is a favourite corporate phrase for when an insurgent company or technology takes on an established company’s competitive advantage. While most boardroom jargon makes my teeth clench,…

OPINION

Opinion: Landlords and tenants should build closer ties

I feel like I’ve woken up in a game of Monopoly, except someone’s taken away the “Go” square. When things aren’t going your way in Monopoly, at least there’s the…

OPINION

Opinion: Farming's tough here – but try doing it in Zimbabwe

Now and again, we take on a work experience student. The last one actually stuck around for 10 years, so it seemed an opportune time to find a replacement for…

OPINION

Editor's View: Burnham's big deal needs hard sums

What do Donald Trump, Boris Johnson and Andy Burnham have in common? More than Burnham would probably like to admit. All three are instinctive politicians, drawn to grand gestures and…

OPINION

Opinion: Ghostly presence turns out to be flying visitor

When thumps and bumps could be heard from the farmhouse landing at 4.55am, it presented a mystery. It was at the end of the long hot spell, so was already…

OPINION

Opinion: Will farming make me fitter or finish me off?

As I totter across the farmyard with a jerrycan of water in each hand, a thought flits into my head. “Look at me doing a farmer’s carry! Perhaps I should…

OPINION

Opinion: We must think differently about diversification

Around three-quarters of farm businesses already have some form of diversified enterprise. The question is no longer whether to diversify, but what comes next. For many, diversification is no longer…

OPINION

Editor's View: Bluetongue is a fresh assault on national flock

The warning this week of a bluetongue-linked fertility crisis in rams is a timely reminder that the cascading effects of this disease are still rippling through the sheep and cattle…

OPINION

Opinion: Farming needs less to rescue, not more rescuing

Look at what we fund and applaud in this industry: subsidies that prop up businesses that aren't profitable, brilliant mental health support for farmers who've reached crisis point, and arbitration…

OPINION

Opinion: Why I'm taking an Inception approach to succession

On the road to family farming succession, I’ve been channelling my inner Leonardo DiCaprio to forward my ideas onto my father. Not Wolf of Wall Street DiCaprio, although I’d love…

OPINION

Editor's View: Farming's task must be to take back control

Another week, another threat to UK food security as we wait on US president Donald Trump to decide whether to ban the export of diesel in a bid to massage…

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