Latest farming opinions 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… OPINIONOpinion: Fly-tipping tale has a Netflix-style twistIn my previous column, I talked about our new tenancy and feeling like “a proper farmer”. My hubris didn’t pass unnoticed by the farming gods and, a week after that… OPINIONEditor's View: What should be getting you off farm in 2026?I must have attended about two dozen conferences and events with speakers this year to listen to farmers plot, plan and prevaricate on what our industry’s future problems will be… OPINIONOpinion: There are too many people and food is too cheapI can’t be alone in looking at the outcome of the COP30 summit and wondering whether there is any point to these negotiations at all. Delegates flew from across the… More articles
