Latest farming opinions NEWSOpinion: Reverting arable land to grass or trees is follyThe question of how many of the 60m acres of Britain should be cropped is a question nearly as old as the hills on which arable farming has waxed and… NEWSFW Opinion: Farming's key questions for the next PMIt has been a terrible week to be a mad dog or an Englishman as the mercury in the thermometer ascends to ever greater heights. Farmers are getting up in… HEALTH AND WELLBEINGFarmers offer their younger selves some pearls of wisdomThe benefit of hindsight is a wonderful thing, and everyone makes mistakes. We can all learn from each other, too. With this in mind, Farmers Weekly and rural charity The… NEWSOpinion: Beware the poor work-life balance of dairy farmingWe have finally reached the fabled “quiet” time of year on the farm. We’ve finished calving until late August, the replacement heifers are weaned, the beef calves are all sold,… NEWSOpinion: War in Ukraine is no excuse to abandon green focusThe tragic events in Ukraine have inadvertently exposed huge flaws in the UK farming system, not least our heavy reliance on imports such as fuel and fertiliser, which are often… NEWSOpinion: Time-honoured good husbandry ticks 'regen ag' boxI have recently returned from what I think is my third or fourth visit to the Groundswell regenerative agriculture event, and every year it gets bigger and more impressive. It… NEWSFW Opinion: Something for everyone in Welsh policy updateThe timing of the Welsh government’s update on its plans for the future of farm policy was significant. Releasing it in the run-up to the Royal Welsh Show is a… NEWSOpinion: Keep an open mind when it comes to labelling farmersWe get a bit hung up on labelling ourselves and others these days, don’t we? Conventional farmer, organic farmer, sustainable farmer, production farmer, nature-friendly farmer, ecological farmer, traditional farmer, regenerative… NEWSOpinion: Counting the cost of Brexit – imperial or metricI was never a fan of Brexit and nothing has happened since the UK left the EU to alter my mind. So when prime minister Boris Johnson recently announced a… NEWSFW Opinion: Discontent runs deep as margins feel the squeezeIs the summer of 2022 really shaping up to be “a summer of discontent”? It certainly feels like it. A series of national rail strikes is already under way, bringing… NEWSOpinion: Government ignoring food security warning signsThe bestselling book and Hollywood film The Big Short explains the global financial crisis of 2007-08 from the viewpoint of a handful of industry insiders who foresaw the calamity years… NEWSOpinion: The time has come to recruit a minister for food securi...We need to ask the question: how much does this government value domestic food production and food security? Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues to intensify and threatens the beginning of… NEWSOpinion: Food strategy misses chance to bolster UK's healthBoris Johnson has ducked the obesity crisis yet again, hoofing the taxes on salt and sugar proposed by Henry Dimbleby for the food strategy into the long grass. "Best way… NEWSFW Opinion: If SFI flops, what happens next?This week marks six years since the Brexit referendum. More than 2,000 days after that momentous event, the first tier of England’s Environmental Land Management scheme will soon open fully… BREXITDebate: Brexit camps remain divided 6 years after referendumSix years ago this week – on Thursday 23 June 2016 – the UK took the historic decision to leave the EU. The referendum vote was close – both within… NEWSOpinion: Scottish farm support must have a stability paymentChange is good, and most farmers, when asked, will probably agree that it is required and long overdue. Delving deeper, however, you’ll often find an apprehension – a fear of… NEWSOpinion: Public access to open spaces should not be a rightDuring my local government career, the nearest I came to being lynched was at a village hall meeting about a proposed footpath diversion, so I know that feelings about rights… NEWSFW Opinion: Defra's food strategy reveals Johnson's weaknessThere are fewer beasts in the journalistic world with a thicker skin than a BBC journalist. Frequently assaulted from the left for being too right wing, and from the right… NEWSOpinion: Jubilee reflections on treasured charactersI am blessed that 25% of my genes come from my indefatigable grandmother who, in her mid-90s, still drives a car and exercises daily. She had a hip operation a… More articles
