The Farming Forum

Acres have been out with @FarmerTorque again to produce this really interesting video cutting wheat

Update on the Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot

Written by Lisa Applin



In July, we opened the applications window for farmers to join our Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot.

The Sustainable Farming Incentive is 1 of the 3 new environmental land management schemes. It sits alongside the future Local Nature Recovery and Landscape Recovery schemes.

Through the Sustainable Farming Incentive, farmers will be paid for environmentally sustainable actions – ones that are simple to do and do not require previous agri-environment scheme experience.

We are piloting the scheme to...

The John Deere Forager show on October 13th 2021.

Join our new DEERE STUDIO format together in real time! At DEERE STUDIO our host Patrice Bouédibéla celebrates the 50th anniversary of the John Deere forage harvesters with you.

Product specialists from John Deere reveal the stories behind the machines. Stay tuned when we present the two brand new forage harvester models - 9500/9600. The new models combine efficiency and productivity: This includes crop analysis and documentation capabilities and a peerless forage quality with a very robust kernel processor – powered by exceptional engines, including the brand new JD18X. John Deere engineers give you a deep dive into the models and answer your questions about the development and innovations of the...

Written by Michelle Martin from Agriland

The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) has today, Thursday, October 14, published the findings of The Big Farming Survey, which shows 35% of English and Welsh farmers are either possibly or probably depressed.

The survey, based on over 15,000 responses, concentrates on the health and well-being of the farming community in England and Wales in the 2020s.

The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) is a national charity that provides support to the farming community across England and Wales.

Mental health​

Mental well-being, the survey notes, describes our ability to cope with the ‘ups and downs’ of everyday life.

According to the survey, 14% of the farming community is ‘possibly depressed’ while...

Tickets are selling fast for ORFC 2022, with only a very small handful left for the in-person event in Oxford. If you want to join us in person, book this week. The full event programme will be announced at the end of November.



Book ORFC 2022 tickets

An online ticket to ORFC 2022 will give you access to more than 60 sessions. We'll have a mixture of live-streaming from the conference alongside exclusive online-only sessions with global speakers including Anna Lappé, Raj Patel, Vandana Shiva, Rupa Marya, the Riverine and Quilombola communities of Brazil, and many...

With special guests including Gareth (aka Donkey) from Grassmen on The Forager Show, which is this Wednesday Evening. Full event details are here for the Forage Show: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/355610/

Will and Tom Carlisle of Rowles Farm on The Combine Show plus machinery journalist and now founder of @Landpower TV James Rickard on The Tractor Show, you'll want to save these evenings! We will send out alerts closer to the events to remind you they are on and all 3 are in the TFF calendar...

Written by Rachel Martin from Agriland

M&S has committed to sustainable agriculture through a new five-year collaborative programme designed to help its Select Farmers gain resilience to the biggest environmental challenges they face.

The ‘Farming with Nature’ programme will provide farmers with industry-relevant, specialist support in the areas of climate change, biodiversity, soil health and water usage to help them to become more sustainable and deliver measurable improvements to their businesses.

Farming with Nature​

As part of the project, the own-brand retailer has established 17 Indicator and Innovation Farms across the UK, spanning fresh produce, dairy, beef, lamb, pork, turkey, chicken and eggs.

The farms will be supported by M&S-funded...

Written by William Kellett from Agriland

Rhug Organic PGI Welsh Lamb was served recently at the British Embassy in Dubai at an event to showcase Welsh food and drink.

The guests enjoyed poached and roasted saddle of Rhug Organic Welsh lamb, whipped pine nuts and salsa, for their main course.

Held at the Consul General’s Residence at the British Embassy Dubai, the Welsh Government event was hosted by Her Majesty’s Consul General to Dubai and the Northern Emirates, Simon Penney, and the Welsh Government’s envoy to the UAE, Paul Gyles.

Sixteen guests were invited to the event on Tuesday, September 28, including senior members of retailer or distributor companies based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The event signalled the start of the Taste Wales celebrations which take place next...

Introducing the Annual Health and Welfare Review

Written by Jonathan Statham



In this guest post, Jonathan Statham introduces the Annual Health and Welfare Review.

Jonathan is a cattle vet and chair-elect for England’s Animal Health and Welfare Board. He has 25 years of experience in veterinary practice, including a range of wider industry and academic roles. He is still active in practice at Bishopton Veterinary Group in Yorkshire.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve worked with farmers, the Defra team and other specialists to develop the new Animal Health and...

Not keen on spending half a million to harvest your 3.000 acres? Acres went to visit Walworth Farms in Warwickshire with FarmerTorque and his cameras to see an alternative.

Written by William Kellett from Agriland

A project to establish standardised metrics to measure environmental performance of the food and drink sector has been launched by the Environment Agency.

The Environment Agency – working in partnership with the Institute for Manufacturing at the University of Cambridge, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Waste and Resources Action Programme and the British Standards Institute – is aiming to make it simpler for businesses and for the public to understand the environmental performance of companies in key areas such as greenhouse gas reduction and resource efficiency.

The initiative will help manufacturers to more effectively communicate their environmental performance to the public, minimising the...

New report underlines need for joined-up action to protect rivers

Written by Defra Press Office



The Rivers Trust has today launched its State of Our Rivers report aiming to allow the English public understand and explore the health of their rivers on a national and local scale.

Environment Minister Rebecca Pow and Environment Agency Director John Leyland attended the launch panel to discuss the ways in which the...

Hello, I’m Janet Hughes. I’m the Programme Director for the Future Farming and Countryside Programme in Defra – the programme that’s phasing out the Common Agricultural Policy and introducing new schemes and services for farmers.



Today (20 September) between 7pm-8pm, I and some of my colleagues will be answering your questions about our work including the Sustainable Farming Incentive, Farming in Protected Landscapes, and our test and trials.



We’ll try to answer at least 15 of your top voted questions, so please vote on the questions you’d most like me to answer.



You can read more about our Future Farming policy on our blog.



I’ve answered some of your questions previously: you can watch the videos on...