The Farming Forum

Written by Richard Halleron from Agriland

The latest machination coming from the so-called ‘opinion formers’, who seem to have the ear of government advisors in London, is the introduction of a ‘Meat Tax’ at consumer level.

This approach, it is argued, would have the combined impact of reducing meat consumption levels (I can really see the health benefits coming through now), while also helping to reduce the overall carbon footprint of production agriculture.

What absolute drivel! In my opinion, none of this makes sense at any level. This is a scurrilous and unfounded attack on livestock farming in this part of the world.

Yet, it has to be taken seriously. I make this point because economists at Rothamsted Research have already crunched the numbers where the introduction of a ‘UK...

Looking to get experience within the arable sector, plenty experience with tractors but would love to get combine experience, how do you go about getting this? I’m 39 and have clean license any tips appreciated

MAKING YOUR FARM A SAFER PLACE TO WORK AND LIVE DOESN’T HAVE TO COST A FORTUNE. IN FACT, A TIDY UP OF THE YARD CAN REAP REAL BENEFITS IN TERMS OF SAVING TIME, SAVING COSTS AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, SAVING LIVES…



• Regularly walk around your farm and assess the potential dangers.
• If you want to know what a good farm looks like but don’t know where to start, the HSE have this fantastic resource CLICK HERE
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Are there any local farms (I'm in Worminghall - Between Islip and Wheatley) looking for Harvest help or maybe even offering a full time position?

The arable side of farming would be new territory to me however I have done farm work in the past, milking 220 head of cattle 3 times per day and carrying out general yard / shed duties, so hopefully I’m not considered a total numpty.

I have driven various tractors over the last few years (Case, Massey, New Holland and John Deere) and with trailers on the back. I also have a HGV Class 2 (Plus ADR / CPC) licence so am comfortable driving larger vehicles.

I appreciate that during harvest there are very long days going on well in to the early hours which is no problem - i'm not afraid of hard work, early morning, late nights or long hours...

… BUT NOT DOING IT COULD COST YOU YOUR LIFE!
Many farmers are happy to invest in their land, livestock and machinery but as we know, they are often reluctant to invest in themselves and their safety:

It costs too much
I can’t afford it

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Farming has the poorest safety record of any occupation in the UK & Ireland with far too many lives being lost and life-changing injuries being sustained every year. Over the past year, 41 people lost their lives on GB farms – almost double the number of the previous year so, if this is your argument – have you ever considered how much it would cost to go to hospital for a night, or how much it would cost to be unable to work for an extended...

LONG HOURS, INTENSE PHYSICAL LABOUR, LOW PAY AND AT THE MERCY OF THE ELEMENTS, WHO’D BE A FARMER TODAY? WELL NEARLY HALF A MILLION WORKERS IT SEEMS. YET, FOR A WORKFORCE THAT ACCOUNTS FOR A MERE 1% OF GB’S WORKING POPULATION, THE INDUSTRY ACCOUNTS FOR NEARLY A QUARTER OF ALL WORKPLACE FATAL INJURIES, GIVING IT THE POOREST SAFETY RECORD OF ANY OCCUPATION (ALMOST 20 TIMES HIGHER THAN THE GB INDUSTRY AVERAGE).

The picture is similar in Northern Ireland where farming accounted for 5 of the 13 workplace fatalities in 2020/2021 representing 38% (HSENI) and, in the Republic of Ireland, farming accounts for 5% of the workforce but an alarming 40% of all workplace fatal incidents.

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RETHINK RISK

OVER THE YEARS, OUR FARM SAFETY WEEK AND MIND YOUR HEAD CAMPAIGNS HAVE BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH IMPACTFUL SOCIAL MEDIA FILMS THAT GAIN HIGH LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT.

This year’s 2021 Mind Your Head video “The Living Years” had 614,000 views on social media and our 2020 Farm Safety Week video “Out of The Mouths Of Babes” had 750,000 views across our social media channels.
In a year where the number of people killed on farms in Great Britain has almost doubled compared to the previous year, we need to take a more serious approach to a more serious issue… Why are farmers continuing to ignore the issue of safety? Why are twice as many over 60s having life-ending incidents on farms...

In a year where the number of people killed on farms in Great Britain has almost doubled compared to the previous year, we need to take a more serious approach to a more serious issue… Why are farmers continuing to ignore the issue of safety? Why are twice as many over 60s having life-ending incidents on farms compared to the rest of the industry? And what are we going to do about it?

More block calves are using ad-lib feeding to achieve better growth rate and lower labour. Better for calves and herdsman.

Written by William Kellett from Agriland

Stress and fatigue have been identified as a key cause of farm accidents by researchers from the University of Aberdeen.

The NTSAg group from the University researched the role of non-technical skills in farming and in this project investigated ‘situation awareness’, broadly defined as ‘knowing what is happening around you’.

They found that lapses in situation awareness, related to stress and fatigue, were a main contributory factor in farming accidents.

This project is the first to look at the impact of stress and fatigue on situation awareness and safety in agriculture.

Agriculture is the most dangerous industry in the UK, measured...

Summary
We are looking for a Livestock Assistant to assist and support the National Trust’s in-hand conservation grazing operation in the Cotswolds. The Belted Galloway herd is amongst the largest and most recognised within the organisation. Working closely with the Farm Manager, we are seeking someone who can provide the practical and technical skills to support the livestock management and the wider conservation grazing operation.
This is a full-time role, fixed term for 24 months. Working hours are typically Monday-Friday, but the successful candidate will need to be available for some weekend working (approx. one weekend in four), and occasionally being ‘on call’ outside of working hours e.g. during calving season, or when the Farm Manager is on leave.
Please...

Yesterday we published the final AHDB Crop Development report of the 2020/21 growing season, which gives a pre-harvest update into the condition of the main crops in Great Britain. Making use of the regional and national condition scores enables a picture of how 2021/22 production could shape up.

Additionally, our annual planting and variety survey (PVS), released last week, gives us an updated look at planted area figures. Using both of these releases, we can make some robust estimations into yield and therefore production for the upcoming harvest.

In order to produce these estimates the following rules have been applied for estimating yield from crop condition ratings*;

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We are looking for a Harvest Worker to join the team August-October/November.

Duties will include grain/potato carting and cultivations.

Executive Director of the Food Ethics Council, Dan Crossley, gives his initial response to the publication of the National Food Strategy:

“The National Food Strategy feels like a breath of fresh air trying to reinvigorate our food systems at a time when they need an urgent reboot. It powerfully articulates key challenges, gives a carefully considered diagnosis of what’s wrong and lays out some bold recommendations. The headlines of the strategy feel spot on: escape the junk food cycle to protect the NHS, reduce diet-related inequality, make the best use of our land and create a long-term shift in our food culture. The Strategy addresses head-on several difficult but hugely important issues like trade, meat and obesity.

“The headlines...

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Written by Rachel Martin from Agriland

Proposals for legislation to establish cost of production linked pricing for farm produce have fallen flat with the author of an independent review on Northern Ireland’s agri-food industry.

Farmers For Action met with ISRAF report author Sir Peter Kendall to discuss the implications of climate change on Northern Ireland farming earlier this month.

The FFA’s Northern Ireland Farm Welfare Bill was also discussed at the meeting.

ISRAF

The Independent Strategic Review of NI Agri-Food (ISRAF) will provide a sharp, focussed review to help set the strategic direction of the sector.

The review will be led by Sir Peter Kendall, who brings decades of experience and...

Strike risk now rising, act now to prevent problems

NADIS, in collaboration with Elanco, have once again launched the blowfly risk alert to help farmers and prescribers keep up-to-date and stay aware of the blowfly challenge throughout the season. Elanco encourages farmers and prescribers to report a case of strike on the blowfly tracker to help others be aware of the risk in their local area and across the country.

Professor Richard Wall from Bristol University comments "The strike risk is still increasing, but only slowly due to the recent relatively cool conditions which look likely to persist into the early part of July. A focus on protecting lambs becomes increasingly important given that shearing will have greatly...