The Farming Forum

Written by Rachel Martin

Spring-calving beef farmers in Scotland are advised to consider delaying weaning as a means to burn off excess condition on suckler cows.

It comes after a summer of exceptional grass growth has left many beef cattle in very good condition.

Specialists at SAC Consulting, part of Scotland’s Rural College, say that, suckling cows for longer will help fit mothers lose excess condition, helping them achieve optimal condition for spring-calving.

Longer suckling also has the added benefit of reducing the risk of pneumonia in calves.

The advice comes after excellent summer grass growth led to many cows carrying a condition score of 3 or above. This, in turn, resulted...

Written by Rachel Martin

An estranged wife and her lover who plotted to kill a wealthy farmer after he refused to agree to a divorce have today been found guilty of murder.

William ‘Bill’ Taylor (69), was reported missing from his farm near Hitchin in June 2018 and his body was found in a river a few miles away in February this year.

St. Albans Crown Court heard on Monday, November 4, that the relationship between Mr. Taylor and his wife, Angela Taylor (53), had broken down some time before he disappeared.

Although they separated in 2015, Mr. Taylor refused to agree to a divorce, despite being asked twice by his wife, who started a relationship with Paul Cannon (54), in late 2017.

As a...

What explains the differential cuts in CAP P1 and P2 spending in the Commission’s MFF proposal?

Written by Alan Matthews

As I discussed in this post, the Finnish Presidency has been tasked with presenting a first draft of the MFF ‘negotiating box’ with numbers prior to the next European Council meeting 12-13 December 2019. This will be no mean feat given the wide differences of opinion between the ‘frugal five’ Member States – Austria, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden – that want overall a smaller budget than what the Commission has proposed, and other...

101: Learn more about the Livestock Information Programme

Written by AHDB

This podcast looks at the Livestock Information Programme. (LIP) It’s a joint effort between Defra and AHDB to create a new system of tracing and managing livestock data, and is backed by an industry design group comprising representatives from all parts of the livestock and meat production industry. Hear from Richard Laverick, Chief Officer for the Livestock Information Programme and Ray Keatinge, Livestock Information Product Manager who talk about what the programme is and how it will benefit the industry.

For more information, visit: https://ahdb.org.uk/LIP...

Written by John Swire

Zinc content in forage is rarely deficient (less than one per cent of forages samples will have a deficiency) and the amount of zinc in forage compared to the amount available from a bolus is significantly greater (often 100 times greater).

As most animals will get above 90% of the zinc required from forage the amount supplied in forage is about 20 times the amount that an animal would get from a bolus. For these and other reasons there is no value in including zinc supplements in a bolus.

Whilst zinc is known to be critical for many enzyme factors, zinc deficiency is very rarely reported. According to Teagasc* “Zn deficiency can be induced by high feed Ca levels...

Written by Agriland Team

As tillage farmers here at home struggle to plant, the same is true across the water in the UK and as the situation drags on LIFFE wheat price has climbed in the past week, as can be seen in the table below.

Looking ahead, November 2020 wheat was at £152.50/t on Friday afternoon, November 1. This was down slightly from October 28, when it hit £153.50/t – the highest it has been since the end of the harvest.

Also Read: ‘If we don’t have a weather problem grain prices fall’...

Written by Matt Hopkins

Farmers and contractors operating fleets of machinery from different brands will in the near future be able to […]

The post John Deere, CLAAS, CNH Industrial and 365FarmNet Form DataConnect appeared first on PrecisionAg.

Continue reading on the Precision Ag Website...

Written by John Swire

Lubricants giant Fuchs has signalled its commitment to climate protection by announcing it will be completely CO2-neutral as early as next year.

FUCHS, which has its UK headquarters in Stoke-on-Trent, will be CO2-neutral globally by January 1 2020 – from energy consumption in production to consumables in administration.

In order to implement CO2-neutrality in just two months’ time, Fuchs will offset its CO2 emissions, which have not yet been avoided so far, with compensation measures.

This will be done by the company investing in high-quality climate protection projects aimed primarily at promoting renewable energies.

The projects are accredited, approved and...

Written by Charlotte Cunningham

Drilling of crop plots at the 2020 Cereals Event site in Cambs is nearing completion, with stands of oilseed rape and cereals emerged and growing away, despite the difficult conditions. Charlotte Cunningham reports. According to crop plot manager Paul Scrimshaw, 100% of the exhibitor plots had been drilled by the end of October, with the Choice Cereals plots – featuring most of the approved and candidate winter wheat and barley varieties – now ready to go in. “Like elsewhere in the UK, we’ve experienced very tricky wet conditions – although we’ve escaped more lightly than some areas in the West Midlands,” says Paul. “We’re on light land and the whole 50ha site was...

Written by Agriland Team

Reports that Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia has been bought by a consortium led by Petter Stordalen “exposes complete hypocrisy and hidden agendas”, according to the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA).

ICSA president Edmond Phelan said the buy-out “exposes the hypocrisy” behind the EAT Lancet report which earlier this year advocated a global switch to a plant-based diet on climate change grounds.

Commenting on this, Phelan said:

“How can the EAT Lancet report have any credibility when one of its major backers is now buying an airline...

Europe must act on intensive farming to save wildlife, scientists say

Written by Fiona Harvey Environment correspondent

EU’s agriculture policy needs urgent reform, organisations tell incoming commission president

The EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) should be overhauled urgently to stop the intensification of farming practices that is leading to a steep decline in wildlife, scientists from across the bloc have urged.

Five organisations representing more than 2,500 experts have written to Ursula von der Leyen, the incoming president of the European...

Written by Agriland Team

Emergency services were called to the scene of a road incident where a tractor and trailer carrying 11t of potatoes overturned in the UK over the weekend.

The incident took place on Friday, November 1, in the Littleport area of Cambridgeshire, England, on the edge of the A1101 road.

The unit was transporting a large quantity of potatoes at the time, which spilled across the road and surrounding area when the trailer flipped over.

Taking to social media, police officers from Cambridgeshire Constabulary Rural Crime Action Team posted photographs of the incident, noting that fortunately the driver in question only sustained minor injuries.

On scene of a...

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Nelson German E-wheat continues to show staggering results

Nelson is a standout variety which has delivered more staggering results in 2019 trials. The news hits at a great time, due to rising demand for German E winter wheats

You can read this update from Cope Seeds on TFF's AGVendor...

New wheat varieties available next autumn

Cope Seeds trials new varieties 5 years ahead to ensure we find the most suitable varieties for the organic market possible. The first exciting variety available on a larger commercial level next autumn is KWS Extase. Over 5 years of testing KWS Extase has produced an impressive untreated yield with strong standing ability. The second variety is KWS Firefly, which has shown to be a high yielding variety with good disease resistance. Hear more from Gemma Clarke in her latest blog post....

Written by Charles O'Donnell

The Government has officially launched a £50 million scheme aimed towards increasing tree-planting rates in an effort to boost carbon sequestration.

The Woodland Carbon Guarantee scheme was announced today, Monday, November 4, and it is hoped that it will encourage farmers and landowners to plant more trees and create more woodland in return for payment.

According to a Government statement, the scheme will give “land managers in England the long-term financial income they need to invest in carbon sequestration”.

Successful participants will be offered the option to sell ‘woodland carbon units’ to the Government over 35 years at a guaranteed price set by...

British farmers are not the enemy in the battle against the climate crisis | Joe Stanley

Written by Joe Stanley

As a cattle farmer I come under constant criticism, but UK livestock production is among the most sustainable in the world
I am a farmer, the third generation to grow crops and pedigree beef cattle on my family’s modest farm on the edge of the picturesque Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire. Summer and autumn is primarily given over to long days of harvesting and planting crops while our 150 traditional longhorn cattle munch at grass; in the long winter nights, they come indoors to shelter and chew at hay harvested and stored in the spring.

Most of you reading this, I...

Written by Hayley Lynch

A substantial mixed arable and livestock farm has just come up for sale on 185.43ac. The productive farm on the Herefordshire/Shropshire border comprises of arable ground, pasture and woodland and is for sale as a whole or in two lots.

Situated at Deepmoor Farm, in Deerfold, Lingen, Bucknell, also includes a six-bedroom farmhouse, a range of traditional and modern farm buildings and a former three-bedroom farmhouse.

Cattle, sheep and arable enterprise

Gareth Wall, a partner at McCartneys, who is facilitating the sale, explained that the property has been a productive holding, having supported a cattle, sheep and arable enterprise...

I am looking for a new opportunity, potentially full time or preferably on a 3 to 4 day per week average, somewhere in the Worcestershire or Shropshire area (I'm based in Stourport, but could potentially relocate within commuting distance of Telford subject to the wife!)
Aside from my experience and qualifications outlined below, I feel it's important to give you an idea of the type of employee I am. In 10+ years of full time work I can count on one hand the number of times I've been late. I have had two days sickness, one for horrific food poisoning and one because I was hit by a car on my way to work! I make efforts to get along with people and not cause friction, and I like to approach work with a cheerful outlook. I cannot abide lazy colleagues or people who moan!

Currently I'm...