What can journalism do for farmers?

farmwoody

New Member
Morning all,

I'm making a return to agricultural journalism next month - and I can't wait.
Just a few questions for you all...

- Which pieces of journalism are most valuable to you? Advice? In-depth analysis? Machinery tests?
- What do you want from an agricultural journalist?
- What can we do to help you?

Thanks for your time,

Woody
 

db9go

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Buckinghamshire
Morning all,

I'm making a return to agricultural journalism next month - and I can't wait.
Just a few questions for you all...

- Which pieces of journalism are most valuable to you? Advice? In-depth analysis? Machinery tests?
- What do you want from an agricultural journalist?
- What can we do to help you?

Thanks for your time,

Woody
what ever it is it has to be the TRUTH
 

farmwoody

New Member
We don't like willy waving but always welcome good advice and a good nose around someone else's farm or business (as long as it isn't bigger or better than our own ;) )
Always keen to give advice - tailored to each and every farmer's needs.
 
Last edited:

JP1

Member
Livestock Farmer
Create awareness and interest. This may be difficult if you are assigned topics, so you may need to be persuasive with your seniors.

Be accurate both in terms of reporting and verifying facts and also with the use of good grammar and syntax.

Never be cowed and use fair but very firm questioning to get to the truth and do not become a PR for vested interests.

Start debate and maintain independence. Witness the R4 interviews with HRH Prince Of Wales and HRH Princess Anne this morning on GM employment on their own farms - diametrically opposed.

None of the above is easy and IMO the pay scales for ag journalists are dire
 

CornishTone

Member
BASIS
Location
Cornwall
Always keen to give advice - tailored to each and every farmer's needs.

You can't give advice tailored to each and every famers needs. Every farm and farmer is different, so unless your publication is going to be the size of War & Peace every week and you're an "expert" in every aspect of farm management, stick to distributing the facts, leave opinions to the opinion columnists and let those who charge for "advice" give the advice.

You'll get far more respect from the industry by simply reporting unbiased, straight laced facts, that aren't paid for by a manufacturer or someone with an agenda, than by trying offer free advice. Give your readers the information to challenge the advice givers, that's the key!

Good luck!
 

GTB

Never Forgotten
Honorary Member
A friend told me that if you read something in the farming press and it doesn't sound quite right or too good to be true then it's usually not true, either because the reporter misquoted someone or a misprint. I can verify this is true because I was once subject to an article in a farming publication. I had answered all the journalist's questions truthfully but he had also gone looking for info on a breed society website and had obviously got the two sets of figures mixed up. My neighbours must have thought I was full of sh!t. Since then I always take facts and figures quoted with a pinch of salt.
 
Journalists don't deal in truths, they deal with opinion and interpretation.

This morning's BBC piece on "Free Range Dairy" being a prime example.

A journalist could easily write two articles for two customers based around the same facts, but spun in opposing directions.

I've never written any journalism pieces, but I know a few journalists and have been interviewed several times.

In their defence, freelance journalists write for cash and do not have editorial powers over their work. A journalist can only produce material that has a market value.

I have been interviewed and taken completely out of context by editors who sometimes try to make something attention-grabbing out of something very dull.
 
Location
East Mids
check your facts. Journalists are often lazy; a tenant farmer is described as a 'landowner', the wrong people are attributed as owners of the business - can cause a lot of resentment and local or family embarrassment or disagreements. Errors are common - may be down to the editor rather than the journalist - example seen recently, text said farmers were refurbishing an old parlour for £10k as a stop gap whilst they put 2 new parlours in, the picture said 2 new parlours being installed for £10k. (y) :oops: @GTB makes an equally valid point re: facts. I'm afraid I am very sceptical of many figures quoted in articles because I know when I have given information which has morphed into something else. Remember that for some 'industry level' figures an individual farmer may have got it wrong - national average herd size, yield etc so try to go to authoritative sources such as AHDB for that,.
 

Dry Rot

Member
Livestock Farmer
Journalists need to be impartial and that is difficult.

Controversy sells newspapers and that is even harder to write up with impartiality.

Interview both parties to a disputed subject, record the facts accurately, then let your readers decide.

Didn't Mark Twain say something to the effect that a journalist should upset 50% of his readers every week? But the art of newspaper publishing comes from upsetting a different 50% each week!
 

Barleycorn

Member
BASE UK Member
Location
Hampshire
Not trying to be negative, but the days of traditional agricultural journalism are waning fast. I never read the freebies magasines now, and only started the Farmers Guardian again because of a good deal offered at Christmas. There are so many other places to get info now, with TFF, Facebook, Google, and different Apps. The traditional magasines can be editorial extensions of their advertisers anyway.
Good luck, but I would try and go for a web based approach.
 

farmwoody

New Member
Not trying to be negative, but the days of traditional agricultural journalism are waning fast. I never read the freebies magasines now, and only started the Farmers Guardian again because of a good deal offered at Christmas. There are so many other places to get info now, with TFF, Facebook, Google, and different Apps. The traditional magasines can be editorial extensions of their advertisers anyway.
Good luck, but I would try and go for a web based approach.
I'll be head of digital content - so that advice is right up my street!
 

topground

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
North Somerset.
There is clearly room for a fearless investigating journalist who would delve into the activities of those who would seek to control the agricultural industry for their own benefit and profit.
The cartels that force down prices to below the cost of production, the manipulation of assurance so that it no longer benefits the producer.
The relationships between major buyers, the government and those that are supposed to represent the interests of farmers but dont.
Should give you smething to get your teeth in to, crack on!
 

SFI - What % were you taking out of production?

  • 0 %

    Votes: 79 42.0%
  • Up to 25%

    Votes: 66 35.1%
  • 25-50%

    Votes: 30 16.0%
  • 50-75%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 75-100%

    Votes: 3 1.6%
  • 100% I’ve had enough of farming!

    Votes: 7 3.7%

Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

  • 1,292
  • 1
As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

read the TFF thread here: https://thefarmingforum.co.uk/index.php?threads/gfc-was-to-go-ahead-now-not-going-ahead.405234/
Top