Author Posts: Farmers Guide

Following an assessment of the current and anticipated COVID 19 restrictions, the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Royal Welsh Winter Fair. The

Hayley Hanson, the brains behind the eponymous luxury leather brand Hayley Hanson, has set her sights on raising £5,000 for The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I) by raffling off a one-of-a-kind hide chair worth £2,000.

When Cornish farmer Ashley Jones, of Smeaton Farm, harvested his 4.5ha field of oilseed rape hybrid LG Ambassador on the 22nd July, it yielded a very pleasing 4.07t/ha. A second crop of the conventional Aspire also performed well at 3.58t/ha.

Resistant ‘super rats’ are breeding in the UK and more information is needed to reduce their numbers. A new survey will compile data to establish the extent to which resistance is understood and what methods farmers are using to control rodent infestations.

Making a farm as profitable as possible requires expert decision making. A Cornish agri-technology business is now making that much easier, by giving farmers access to real-time data and alerts to base their decisions on.

A summer of celebration was planned for the National Sheep Association (NSA) in 2020 to celebrate 40 years at its home on the Three Counties Showground, near Malvern, Worcestershire. However, due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, the event has been postponed until larger gatherings are permitted.

The NFU has called for further clarity on the new Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS), as the government consultation draws to a close today (31st July).

As the first signs of rust (Uromyces betae) and powdery mildew (Erysiphe betae) are reported in crops, growers should prepare to make the first of two fungicide applications advised by the BBRO to protect yield potential.

With temperatures forecast to rise above 25°C, cattle producers should be prepared to mitigate the negative effects of heat stress on their beef and dairy animals.

A Cumbrian company is supporting the British wool industry by sourcing around 22 tonnes of Herdwick wool from Cumbrian farmers this August, to use in its best-selling chimney draught excluder.

A UK manufacturer of vegetable harvesting and handling machinery has supplied its first to order to South Africa thanks to a recommendation from a Canadian company.

Farmers will no longer be required to comply with complex rules around crop diversification, Ecological Focus Areas and greening permanent grassland, after government announced the removal of greening rules from the direct payments regime for 2021.