Rural News

The Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) has taken the decision to alter the format of Dairy-Tech 2021, due to ongoing Covid-19 concerns, by instead hosting a series of online events over a fortnight from 3rd to 17th February.

Government ministers have announced that the Trade and Agriculture Commission will now become a statutory body, following months of campaigning to protect British food and farming standards in future trade deals.

With 2020 bringing ever greater levels of uncertainty and unexpected changes, pressures on the farming community continue to grow. As part of a new package of services designed to assist people deal with these complex challenges, RABI is launching an online wellbeing community and counselling service for farming people across England and Wales on 19th October.

Artist and animal lover Maddie Dunn began taking commissions for pet portraits while she was doing her A-levels three years ago. After officially starting a business this year alongside university, she has already completed around 70 paintings. We spoke to her to find out more about her inspiration.

While many of us viewed the March national lockdown as a temporary glitch, months on we are now in the grip of a ‘new normal’, with many still working from home, and events and overseas travel still fraught with complication.

With Covid-19 forcing many of us back into our homes, making the prospect of Christmas shopping more challenging than ever, online gift shop owner, Sally Day, has launched new gift boxes designed for farmers and countryside enthusiasts.

When lockdown hit earlier this year, farm contractor Laura Burnett decided to future-proof her business and combine her two passions – farming and creating metal animal sculptures. We spoke to her to find more about her creations.

Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe has announced that she will leave Red Tractor next month at the end of her tenure as chair, following recent controversy over the Ag Bill debate.

A brand new farm essentials store, www.allagri.co.uk has been unveiled to give farmers a break from the stresses of staying on top of farm requirements. 

Fourteen-year-old Ollie Brightwell started making farming videos after being given a drone and teaching himself to use video editing software just a few months ago – but already he has had tens of thousands of views on YouTube.

Covid-19 has placed dairy ‘front and centre’ in the daily lives of UK consumers – with most products seeing an uplift in retail sales during lockdown, according to the AHDB.

Defra has announced new rules and logos to protect British food and drink, guaranteeing the authenticity of regional and traditional foods for shoppers and protecting British producers from imitation.