Rural News

Farmers Matt and Pip Smith are tough. Farming 850 feet above sea level on the edge of Bodmin Moor near Launceston in Cornwall, the 2017 Sheep Farmer of the Year is used to high rainfall and challenging conditions buffeting the 480-acre site with grazing rights, where the couple farm 1,000 Romney ewes and some 700 venison at any one time – including 238 breeding hinds.

Could e-commerce be the next step for your business? With a bit of planning you could be up-and-running faster than you thought, according to accountancy firm Carmichael Kingham & Co.

With farm shops seeing a significant boost in popularity since the Covid-19 lockdown, many more farmers may be looking for ways to sell their produce direct to the consumer, yet new build projects can be expensive and time consuming. 

Farmers are being urged to be vigilant to avoid becoming victims of rural theft when the clocks go back, as criminals use the cover of darkness to steal from the countryside.

AGRI-APP began as a small seed of an idea; the goal, give back and help the members of the Agricultural and Horticultural communities.

The BBC has upheld a complaint about impartiality in its documentary Meat: A Threat to our Planet, which aired on BBC One last November.

Mental Health is important especially in the agricultural industry, so in honour of #AgMentalHealthWeek, here are some quick hints and handy tips to improve your mental health in minutes.

Coffee fans can now buy beans and grounds with a conscience, from a brand created by a woman passionate about supporting female growers who are striving to survive in a male-dominated industry.

Nearly half of all calls made to The Farming Community Network’s (FCN) support helpline (03000 111 999) over the past four months have related to mental health.

McDonald’s has announced two new partnerships with its long-standing potato supplier McCain and charity The Prince’s Countryside Fund. Both partnerships are part of McDonald’s ongoing commitment to support both the future of farming and work alongside its suppliers to introduce sustainable innovations.

Looking again at using cover crops to build soil structure and mitigate the effects of increasing weather extremes could reap benefits for farmers in Scotland.

With the cost of solar energy falling dramatically by 80% in recent years, as well as growing pressure to reduce our carbon footprint, there has never been a better time for you to install solar PV and kick start your farm to become carbon neutral.