Rural News

A new study funded by the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institute (RABI) has linked financial worries, long working hours and loneliness with “concerning” levels of anxiety among farming women, with younger generations being the most severely affected.

Perthshire-based Taylors Snacks and Abertay University are joining forces in a new project looking at mitigating levels of acrylamide, a suspected carcinogen, in potato crisp production in a bid to enhance food safety.

A host of professional shearing talent will be racing against time at the Royal Bath & West Show this year, including world record holder shearer Jon Roberts from Robertsacre Farm in Dartmoor.

Cereals has a wealth of seminars this year, with opportunities to question political leaders, players in the environmental services arena and farmers going down the regenerative agriculture route.

Entries are now open for the 15th edition of the Landscape Photographer of the Year competition – which celebrates the British countryside in all its glory.

Farmers looking to apply for Mid-Tier Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) funding are being reminded to seek approval from a Catchment Sensitive Farming Officer (CSFO) in the next few weeks to ensure their application will be considered.

Farmer-owned dairy cooperative Dale Farm is the first enterprise in Northern Ireland to switch to clear bottle caps on all of its own-label milk in a bid to make Dale Farm milk packaging more sustainable.

Farmers are being urged to focus on preserving water now to get ahead of future dry spells, after contrasting weather over the past couple of months.

To help address concerns around creating a health and safety policy, the Farm Safety Foundation (also known as Yellow Wellies) have launched a new online ‘Build Your Own Health & Safety Policy’ tool to help farmers create a tailored policy that meets HSE requirements and standards set out by farm assurance schemes.

As part of A-Plan Insurance’s Rural Community blog they spoke to Shirley McNiven about her family farm based in Fyvie, Scotland.

Speaking from personal experience, farmers shared tried-and-tested strategies for reducing emissions at the Innovation for Agriculture and Royal Agricultural Society of England’s (RASE) ‘Farm of the Future: Net Zero in Practice’ event, where improved efficiency, production of renewable energy and carbon sequestration were identified as key factors in achieving net zero in agriculture.

Tickets have gone on sale for a brand new event for free range egg producers. BFREPA Live 23: The Free Range Egg Show will take place on the 15th November at the Telford International Centre.