In this episode, UK environment secretary Steve Reed pledges a better future for Britain's farmers. Is it a New Deal? Or is it a raw deal? Mr Reed's speech to this year's Oxford Farming Conference made much mention of food security and the need to increase agricultural productivity and profitability. Meanwhile, farmers say they will ramp up protest against government plans to impose 20% inheritance tax on farm asset worth more than £1 million. As the UK's first case of glyphosate-resistant weeds...
Jan 10, 2025•43 min•Season 1Ep. 236
Welcome to this special episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast – the Farmers Weekly Question Time Event at the 2025 Oxford Farming Conference. Recorded in front of a live audience on Wednesday the 8th of January 2025, farmers and other conference delegates quiz industry leaders on topical agricultural issues. Our panel is: - Minette Batters , cross-bench peer & immediate past president, NFU - Graham Wilkinson , chief executive, Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board - Alice Groom , ...
Jan 08, 2025•1 hr 1 min
In this episode, we look at the prospects for farming in 2025 – and discuss the opportunities for growers and livestock producers. We examine the outlook for profitable UK food production, ways to generate income from the farmed environment and the likely direction for government policy. First, though, we preview the Oxford Farming Conference (8-10 January) – which has a reputation for setting the political agenda for the farming year. This year's conference will see a keynote speech by Defra se...
Jan 03, 2025•44 min•Season 1Ep. 235
In this episode, we visit the AgriTechE REAP conference – the annual showcase for the latest innovations in agriculture. We find out how simple innovations can make farming more profitable – enabling farmers to work smarter rather than harder. From completing Sustainable Farming Incentive applications at the push of a button to using semen analysis to breed better livestock. We talk to start-up agri-tech entrepreneurs and some of the biggest global names in farming who are embracing big ideas to...
Dec 20, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 234
Hundreds of tractors descend on central London as farmers ramp up protests against the government's autumn Budget. As 500 tractors park outside Downing Street, we speak to farmers and protest organisers – and scrutinise the latest government announcement. Farmer and agricultural historian Oli Fletcher, from the Farming Explained YouTube channel , puts the protests in their wider context. We also analyse claims by Defra that it has injected £350m into farming to boost the UK's food security . Oth...
Dec 13, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 233
In this episode, could ban on autumn manure-spreading applications be the next body blow to hit Britain’s farmers? Well, quite possibly, as industry representatives are summoned to meet Defra officials following two legal challenges over the issue. We delve into the controversy over the decision by dairy processor Arla to use a new feed additive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from dairy cows. With campaigners calling for a milk and dairy boycott – we ask whether their concerns are justified ...
Dec 06, 2024•40 min•Season 1Ep. 232
Welcome to this special episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast – the Farmers Weekly Question Time event at Harper Adams University in Shropshire. Recorded in front of a live studio audience, farmers, students and other guests quiz industry leaders on topical agricultural issues. This episode focuses on the impact of the autumn 2024 Budget decision to impose 20% inheritance tax on farm assets worth more than £1m. Our panel is: - Julia Buckley , Labour MP for Shrewsbury - Jeremy Moody, secretary to...
Nov 29, 2024•1 hr 8 min
Thousands of farmers gather in London to lobby MPs and protest against changes to inheritance tax rules. From April 2026, agricultural assets worth more than £1m will be liable for 20% inheritance tax – leaving many farmers fearing for their livelihoods. Some 15,000 farmers descended on Westminster to oppose the changes, worried that the autumn Budget decision will force them to leave the land. Join us as we report live from the event - speaking to protest organisers, politicians and farmers on ...
Nov 22, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 231
In this episode, Jeremy Clarkson is set to join thousands of farmers protesting against the government’s decision to impose inheritance tax on farmland. The TV celebrity and star of Clarkson's Farm is expected to address farmers as they gather in London on Tuesday 19 November. Farm business consultants are continuing to wade through the government’s budget documents - looking at ways to mitigate their worst effects. We've a special interview with Richard Means, managing partner of Ceres Rural. A...
Nov 15, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 230
In this episode, industry leaders urge farmers not to take direct action following the government’s decision to impose inheritance tax on farmland. Thousands of farmers are expected to descend on London after the Budget announcement sent shockwaves through the industry. The protest will coincide with what the NFU is describing as a ‘mass lobbying’ of MPs to get the government decision reversed. The inheritance tax facing farmers following the Budget has understandably grabbed all the headlines. ...
Nov 08, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 229
A special episode after an autumn Budget which promises huge changes to farm businesses – and indeed for farming families. The Budget saw Chancellor Rachel Reeves announce major changes to agricultural property relief and inheritance tax rules relating to farming. From April 2026, farmers will be subject to 20% inheritance tax on agricultural and business assets worth more than £1 million pounds. In this episode, four experts discuss ways farmers can reduce their liability. Our experts are: Amy ...
Nov 01, 2024•26 min•Season 1Ep. 228
In this episode, as the government's Budget looms we ask three experts what farmers should expect in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement. We find out why the Sustainable Farming Incentive is fuelling interest in hedgerow management in England – and how farmers can obtain payments. We visit the Lake District, where upland farmers fear they are being left behind by the government's flagship environmental schemes. And we go under the North Sea where a carbon-friendly fertiliser is being mined to repl...
Oct 25, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 227
UK agriculture faces a huge skills gap – with lots of opportunities for people wanting to work in the sector or start their own agri-business. In this episode, we find out how UK farming is encouraging new entrants into the industry – and how to carve a career in agriculture. We visit the New Scientist Live festival of ideas at London's ExCel centre, where food and farming innovation is centre stage in front of 25,000 visitors. Agriculture is very much a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math...
Oct 18, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 226
In this episode, as the wet autumn continues, we look at flood management – and payments for farmers to protect communities by storing flood water. We have the latest on the NFU's campaign for a fair Autumn Budget for farming – and what is needed to deliver UK food security. We've an update on the phase-out of the Basic Payment Scheme in England – and take a look at Scotland's fledgling farm support system. And we talk to the two farming friends behind the Rural Communities Mental Health Foundat...
Oct 11, 2024•33 min•Season 1Ep. 225
In this episode, we ask who is to blame for Defra's reported £358m underspend on farming – and can it really be justified? A better year ahead? After a challenging time, the latest forecasts suggest UK dairy has finally turned the corner. We get to grips with the latest developments on precision breeding – which could pave the way for UK farmers to grow gene-edited crops. We find out how blended finance is helping farmers fund nature recovery projects on a landscape scale. And we speak to the ne...
Oct 04, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 224
In this episode, after a week of torrential rain and floods washes away newly drilled cereal crops, we ask: will it really be another wet autumn? We find out why Defra policy is on hold ahead of the Autumn Budget – in a special interview with NFU president Tom Bradshaw. We discover how farmers are measuring their environmental and social impact –and making their businesses more profitable as a result. You can find out more about environmental and social baselining by visiting Soil Association Ex...
Sep 27, 2024•44 min•Season 1Ep. 223
In this episode, we look at the future for farm support following a UK cereal harvest said to be among the worst in living memory. We travel to London for Back British Farming Day as growers and livestock producers meet MPs to get the farming message across to politicians. We look at NFU calls for an increase in the UK budget for agriculture – and industry calls for recognition of the wider benefits farming brings. We examine how high street banks are offering special deals for farmers prepared ...
Sep 13, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 222
In this episode, we look at the future of the UK potato sector with a special visit to the Potato Days UK event at Dyson Farming. With the crop under pressure to reduce its carbon footprint, we find out how potato growers and processors are reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We discuss the role regenerative agriculture has when it comes to potato production – a crop which involves moving huge amounts of soil. And we look at the latest research on biostimulants and ask: do they really work and wh...
Sep 06, 2024•58 min•Season 1Ep. 221
Welcome to this special episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast – the Farmers Weekly Question Time event at Cookstown in Northern Ireland. Recorded in front of a live studio audience, farmers, students and other guests quiz industry leaders on topical agricultural issues. Our panel is: - John Gilliland , Professor of Practice in Agriculture & Sustainability, Queens University Belfast - John McLenaghan, deputy president, Ulster Farmers Union . - Bronagh O'Kane , livestock farmer - Jude McCann, ...
Aug 29, 2024•1 hr 20 min
In this episode, Queen guitarist and wildlife campaigner Brian May is under fire after calling for an end to badger culling in England. The complaints come head of a BBC TV documentary in which Sir Brian argues that badgers are wrongly blamed for spreading bovine tuberculosis. We look at why British holidaymakers have been banned from bringing back feta cheese from Greece this summer. The move is part of a wider ban on UK imports of sheep and goat products from Continental Europe, which is being...
Aug 23, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 220
In this episode, we pay a special visit to the UK's biggest farmer-owned grain storage facility at the height of harvest. Camgrain stores up to 500,000 tonnes of cereals, oilseed rape and pulse crops every year on behalf of its 500 farmer-members. Camgrain's four advanced processing centres work around the clock to take in hundreds of lorry loads of grain from the field every day. We follow the grain trail from the field into the store where grain is tested and blended to get the best value for ...
Aug 16, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 219
In this episode, we get to grips with the latest Sustainable Farming Incentive – and what it means for your farm business. Scottish growers face heavy losses after virus-hit potato crops are destroyed in an effort to protect high-health status seed production. Could more winter linseed be grown as an alternative break crop? We've a harvest update and all the latest market prices. And we review a sumptuous history book of Aberdeen Angus cattle – the world's most popular pedigree beef breed. This ...
Aug 09, 2024•43 min•Season 1Ep. 218
In this episode, the government pledges a new deal for farmers to boost confidence across the industry. We look at what the promise might mean – and what it might deliver. Lottery money for landscapes – farmers could be among the winners from a £150m heritage fund to revitalise wildlife habitats and the environment. Industry leaders highlight the importance of the sheep sector – and the contribution it makes to rural communities and the environment. We find out more during a visit to the Nationa...
Aug 02, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 217
In this episode, farm leader Tom Bradshaw says a bigger budget is needed for British farmers to deliver food security and reach Net Zero. The NFU president wants the government to set aside £5.6bn for agriculture – more than twice the current annual amount. We visit the Royal Welsh Show where the budget for agriculture in Wales is also a hot topic of debate and discussion. We’ve a harvest update – and all the latest commodity prices. And former farm minister Mark Spencer spills the beans on his ...
Jul 26, 2024•41 min•Season 1Ep. 216
In this episode, a young farmer tells how he is lucky to be alive after being trapped under a stack of falling bales. Christopher Rolfe was airlifted to hospital following the accident thanks to Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance . Chris told his story at the start of Farm Safety Week – the annual campaign by the Farm Safety Foundation and the Yellow Wellies charity . The busy harvest period often sees a spike in the number of farm accidents – including collisions on the road between tracto...
Jul 19, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 215
In this episode, in a special harvest preview, we look at the prospects for cereal crops as combines roll into oilseed rape. New Defra secretary Steve Reed makes his first speech to farmers at the Great Yorkshire Show. What can we expect from the new government when it comes to supply chain fairness – and will it put its money where its mouth is? More farmers are growing blended wheats to increase resilience to disease and more consistent performance. And we catch up with sheep shearer Rosie Haz...
Jul 12, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 214
In this episode, after being swept to power in a landslide general election, we examine what the UK's new Labour government means for farming. We get the low-down on the policies we can expect for agriculture – and the challenges likely to be faced when funding them. We discuss the implications, opportunities and the threats – with former Defra secretary George Eustice and former NFU president Minette Batters. We look at the impact of the election result on farming across the UK – including the ...
Jul 05, 2024•47 min•Season 1Ep. 213
In this episode, we join the crowds at the 2024 Groundswell event to find out how regenerative agriculture has fared in a challenging season. We ask: is regenerative agriculture really more resilient than conventional farming? We find out about the premiums available for farming regeneratively and ask whether farmers should abide by a set of standards? We speak to American regenerative farming expert John Kempf who suggests the UK could catch up with the USA when it comes to sustainable agricult...
Jun 28, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 212
In this episode, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tells Farmers Weekly he has a clear plan for UK agriculture – if the Tories win the General Election. With farm machinery becoming ever more expensive, we meet the farmer who decided to reduce costs by building his direct drill. We visit the Royal Highland Show and discuss the future for Scottish agriculture – with a key piece of new legislation. We've all the latest farm prices and get to grips with the mysteries of the commodity markets thanks to a n...
Jun 21, 2024•45 min•Season 1Ep. 211
In this episode, farm leader Tom Bradshaw calls for Covid-style business loans to help farmers ride out the impact of a challenging year. We join thousands of growers at the 2024 Cereals event in Hertfordshire – the UK's biggest two-day show for arable farmers. We get the low-down on the latest wheat and barley varieties – and ask: do they deliver what they promise when it comes to yield and resilience? We examine the importance of data analysis and using benchmarking methods to optimise arable ...
Jun 13, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 210
