Rachel Martin

Rachel Martin Profile Picture

Rachel Martin specialises in writing about agri-business, food production and dairying. Previously she worked as a business reporter at one of Northern Ireland’s biggest daily newspapers. In 2017, she was named one of IFAJ's 10 Young Leaders in Agricultural Journalism. She is currently secretary of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists in Northern Ireland. When she’s not writing, Rachel can usually be found in the milking parlour at home in Co. Down with her family's 130 cows.

New ventilation system to help poultry welfare in hot weather
New ventilation system to help poultry welfare in hot weather

A prototype for a new poultry ventilation system created at Harper Adams University as part of a PhD project aims...

Top honours in farm poster competition head to Dumfriesshire and Lanarkshire
Top honours in farm poster competition head to Dumfriesshire and Lanarkshire

Hundreds of children from up and down Scotland have entered this year’s NFU Scotland’s farm poster competition. Entrants were challenged...

Union urges Welsh Government to act on English bovine TB evidence
Union urges Welsh Government to act on English bovine TB evidence

Following the publication of a bovine TB eradication strategy update from Defra on Tuesday (December 18), NFU Cymru is urging the Welsh...

At least 500 new phone masts planned for rural UK
At least 500 new phone masts planned for rural UK

The CLA has welcomed the announcement by Ofcom today of a series of new measures designed to compel mobile network...

Arla Foods confirms New Year milk price
Arla Foods confirms New Year milk price

Arla Foods has announced it will cut its conventional milk price for January 2019 by 1.5c/L. When applied to the...

Dairy UK says ‘cheers’ to Christmas with cheese and whiskey pairing app
Dairy UK says ‘cheers’ to Christmas with cheese and whiskey pairing app

Dairy UK has today announced the launch of a new cheese pairing app aimed at consumers, which it claims is...

West provides research focus for UK’s number one wheat disease
West provides research focus for UK’s number one wheat disease

Increased difficulty controlling the UK’s number one wheat disease is prompting crop protection experts, Syngenta, to focus extra research effort...

NFUS shows £190,000 spending increase in 2018
NFUS shows £190,000 spending increase in 2018

Latest accounts have shown NFU Scotland’s coffers increased despite spending increasing by more than £190,000 over the last year. Publication...

New immigration rules risk no vets in abattoirs, warns BVA
New immigration rules risk no vets in abattoirs, warns BVA

It is essential that vets are included in Government plans to scrap the cap on skilled workers from the EU...

SNP budget is a ‘kick in the teeth’ for rural communities
SNP budget is a ‘kick in the teeth’ for rural communities

The Scottish National Party has been accused of failing to support the rural economy with its swingeing cuts to the...

How much could being a bad boss be costing you?
How much could being a bad boss be costing you?

Farmers at a recent AHDB Hereford Monitor Farm meeting were warned that the costs of replacing a staff member could...

Structural changes at the NSA as association prepares for Brexit
Structural changes at the NSA as association prepares for Brexit

The National Sheep Association (NSA) has made changes to the staffing structure at head office in Malvern, Worcestershire – and...

NFU magazine goes potty for peels in a bid to go green
NFU magazine goes potty for peels in a bid to go green

Boiled, mashed, baked or fried…it’s well known that the versatile spud has a wide range of uses. But now one more...

‘Responsible innovation’ key to smart farming
‘Responsible innovation’ key to smart farming

Responsible innovation that considers the wider impacts on society is key to smart farming, according to academics at the University...

Owner of TB affected herd ordered to pay over £34,000 for illegal movements
Owner of TB affected herd ordered to pay over £34,000 for illegal movements

A Staffordshire livestock owner who illegally moved cattle while his holding was under bovine TB restrictions has been ordered to...

Welsh red meat producers take on capital markets
Welsh red meat producers take on capital markets

A group of Welsh red meat suppliers have taken part in a London retail ‘bootcamp’ to understand how to take...

600 schools enter NFU’s first national education competition
600 schools enter NFU’s first national education competition

Nearly 600 primary schools, all vying for the prize of having their school turned into a farm for the day,...

Potato sales rise to 2.2m tonnes amid AHDB campaign success
Potato sales rise to 2.2m tonnes amid AHDB campaign success

UK shoppers bought 3% more fresh potatoes this year compared to 2015, according to the latest data analysis. The figures...