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.

Top NI businessman and agri-food expert honoured by Queen’s University
Top NI businessman and agri-food expert honoured by Queen’s University

A leading Northern Ireland agri-businessman has received an honorary professorship from Queen’s University Belfast. Declan Billington, chief executive of John...

Coronavirus: UK announces new measures to help supermarkets maintain supplies
Coronavirus: UK announces new measures to help supermarkets maintain supplies

The UK Government has announced a spate of new measures to maintain supply chains as coronavirus-driven panic-buying puts retailers under...

Coronavirus: UK announces new measures to help supermarkets maintain supplies
Coronavirus: UK announces new measures to help supermarkets maintain supplies

The UK government has announced a spate of new measures to maintain supply chains as coronavirus-driven panic-buying puts retailers under...

Construction phase completed on £2 million Hartpury agri-tech hub
Construction phase completed on £2 million Hartpury agri-tech hub

The build phase has been completed on a new £2 million agri-tech hub in Hartpury, England designed to respond to global...

Vets welcome ‘significant step’ in the fight against bovine TB in England
Vets welcome ‘significant step’ in the fight against bovine TB in England

A body representing 12,000 UK vets has welcomed plans by Defra to fight bovine TB in England. The British Veterinary...

Government to trial bovine TB vaccinations on UK farms and ‘phase out’ badger culls
Government to trial bovine TB vaccinations on UK farms and ‘phase out’ badger culls

The UK Government has announced plans to vaccinate cows for bovine TB, improve testing, and phase out badger culling, as...

FSA to tighten controls on ‘raw milk’ production and sales
FSA to tighten controls on ‘raw milk’ production and sales

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has announced plans to tighten controls on the production of ‘raw milk’ in England and...

Germany and Middle East lead the way as lamb exports surge
Germany and Middle East lead the way as lamb exports surge

UK sheepmeat exports jumped 7.1% by value and 12.6% by volume compared to the previous year despite a lower than...

Proposed red diesel changes could cost farmers 50p/L
Proposed red diesel changes could cost farmers 50p/L

Plans to ditch the red diesel rebate expected to appear in the Chancellor’s next Budget could cost working farmers as much...

Torque of the farm: Scottish strongwoman pits herself against a 6t tractor
Torque of the farm: Scottish strongwoman pits herself against a 6t tractor

Record-breaking Scottish strongwoman Kim Best has borrowed one of her employer’s 6t tractors while training for her next event. The...

Scottish dairy farmers needed for Mycoplasma bovis study
Scottish dairy farmers needed for Mycoplasma bovis study

Dairy farmers across Scotland are being urged to take part in a new study to help scientists better understand the...

Union outlines policy vision for Scotland for 2021 to 2024
Union outlines policy vision for Scotland for 2021 to 2024

NFU Scotland has warned change to the current system is a “necessity” for the industry to adapt to the many...

NI Agriculture Minister pledges to plant 18 million trees
NI Agriculture Minister pledges to plant 18 million trees

Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots MLA has pledged to help tackle climate change by planting 18 million trees over...

Eustice denies 3-crop derogation but pledges ‘bonkers’ rule won’t stay for long
Eustice denies 3-crop derogation but pledges ‘bonkers’ rule won’t stay for long

Defra Secretary George Eustice has denied growers an exemption to the three-crop rule despite news England received over 200% of...

UCD smashes subsidy debate to come out tops at the Great Agri-food Debate
UCD smashes subsidy debate to come out tops at the Great Agri-food Debate

Two days of vigorous and lively debate over some of agriculture’s most controversial topics saw University College Dublin (UCD) come out...

UCD smashes subsidy debate to come out tops at the Great Agri-Food Debate
UCD smashes subsidy debate to come out tops at the Great Agri-Food Debate

Two days of vigorous and lively debate over some of agriculture’s most controversial topics saw University College Dublin (UCD) come out...

Bright young things of ag science battle it out at the 2020 Big Agri-Food Debate
Bright young things of ag science battle it out at the 2020 Big Agri-Food Debate

Some of the brightest young brains in Irish agricultural colleges are battling it out to debate some of the industry’s...

Second Reading: Eustice dubs Environment Bill ‘most ambitious of any country on earth’
Second Reading: Eustice dubs Environment Bill ‘most ambitious of any country on earth’

The UK’s green future outside the European Union will move a step closer today (Wednesday, February 26) with the Second...