Opinion

UK beef prices could well take off over the next few years

UK beef prices could well take off over the next few years

If I was a betting man, which I am not, I would take a serious punt on UK beef prices...

March 26, 2021
Letter to the editor: TAC report ‘is a fig leaf for government to hide behind’

Letter to the editor: TAC report ‘is a fig leaf for government to hide behind’

I’m concerned that the Trade and Agriculture Commission (TAC) report, launched March 2, 2021, is merely a fig leaf for...

March 8, 2021
Letter to the editor: It’s now time to ‘dissolve AHDB horticulture and punitive levy’

Letter to the editor: It’s now time to ‘dissolve AHDB horticulture and punitive levy’

I’m writing to you as a carrot grower, an Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) levy payer and chair of...

February 18, 2021
China will control the tenor of the UK and global food markets

China will control the tenor of the UK and global food markets

It can be taken for granted that the UK government intends securing free trade arrangements with countries around the world,...

February 10, 2021
Letter to the editor: ‘Let’s embrace the fact that we’re looking to utilise technology’ in UK farming

Letter to the editor: ‘Let’s embrace the fact that we’re looking to utilise technology’ in UK farming

It was great to hear the Environment Secretary George Eustice, position UK agriculture at the forefront of innovation at the...

January 20, 2021
Chestnutt: Let’s use 2021 to show what the public can gain from backing NI farming

Chestnutt: Let’s use 2021 to show what the public can gain from backing NI farming

2020 has certainly been challenging for everyone and as we enter a new year, however, it’s important that as a...

January 2, 2021
The work to secure PGI status for beef from Northern Ireland must start now

The work to secure PGI status for beef from Northern Ireland must start now

Irish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue has confirmed that the application to secure Protected Geographical Indication...

December 31, 2020
Letter to the editor: Rejection of Agriculture Bill feels ‘out of step with both industry and public sentiment’

Letter to the editor: Rejection of Agriculture Bill feels ‘out of step with both industry and public sentiment’

While it is understandable that the government would not want to jeopardise future trade deals at this critical juncture, the...

October 22, 2020
Farm Safety Week: ‘It’s hard to deny farming is the only UK industry which kills children in the workplace’

Farm Safety Week: ‘It’s hard to deny farming is the only UK industry which kills children in the workplace’

Farm Safety Week for 2020 may be nearly over, but vigilance must continue throughout the whole year writes NFU Scotland...

July 24, 2020
Letter to the editor: ‘New Deal’ – from the Great Depression – needed for NI farming

Letter to the editor: ‘New Deal’ – from the Great Depression – needed for NI farming

We – in the Farmers For Action group – believe that no one can deny that the UK Chancellor of...

July 17, 2020
Letter to the editor: ‘Our over-55 farmers would have never retired in the first place’

Letter to the editor: ‘Our over-55 farmers would have never retired in the first place’

Farmers supply what fills the supermarkets’ shelves. Life on Northern Ireland’s farms is not getting any easier, as Covid-19 tightens...

April 5, 2020
Opinion: ‘We face a fast-paced, unfamiliar and invisible enemy – but we face it together’

Opinion: ‘We face a fast-paced, unfamiliar and invisible enemy – but we face it together’

By Edwin Poots – Minister for Agriculture for Northern Ireland As a nation, we are facing the biggest health crisis...

April 1, 2020
Top NI dairy advisor calls for move to milk solids based pricing

Top NI dairy advisor calls for move to milk solids based pricing

One of Northern Ireland’s most respected agricultural advisors has called for the region’s dairy industry to make the move to...

December 21, 2019
Is the climate change debate heading in the wrong direction for UK agriculture?

Is the climate change debate heading in the wrong direction for UK agriculture?

Brexit may well prove to be a minor hurdle relative to the challenge of climate change for UK agriculture over...

January 2, 2019
Paying for cattle on the basis of meat yield just doesn’t stack up

Paying for cattle on the basis of meat yield just doesn’t stack up

At least one farm stakeholder group in the Republic of Ireland is now calling for cattle to be paid for...

January 1, 2019
Bluetongue is the last problem we need

Bluetongue is the last problem we need

Recently saw the alarm bells ringing in Northern Ireland in the wake of a heifer imported from France testing positive...

December 31, 2018
Farmers are the true custodians of the soil

Farmers are the true custodians of the soil

December 5 this year was World Soil Day. I hope it provided members of the general public everywhere with the...

December 30, 2018
Farmers are the true custodians of the soil

Farmers are the true custodians of the soil

December 5 this year was World Soil Day. I hope it provided members of the general public everywhere with the opportunity...

December 30, 2018