HS2 will undo progress of stewardship schemes, say charities
Farmers Weekly A coalition of wildlife charities has accused the company which is building high-speed rail line HS2 of underestimating its impact on habitats and wildlife. The Wildlife Trusts says HS2 Ltd’s nature assessment has not been carried out properly, and the methodology it has used to calculate the impact of the project on biodiversity […]
Defra offer on educational farm access ‘not credible’
Farmers Weekly Defra has been urged to extend its offer to farmers for educational access visits, with the present deal branded “not credible”. Payments for farmers in Mid or Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship (CS) have been increased over the past two years to £318 a visit, but the number of visits allowed has been capped […]
Scottish government publishes peatland restoration advice
Farmers Weekly Farmers and landowners in Scotland have been offered new advice to help them access funding for peatland protection and restoration projects. Healthy peatlands play a vital role in tackling climate change by locking in massive amounts of carbon, according to the online advice [PDF] launched by the Scottish government-funded Farm Advisory Service (FAS). […]
Editor’s view: Farming success linked to output diversity
Farmers Weekly How much freedom should landowners have to decide what happens on their land? Or, to put it another way, how much land should be ringfenced for farming? This is the question at the epicentre of several different arguments happening in agriculture, whose proponents make for some interesting bedfellows. Those in favour of tight […]
Food “bottom of the pile” in Scottish government priorities
Farmers Weekly Scottish ministers’ obsession with climate change and biodiversity has left food production “noticeably bottom of the pile” on the government’s priority list, according to NFU Scotland president Martin Kennedy. In a punchy opening address to the union’s annual conference in Glasgow today, Mr Kennedy said it was right to reduce emissions from farming […]
Welsh agriculture bill to be revamped to support farm viability
Farmers Weekly A number of amendments to ensure Welsh farms remain viable look set to be made to Wales’ Agriculture Bill, though farm unions say they don’t go far enough. The Welsh government is proposing to amend its bill, which is structured around the principles of sustainable land management, to reflect a need for farming […]
Plan to ditch all EU law poses risk to food standards – NFU
Farmers Weekly The first Farmers Weekly Question Time, a series of live regional debates on key agricultural topics, kicked off at Harper Adams University on 2 February 2023. Farmers shaped the discussion by putting their searching questions to a panel of policymakers and influential figures, including farming minister, Mark Spencer. Questions covered a range of […]
Farmers shape the debate at Farmers Weekly Question Time
Farmers Weekly The first Farmers Weekly Question Time, a series of live regional debates on key agricultural topics, kicked off at Harper Adams University on 2 February 2023. Farmers shaped the discussion by putting their searching questions to a panel of policymakers and influential figures, including farming minister, Mark Spencer. Questions covered a range of […]