Delayed political reshuffles stifle progress on farm policy
Farmers Weekly Delays to reshuffles at the top of the two main political parties are holding up progress on agricultural policy development ahead of the next election, farm leaders have warned. Conservative Defra secretary Therese Coffey and her Labour counterpart, Jim McMahon, have been tipped as two of the frontbenchers most likely to lose their […]
Cost of rural crime up £9m, as gangs target farms
Farmers Weekly The cost of rural crime in the UK shot up by 22% over the past year as highly organised crime gangs continue to steal livestock, high-value farm machinery and expensive GPS equipment. NFU Mutual’s latest Rural Crime Report (PDF) shows that rural crime cost the UK an estimated £49.5m in 2022, up from […]
Opinion: It’s time to tighten up on spending
Farmers Weekly Farmers and landowners who want to create new habitats for nature face being hit with an annual bill of around £120m unless inheritance tax (IHT) rules are changed, new analysis has found. Most farmland, including farm business tenancies, is eligible for 100% relief from IHT through agricultural property relief (APR), while 1986 Agricultural […]
Nature-friendly farmers face £120m yearly bill without IHT reform
Farmers Weekly Farmers and landowners who want to create new habitats for nature face being hit with an annual bill of around £120m unless inheritance tax (IHT) rules are changed, new analysis has found. Most farmland, including farm business tenancies, is eligible for 100% relief from IHT through agricultural property relief (APR), while 1986 Agricultural […]
Farmers criticise Coffey for India food ‘promotion’ video
Farmers Weekly Defra secretary Therese Coffey is under fire from farmers for promoting the sustainability of India’s fresh produce in a video filmed at one of its markets, as a new a report estimates that only 54% of food eaten in the UK is produced domestically. Ms Coffey, who was in Chennai for the G20 […]
Unannounced inspections to target vehicle deaths on NI farms
Farmers Weekly Health and safety officials are set to embark on an eight-month programme of farm inspections across Northern Ireland to reduce fatal accidents The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (Hseni) says workplace-based transport inspections will start from August and continue until March 2024. Incidents involving vehicles and equipment remain one the biggest […]
Farmers Weekly Podcast Ep 167: Welsh farm leaders boycott support scheme
Farmers Weekly In this episode, we ask what now for Welsh farm support as NFU leaders boycott the proposed scheme. Dumbing down net zero is popular with voters but what impact will it have on farm? EU lamb demand wins 3000-lamb-a -week contract for farmer-owned abattoir. Does strip tillage have a place on your farm […]
Opinion: Penwith SSSI designation raises many questions
Farmers Weekly Of the roughly 800ha that I farm, only two are designated as an area of special scientific interest (SSSI). So I can’t imagine how farmers on Penwith Moors in Cornwall felt on 28 June as they attended a meeting in St Ives to learn that their entire farms were suddenly part of a […]