51AVÊÓƵ

Industry chiefs have been left incensed at calls to increase wages and conditions to alleviate the crisis gripping all corners of the agricultural sector.

With a flurry of new grants coming on stream, Olivia Midgley draws on the expertise of a panel of industry insiders to find out how farm businesses can take advantage.

Defra’s Future 51AVÊÓƵResilience Fund (FFRF) has awarded 19 organisations a combined total of £10.7 million to support farmers and land managers with free business advice during the Agricultural Transition Period.

Key elements of Defra’s new environmental grant schemes are still not in place despite the initial rollout just months away and low uptake of farmers.

A single case of classical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) has been confirmed on a farm in Somerset farm but the public have been reassured there is no risk to food safety.

With farming’s role in caring for the countryside under the spotlight like never before, this month’s special feature looks at some examples of projects around Britain which have nature-friendly farming at their core.

Farmers will be watching plans for a reintroduction of beavers in England closely.

FARMERS could see increases to the costs of abstraction licences and charges for the volume of water taken as part of the Environment Agency’s (EA) first overhaul of the system in 10 years.

Farmers applying for gun licences will face social media checks as part of Home Office plans to toughen up firearms legislation following the Plymouth mass shooting.

A farmer has praised the ‘heroic’ actions of his neighbour who saved his cattle and machinery from a major fire.