“One of the easiest things you can do for a successful oilseed rape crop is make sure your soil pH is at or above neutral,” Mr McLellan says. “Early crop establishment depends on roots being able to penetrate the soil and find nutrients easily. Soil pH has a significant impact on both soil structure and nutrient availability, so it’s worth getting it tested and correcting it if it’s too low. Acidic soil is caused by excess hydrogen ions, which can be removed by applying calcium carbonate (lime) to the soil. The hydrogen ions are replaced by calcium ions on the soil colloid, and then react wit ..read more

A multi-state outbreak of H5N1 was recently reported in US dairy cattle – the first time avian flu was reported in cattle. The Centres for Disease Control has confirmed infection in one human who had been exposed to dairy cattle in Texas that are presumed to be infected. This exposure to H5N1 avian flu is thought to be the first instance of likely mammal to human transmission, according to CDC. US agriculture officials have said dairy cattle moving between states must be tested for avian flu, after inactive remnants of the virus were detected in samples of milk. Such remnants pose no known th ..read more

Photo by Nick Bragg. The challenge involves a 1,000-mile route starting at the Northumberland County Show on 26th May.  Mr Bragg will be travelling south, visiting the Suffolk Show on 30th and 31st May, before finishing his journey at the Royal Cornwall Show on 5th June.  Not the first challenge  The South Petherton farmer explained that the ambitious journey will span multiple counties and stop at several farm shops and Krone dealerships to gather local community support and raise nationwide awareness of RABI’s vital work.  “In 2019 I cycled 3,000 miles across Canada for t ..read more

Stock photo. Fire crews from Taunton, Bridgwater, Welington and Yeovil were called at around 3pm on Saturday, 20th April, to tackle the fire. Three fire engines, two off-road vehicles and a water bowser appeared on the scene. Damaged by fire A Devon and Somerset Fire and rescue spokesperson said: “Fire control have taken several calls reporting a large fire in the Nailsbourne area, near Taunton. “On arrival crews confirmed this was a field measuring nine acres of standing crop well alight. Crew are using main jets, beaters and creating a fire break with the assistance of farm machinery.” The o ..read more

The introduction of the Fair Dealing Obligations Regulations, first announced in June 2023, has just been announced. The commencement of the regulations is due on 9th July for any new milk purchasing contract.   Meanwhile, a period of transition to compliance for existing contracts is to be completed by 9th July 2025.  Defra said that the regulations are a “product of evolution” from the voluntary dairy code of best practice on contractual relationships in the dairy sector that was introduced in 2012.  Lack of legislation FUW milk and dairy produce committee acting chair Brian ..read more

Prime Video Season two of Clarkson’s Farm was the most watched TV show exclusively from a steaming service – and it’s easy to see why. Jeremy Clarkson has transitioned from opinionated and outlandish motoring journalist to humble farmer trying to make a profit from his 1000-acre arable farm in Oxfordshire. The first season was very much light-hearted with typical ‘Jeremy’ moments such as importing a huge Lamborghini tractor with the wrong hitch. But the first few episodes immediately brought attention to the life of a farmer, highlighting the dangers and costs involved everyday. To counterbala ..read more

The event, on a Saturday morning at Burscough, near Ormskirk, was organised by the dealer’s Lathom branch and featured models from across the Kuhn agricultural sprayer line-up, from the 1,000-litre, 12m Optis to the Metris 4,200-litre trailed sprayer. The latest mounted Aero 32.1 pneumatic boom fertiliser applicator was also on show. The demonstration day weather was dry enough for machines to travel on the field, but extremely strong winds meant that some sprayer features couldn’t be demonstrated as effectively as the dealer and manufacturer teams would have liked. Dealer attracts a good cro ..read more

Duncan and Claire Morrison farm at Meikle Maldron in Deeside. “Many farmers have taken advantage of the attractive cull cow price over the past 18 months, opting to cull poor and underperforming animals to improve efficiency, but how many farmers have semen tested stock bulls to identify underperforming and sub fertile bulls?” asks Sarah. “Often semen testing is reactive, when a problem is suspected with a bull, but there is significant advantage to testing bulls at the start of the breeding season so you can make management decisions and get the maximum returns from that bull.” Productive her ..read more

Nestled in central Suffolk, Red House Farm at Bacton hasn’t long finished harvesting last season’s sugar beet. Lifting of the 250ha crop began in October, and the last beet came out of the ground in February. Although late lifting isn’t unusual for the farm, some has been much later than intended due to the extremely wet winter conditions, says Roger Steed, farm manager for David Black & Son Ltd. The farm business has 1,300ha in hand, of which 900ha is owned and the remaining 400ha is contract farmed. For the past few years, BTS 1915 has taken up around a third of the sugar beet acreage ..read more

We arrived promptly at Diddly Squat Farm Shop ready for the launch of Clarkson’s Farm Season 3, and were met with the infamous silver Lamborghini R8 tractor. Behind this was a fleet of new Land Rover Defenders as well as Jeremy Clarkson’s old Range Rover and Kaleb Cooper’s farm truck. On the other side of the shop is the old lambing barn, which has since been turned into an open area with a food trailer and bar selling Hawkstone lager and Kaleb’s cider. Inside the barn were hay bales set out with Amazon branded blankets, facing a rustic but neat wooden wall with Clarkson’s Farm Series 3 in l ..read more