The British Pig & Poultry Fair takes place on Wednesday 15th and Thursday 16th May at NEC in Birmingham.  The organisers said that, as ever, the fair will feature its bespoke Poultry and Pig Theatres, which bring together great speakers to explore the hot topics of the day.   The popular Pig, Egg, and Poultry Outlooks will help farmers find out what challenges and opportunities lie ahead. The participants are also encouraged to quiz the speakers for their top tips on how to manage these for optimum success.  This year’s event will see a new Innovation Theatre, which is set ..read more

‘It has been confirmed that the animals did not enter the human food chain.’ The restrictions introduced at the impacted premises cover animals that have been in contact with the case.   Further investigations to identify the origin of the disease are ongoing. This is standard procedure for a confirmed case of classical BSE.  The case was identified as a result of routine surveillance and stringent control measures. It has been confirmed that the animals did not enter the human food chain.   Mad cow disease  BSE, also called mad cow disease, is a neurological disease in cat ..read more

43,000 visas will be available to the horticulture sector in 2025, with another 2,000 visas for poultry.  Further details of the number of visas available for 2026 to 2029 will be set out later this year, Defra confirmed.  Alongside this news, the government also plans to allocate up to £50 million of new funding for technology to support fully automated packhouses and bring robotic crop pickers on a par with human pickers in the next three to five years.  The implementation of a series of new measures to support the food and drink industry comes in response to John Shropshire ..read more

The company has commenced work on a £70 million upgrade of its cheddar processing facility in Cookstown. This investment is expected to increase Dale Farm’s production capacity by 20,000 tonnes. The plans see the dairy co-op integrating state-of-the-art technologies and equipment at the site, boosting production and making significant sustainability gains. Strong customer growth Dale Farm spokespersons said that the investment comes on the back of successive years of impressive growth for the cooperative and in response to continued customer growth across the UK, Europe and beyond, with the s ..read more

At the heart of the Grain Sentry is a state-of-the-art self-teaching algorithm developed in-house at Perry’s utilising the team’s extensive knowledge of real-world drier operation. Alongside the algorithm is a moisture meter that only requires an annual calibration (that’s a game changer, says Perry). This technology is integrated with the grain drier using a suction system fitted to the incoming and outgoing conveyors or ducts resulting in a true average sample being taken. Drier grain samples are taken at a minimum of every two minutes. The moisture content is measured, and the results fed ..read more

Organised by NFU Cymru and NFU Mutual, the Wales Woman Farmer of the Year Award is again looking for female farming champions. The competition criteria includes:  The part played in making the farm enterprise successful,  Any contribution made to champion the industry and, in particular, the role of women in farming, Involvement in local community life and in other organisations.  The winner of the NFU Cymru/NFU Mutual Wales Woman Farmer of the Year 2024 award will receive £500 and a Welsh Royal Crystal bowl.  NFU Cymru deputy president Abi Reader. Championing wome ..read more

Mr Swinney was confirmed in the role during a ceremony at the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Wednesday 8th May. The members of NFU Scotland have congratulated him and said that they look forward to working with him and his new Cabinet.  The news comes just after Humza Yousaf announced his resignation at the end of April.  MSP Yousaf was appointed Scotland’s first minister in March 2023, becoming the first ethnic minority leader of a devolved government and the first Muslim to lead a major UK party.  It is the privilege of my life to serve as the First Minster of Scotland. I ..read more

The Farmer Confidence Survey has shown that farmers’ short and mid-term confidence is at its lowest since records began in 2010. As a result, production intentions have also plummeted, with all farming sectors expecting to decrease production over the next year. The relentless wet weather has played a big part, with 82% of respondents saying their farm businesses have suffered fairly negative (52%) or very negative impacts (30%). Mixed, arable and dairy farms have taken the biggest hits. General election manifesto   The survey was undertaken in November and December 2023. Since then ..read more

Over 500 CNH workers are striking on 14th, 15th, 16th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 28th, 29th and 30th May – and the UK union Unite is warning more strikes will be scheduled if the pay dispute is not resolved. According to Unite, the dispute relates to an agreement struck in 2022 that pay increases would be calculated by the average rate of inflation over the year. However, the union says this should equate to 7.4% for 2024 but CNH is offering 4%.  For 2025, the company is offering the rate of inflation as of December 2024. Unite said the strike action this month will “severely compromise” th ..read more

Such variability represents a stern test for any variety, but Mr Hughes claims that LG Skyscraper continues to be the “stand-out performer” in terms of its consistent yield and quality across multiple seasons and flexibility to go into a range of drilling situations. Having grown LG Skyscraper since its launch five years ago, the variety once again accounts for his entire winter wheat area, with around 130ha in the ground for harvest 2024, up from 81ha last season, due to rotational shifts and a slight reduction in spring barley area. Most is sown as the first wheat after potatoes, vegetables ..read more