In defence of farmers

Some of you might have read the ‘Dairy is Scary’ piece published in the Guardian’s opinion section last week. It was incredibly polarising and quite understandably angered many, including myself. There are always two sides to every coin and good journalism should I feel take both into account. I understand that this was an opinionContinueContinue reading “In defence of farmers”

Is countryside stewardship bad for wildlife?

Anybody who has had to trawl through the new countryside stewardship package, as I have this last fortnight, will know quite how much of a task it is. Hundreds of pages of options are available, which has good and bad sides to it. Fundamentally I think it is an effective package, enabling most possibilities inContinueContinue reading “Is countryside stewardship bad for wildlife?”

Universal Basic Income a Farm Subsidy Solution?

N.b This post was originally published in Countrysquire Magazine. With the signing of Article 50 imminent, land management subsidies will surely form at least part of the pre-Brexit debates. I have seen several articles published in the past few weeks in various papers, magazine and blogs discussing the concepts of both automation and universal basicContinueContinue reading “Universal Basic Income a Farm Subsidy Solution?”

Who will win the Hedge Cutting debate? Birds v Contractors

In this week’s Farmers Weekly it is difficult to ignore their campaign to repeal the August hedge cutting ban. It seems that the furrows in the brows of contractors are getting deeper and two years after the ban was put in place they continue to call for its reversal. It is an issue that seems toContinueContinue reading “Who will win the Hedge Cutting debate? Birds v Contractors”

Good to see #FarmerMentalHealth in the farming news again

Those of you who are regular readers of the blog will know that a few months ago I profiled rural mental health, as part of a wider campaign to get people talking about the subject (#FarmerMentalHealth on twitter). I did this mainly to get the subject in the spotlight again after the conversation had dissipatedContinueContinue reading “Good to see #FarmerMentalHealth in the farming news again”