AD plants could help ensure energy security
News 01/05/2025
Support for anaerobic digestion could help ensure energy security – and meet the UK’s net zero ambitions, says an industry body. The Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association (ADBA) says it has written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves – urging her to support the sector and its potential to produce clean,... Read more
Scientists have developed an accurate method for using satellite imagery to test nitrogen concentrations in wheat. Hyperspectral satellite crop analysis has successfully used to test nitrogen concentrations in thousands of wheat samples in the field. The samples were measured by agri-tech start-up Messium and verified by Eurofins Agro Testing.... Read more
Campaigning farmer returns to Arable Event
News 01/05/2025
Farmer and anti-inheritance tax campaigner Olly Harrison will headline the speaker list at next month’s Arable Event on the Shropshire-Staffordshire border. Mr Harrison will join a panel of expert speakers during the day – including Roy Jackson and Claire Smith, both partners at business advisors WR Partners; Joe Lloyd... Read more
• Fair funding needed for farming • Details on revised SFI awaited • Farm investment and certainty Industry leaders are ramping up efforts to secure a fair deal for farming ahead of next month’s government spending review. Funding for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), Environmental Land Management (ELMs) and... Read more
Former science minister George Freeman MP has accused the government of putting food security at risk by prioritising Net Zero over farming. Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Freeman (pictured right) said swathes of farmland risked being lost under subsidised solar panels generating expensive electricity as the government... Read more
Anger at closure of green scheme Farm leaders have urged the government to renew its commitment to food production and the environment following a series of cuts and tax rises. The warning follows last month’s closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive to new applications with immediate effect – and... Read more
A farming family whose roots stretch from India to Worcestershire starred on the big screen after creating a documentary mini-series. ‘It’s a Punjabi Farm Innit’ follows the journey of the Makhan Singh Padda family from the Punjab to Vicarage Nurseries, in Bretforton, in the Vale... Read more
• Treasury refuses to listen to farmers • Government ‘no interest’ in moving • Leaders propose compromise tax Industry leaders have pledged to fight on after the Treasury again refused to back down on plans to impose inheritance tax in farmers. It came after Treasury minister James Murray summoned... Read more
Mass rally celebrates 60 years of MF137
News 20/02/2025
More than 200 historic tractors came together for a mass rally at last month’s Newark Vintage Tractor and Heritage Show. Some 203 Massey Ferguson 135s – a model which sold more than any others in the series and remains in use across the world today – were showcased at... Read more
• Single farm owners at most risk • Retailers in government warning • Plan now for secure farm future More than 42,000 farms larger than 50ha (125 acres) will be affected by changes to inheritance tax rules, suggest the latest estimates. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board has calculated... Read more