FARM ZONE
An advice, comment and opinion resource for the agricultural community
AGRICULTURE: THE NET ZERO CHALLENGE – PART 2
Following on from our last blog, we look at the specific challenges of achieving net zero in agriculture by 2050... The impact of agriculture on the environment is both significant - in the UK it accounts for about 10% of total greenhouse gas emissions - and...
NET ZERO BY 2050: THE UK’S CHALLENGE – PART 1
2021 is the year of the UK’s presidency of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. It’s in Glasgow in November, therefore, that, for the twenty-sixth such meeting of its kind, the world’s governments will assemble to review progress against global warming, and...
ALFRED MOND, FIRST BARON MELCHETT
As part of our pioneer series, we cast the spotlight on an industrialist and politician whose influence on farming was later challenged by one of his distinguished descendants. It was a much-noticed irony of the career of the late Peter Mond, 4th Baron Melchett...
AUSTRALIA TRADE DEAL: FARMERS WAIT FOR REASSURANCE
With the Australian trade deal and the new agricultural act heralding a new post-Brexit world, we take a look at what UK farmers can expect in the coming years. Compared with the down-to-the-wire drama of last year’s negotiations with the EU, the UK’s talks with...
BE READY FOR FARMING’S SHIFTING AGENDA SAYS SHAFTSBURY CONTRACTING BUSINESS
It wasn’t that long ago that the plough was the most important implement on the arable farm, or the livestock farm come to that. Things have changed a bit since then; not to the extent that the plough is no longer significant - it is; but in the machinery pecking...
JETHERO TULL AND THE INVENTION OF THE SEED DRILL
Today’s seed drills are a feat of sophisticated engineering and a vital tool of modern farming; but who was the man behind the first seed drill and how did his invention change farming forever? Today, the idea of agriculture without mechanisation is unthinkable. And...
THE SCIENCE BEHIND SILAGE INOCULATION AND ANAEROBIC DIGESTION: AN INTERVIEW WITH DR JOHN LEAR
Working with our partners to deliver products that lead the field is a fundamental principle of Bright Maize; here we look at the science behind the Biogas Max inoculant range for anaerobic digestion, and talk to the lead researcher. Growing crops specifically for...
JOSEPH ARCH AND THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS’ UNION
Next in our pioneer series we look at the colourful character of Joseph Arch, the trade unionist from Warwickshire who championed the rights of agricultural workers Today, the collective interests of British agricultural workers are represented by Unite’s Food, Drink...
BOOK REVIEW: R G STAPLEDON, THE LAND: NOW AND TOMORROW (Faber & Faber, 1935)
Having featured George Stapleton as one of our farming pioneers in July 2020, here we review his highly acclaimed book which resonates still today, nearly 90 years after its publication. Rural Britain is a neglected asset. Historic underinvestment has left it...
A DIVERSIFICATION SUCCESSS FORGED BY UNDERSTANDING AND WORKING TOGETHER
A cautionary note sometimes given to farmers thinking of diversifying is to make sure they don’t take their eye off the core business and spread themselves too thinly. Such an error was never going to be the case for one Buckinghamshire farm business, who have not...