Author Posts: Sarah Kidby

Sterling Suffolk, the county’s largest tomato producer, was forced to cease production last month, just three years after selling its first fruit, due to soaring gas prices.

British single pass drill manufacturer Mzuri advocates leaving all previous crop residue on the surface prior to drilling as a means of improving soil health and fertility.

The topic of this month’s Power on the Land is balers and bale handling, brought to you as always by Mike Williams.

Although barley varietal resilience has improved over recent seasons, there’s still no Extase-equivalent in recommended winter and spring barley lists, so the frontline for defence remains with disease control and an effective fungicide armoury – which has been strengthened by the launch of Ascra (prothioconazole + bixafen + fluopyram).

The staycation boom is here to stay – in fact, it’s stronger than ever, says outdoor accommodation expert Pitchup.com – providing a tempting diversification opportunity for farmers.

Flies can cause substantial production losses and welfare issues on livestock farms. Max Hardy, of Rutland Vets, provides guidance on prevention and management, and explores the option of biological control coupled with traditional pour ons.

Net zero has never been a primary goal for Richard and Lynn Anthony and their team at Tythegston Farm, near Bridgend, on the South Wales coast. But the latest Farm Carbon Toolkit calculations show the 1,200ha they own and manage are annually sequestering over 21,000t CO2eq.

This month, livestock editor Sarah Kidby spoke to Hannah Fitzsimmonds at LLM Farm Vets, part of the VetPartners group, about reducing the risk of digital dermatitis (DD) in dairy herds.

As farmers are hit by huge cost increases from all sides, the UK’s major retailers are being urged to immediately increase prices by 40p per dozen to save the sector from catastrophe.

The third case of H5N1 has been confirmed in the east of the county this month.

Farming leaders have broadly welcomed a series of Defra announcements today (30th March) on key issues affecting British farmers and growers, particularly the rising cost and tightening availability of fertiliser for the coming growing season.

Auctioneer estimates the sale of over 40 classic and vintage Massey Ferguson tractors and implements could achieve over £500,000.