Business News

Building on last year’s success, AHDB and UK exporters travelled to the Philippines to showcase the qualities of British pork and beef at the World Food Expo (WOFEX), meet key stakeholders and cultivate new business opportunities in the Asian market.

The National Sheep Association (NSA) has praised AHDB’s commitment to expanding trade opportunities for UK lamb across the globe and has welcomed plans to launch a trade mission to Kuwait next month with the aim of unlocking further markets for British exporters.

The government has been accused of sabotaging UK food producers by imposing further delays to import checks on fresh farm produce arriving from the EU, maintaining an uneven playing field for British farmers.

A man driving a tractor was airlifted to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge having sustained serious injuries following a collision with a lorry on the A140 near Little Stonham this Wednesday (2nd August).

The latest NFU Mutual Rural Crime Report reveals an alarming increase in criminal activity across the British countryside, with the total cost of rural crime adding up to an estimated £49.5m, a steep rise of 22% from the previous year.

A stasis in the let sector is revealed in the latest annual CAAV Agricultural Land Occupation Survey 2022, which covers decisions made where tenancies were granted or ended and other occupations changed in that year.

The Rural Payments Agency (RPA) has confirmed farmers will be issued the first instalment of BPS advance payments tomorrow (1st August), representing up to 50% of annual direct payments.

A new report by the Efra Select Committee has accused the government of failing to take food security seriously enough, and urged it to change its definition to include affordability and access to food.

At a seminar on the Welsh government’s proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) hosted by NFU Cymru, farmers have raised concerns over the 10% tree cover and habitat targets with rural affairs minister Lesley Griffiths and called for greater flexibility to make the scheme viable for producers.

Responding to financial pressures facing the sector, Yorkshire pig producers Vicky, Rachel and Kate Morgan, diversified into holiday lets. Since their March launch they’ve received outstanding customer reviews and their new enterprise is fully booked until August. This is how they did it… 

With subsidy payments for farmers set to end this year, the Welsh government has announced the launch of an interim agri-environment scheme from 1st January 2024 to provide alternative support until the start of the proposed Sustainable Farming Scheme in 2025.

A two-year feasibility study led by crop research organisation NIAB is set to explore the potential for domestic chickpea production, which could further reduce fertiliser reliance in the UK arable sector.