Ahead of this year's Cultivate conference, Hillsgreen's Andy Venables speaks to the Farmers Guardian podcast about digital marketing, growing your business and diversification. Tom Warner, from Warner's Gin, talks about building their farm gin brand, top tips for farmers diversifying and growing new and exciting crops on farm to flavour their spirits.

For more information or to book tickets to Cultivate visit https://cultivateconference.co.uk/

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A farmer’s son from Yorkshire, Young farmers has been an integral part of John Houseman’s upbringing.

While sat in a tractor on his placement year with Harper Adams in 2019, he heard the news that the National Federation of Young Farmers Clubs (https://www.nfyfc.org.uk/) had decided to cancel their annual AGM. After setting up a Facebook event to create his own event, it snowballed and he became the founder of the Young Farmers Community DIY AGM. (https://youngfarmerscommunity.co.uk/ )

In this episode, John tells Ellie Layton, FG’s livestock reporter, all about what the event is, why it is held and the money they raise for charity.

Farmers Guardian Editor Olivia Midgley also joins the chat to discuss FG’s new presence at the event as we are set to hold the inaugural FG Live event, a conference which is putting the MEETING back in Annual General Meeting. The conference is designed to support the next generation of farmers navigate their way through key aspects of farming life such as grants, mental health, SFI and social media. 

Register for the event at: https://www.farmersguardian.com/fglive-agm24

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As an upland tenant farmer the NFU’s new vice-president Rachel Hallos will be a powerful voice as the union navigates unprecedented change.She may be new to the role, but NFU vice president Rachel Hallos was keen to let members know she was not afraid to ‘speak openly', promising to bring some 'straight-talking northern charm' to the leadership team. Ms Hallos runs an upland beef and sheep farm in Ripponden, West Yorkshire, working in partnership with her husband, Stephen, as well as her son, Sam, and daughter, Anna, on a Yorkshire Water tenanted farm.  Over the last 20 years the family farm has evolved from a dairy unit, to now a beef herd and hill flock with a focus on environmental outcomes. Ms Hallos said there had been many ‘tough times' along the way, but she was keen to draw upon the journey as part of her new role.

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Shadow Defra Secretary Steve Reed admits previously the Labour party had lost connection with the countryside and farming communities and said he hoped to turn it around in the next General Election later this year, adding he wanted to 'give farmers their future back', recognising that Labour was started to 'get a hearing' in rural seats, but acknowledging that the job 'was not done yet'. 

Mr Reed talks about his five point plans to get farming back on track including, EU veterinary agreements, public procurement, slashing planning times, a sustainable energy company GB energy and created a flood resilient taskforce. But what about budget? Mr Reed would not commit to increasing the farming budget but said the Labour party's so called 'new deal' was already fully funded and was putting 'billions of pounds' back into the bank accounts of farmers and producers.

He said a Labour Government would look to publish an impact assessment straight away to assess issues around food security and tenant farmers as a result of the new agri-schemes and believes establishing a landuse framework would be key. When it comes to bovine TB policy, Mr Reed said he would follow the Godfray review, adopting a multi-pronged approach. He committed to keeping existing badger cull licences, but said there was 'not scientific evidence' that the badger cull was effective, and a Labour Government would focus down on getting a vaccine over the line to tackle the disease.

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Newly elected council chair of National Federation for Young Farmers clubs (NFYFC), Drew Bailey is from a non-farming background and joined NFYFC when he was 15 years old. 
In his new role he is passionate about ensuring NFYFC is a place for everyone who wants to be involved regardless of their background, sexuality or ethnicity. The sense of belonging, the community, and the friendships he has gained from being part of NFYFC he wants others to experience too.

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Farmers Guardian editor Olivia Midgley speaks to Soil Association chief executive Helen Browning and Overbury Farms regenerative farming manager Jake Freestone who were speaking at the Low Carbon Agriculture show, organised by Farmers Guardian's parent company Agriconnect. 

The two-day conference and expo saw a range of high-profile speakers debate hot topics from the benefits of adding sheep into the arable rotation and selling carbon credits, to how reframing the conversation around climate friendly farming could help more farmers to engage in net zero. 

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Sophie Gregory is a dairy farmer in Dorset, and over the years her thousands of followers - all 12k of them - have followed her on her journey into agriculture. Not from farming, she called herself 'farmer in training' and has used her platform to talk about farming, milk and her life as an organic Arla dairy farmer.

This year she has become a Nuffield Scholar, opting to research the organic milk market. In this Farmers Guardian podcast episode, online editor Emily Ashworth talks to Sophie all about her upcoming travels, her passion for the dairy industry and how we can look forward to a sustainable farming future.

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In this week's episode of the Farmers Guardian podcast, online editor, Emily Ashworth, speaks to the first ever recipients of the Kaleb Cooper Bursary, which aims to support students from non-farming backgrounds in association with the Royal Agricultural University. Caitlyn Bartlett and Caitlin Oxton are both currently studying and are hoping to make the most of Kaleb's support, especially the on-farm placement with him. 

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Andrew Dakin is a local Derbyshire farmer whose entire livelihood is at risk. As a third generation farmer at Kidsley Park Farm, Andrew’s family have farmed in the village of Smalley near Heanor for 94 years. Unfortunately Andrew had to take up the reigns of running the farm business after his father suffered a stroke in the 1980s.

Farming has been his main passion and love ever since he was a child. It is all he has ever known. The Derbyshire farmer has supported local communities and businesses in the area and has been a huge advocate for numerous local schools and community projects. However, the future of Kidsley Park Farm is now under threat from a solar development. 

Andrew said he had received correspondence from his landlord in May 2023 of his intention to sell the farm to a solar development. Andrew has been left fearing for his livelihood and the occupation he has known all his life. Over 100 acres of his farm would be used for the project. He said it would ‘destroy’ the farm and ‘harm’ the surrounding countryside. Kidsley Park Farm is home to a huge variety of wildlife - some red and amber listed, all at risk. 

Five miles of public trails and footpaths run through the farm, connecting villages and communities together. Andrew has helped organised a campaign and petition which has rallied support to save the farm’s existence and to save his livelihood. He has received regional and national attention in the process. Andrew said Jeremy Clarkson and Kaleb Cooper have supported the campaign’s Facebook page. The situation has left him devastated. He has had many sleepless nights and continues to fear about the future of his farm. But the Derbyshire farm has said he remains upbeat and resilient about the future. He will never give up fighting to keep the farm in existence. He will fight until the very end. We hope you enjoy listening to Andrew Dakin’s story.

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What has it really been like to be the NFU's first female president? After six years at the top, Minette Batters reflects on the highs and lows of her time in the top job, what the future holds for the union and her biggest worry for the farming industry going forward, as well as her top tips for the next president and why they should keep their distance from social media.

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