Jan 2026 The start of a new year, full of hope and expectation! I always try to stay upbeat and hopeful as that is far better than just moping around the yard, moaning! Yes, we have a lot against us at present but looking at the black side does not do our mental health any […]
Farmer Focus: Tim Parton Read More »
Jan 2025 Holding the line in a year that kept moving the goalposts There’s a moment every autumn, somewhere between the last grain lorry rumbling out of the yard on its way to central storage and the first drill making its opening pass, when I catch myself believing the new season might just play ball.
Farmer Focus: Heather Oldfield Read More »
Written by Mark Hatton For the last 19 years, I’ve been very fortunate to have been able to call Yorkshire home. Across the broad sweep of the Yorkshire Wolds, the upland fringes of the Pennines and the deep, fertile soils of the Vale of York, farming has always been shaped by both landscape and necessity.
Yorkshire – The quiet farming revolution. Read More »
Phil Rowbottom, Woolley, West Yorkshire A Five-Year Journey into Direct Drilling It’s been five years now. Five years since we parked up the plough and put our faith in direct drilling. It’s a big leap of faith, I can tell you. You go from a nice, clean, ploughed field to drilling into what looks like
Farmer Focus: Phil Rowbottom Read More »
A Farmer’s Reflections: Resilience in the Field and Pride in the Herd Angus Gowthorpe, Approach Farm, Riccall, York As we settle into 2026, it’s a natural time to reflect on the year that has just passed here at Approach Farm. 2025 tested our resilience, particularly on the arable side, but it also brought immense pride
Farmer Focus: Angus Gowthorpe Read More »
Farmer Focus: Resilience, Roots and Regeneration in North Yorkshire By James Pick, H. Sutton and Son Standing on the clifftops a few miles south of Filey, looking out over the North Sea, you quickly realise that farming here is as much about managing the elements as it is about managing the soil. I’m James Pick
Farmer Focus: James Pick Read More »
Introduction: Three generations, thinking together The Gent family has been farming in South Lincolnshire for four generations, but while the mission of growing food remains the same, the world around has changed beyond recognition. The Gents have been practicing no-till farming on their 800-hectare family farm since 2008. Today they operate under the Gentle
Farmer Focus – The Gent Family Read More »
Jan 2026 As I listen to Frank Sinatra whilst typing this, I’m reminded of the simpler days when farming was just farming: no phones, no computers and certainly no .gov website that does my absolute head in. I grew up on a farm that was run by my grandad and dad, a relationship that was
Farmer Focus: Anna Jackson Read More »
Jan 2026 I think my new approach when beginning to write farming content may be to copy and paste the following statement: “We seem to be in a time of great change. We try and formulate a business plan while facing the constant moving targets of the markets and government regulation.” That just never seems
Farmer Focus: Neil White Read More »
October 2025 Farwiza Farhan, the remarkable conservationist working in the Sumatran rainforest, spoke recently of the superpower of naivety. If she had fully understood the complexity of the problems she was wading into, it would have been impossible to begin. This touched a deep chord with me, remembering how little I knew when I sold
Farmer Focus – Andy Cato Read More »
