Olivia Cooper is an award-winning freelance journalist who loves the variety of working in the farming media, covering everything from technical livestock and arable topics to news, business and farm life. She works from her home office in Devon alongside her Agri-hub PR team.
The sound is both exhilarating and deafening. This is Switzerland at its traditional best: Hundreds of brown cows – complete with cow bells - returning from the alpine pasture to their winter homes, creating a festival for tens of thousands of people. Welcome to the Alpabfahrt - the Alp Descent.
Antimicrobial resistance is a serious public health concern and livestock producers are increasingly under pressure to reduce antibiotic usage in animals. In the UK, the poultry industry is leading the way.
The countryside is a space to live and to work. And thus often an arena of conflicts of how to use that space. A challenge that needs to be tackled by farmers themselves.
Fresh players in the market and new factors influencing pricing mean grain prices are fluctuating significantly more than in the past. When selling their grain, farmers therefore need to focus on good risk management.
High welfare pig production isn’t always about free-range systems. With growing demand for ethically produced but inexpensive pork, high welfare indoor systems could be the way forward for the industry.
Milk producers are under pressure from persistently low producer prices. At the same time, demand for more natural foods is rising. One solution could be to focus more on grazing management. But just "opening the cowshed door and let the cows out" is not enough.
Charlie Morgan, Director of Grassmaster Ltd, a grassland consultancy in the UK, gives advice on how to optimise grassland management.
Compaction is an issue that is often discussed in relation to arable land – but it can also be a problem in grassland. Olivia Cooper speaks to soil expert Philip Wright to find out more.