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The Furrow

Author:
Olivia Cooper

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.

All arti­cles by Olivia Cooper:


 

Bios­tim­u­lants boost crop and soil health

Bios­tim­u­lants are growing in popu­larity, with increasing scien­tific evidence to prove that they work. But for many farmers, the concept remains myth and magic - so what are they really all about?

Precision Farming

Getting into preci­sion farming

Preci­sion farming can make farms more effi­cient, sustain­able and economic. But with the multi­tude of possi­bil­i­ties, the ques­tion often arises: "Where to start? We show exam­ples of three farmers who have dared to take this step and tell you how they did.

Crofting in the Outer Hebrides

There are few places in the British Isles as remote as the Outer Hebrides; 24 miles off the west coast of Scot­land with little between them and Newfound­land, these islands are truly unique. Breath­tak­ingly beau­tiful but with noto­ri­ously volatile weather, farming here is chal­lenging – yet these resilient people are not only surviving but thriving.

Organic produc­tion tickles the taste­buds

The family-run organic farm Bio Alberti combines tradi­tional farming with modern processing tech­niques – and produces goods both for the nearby village and the global market­place.

Tradi­tion and pride

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.

Poultry farmers lead the way in antibi­otic reduc­tion

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.

Neigh­bour­hood: culti­vating a good rela­tion­ship

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.

Farmers as trade experts

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.

Free farrowing – The future of British pig produc­tion?

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.

Grazing manage­ment in the spot­light

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.

“Know your costs and keep your focus”

Charlie Morgan, Director of Grass­master Ltd, a grass­land consul­tancy in the UK, gives advice on how to opti­mise grass­land manage­ment.

“Compaction is rele­vant in grass­land too”

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.

The Furrow on paper

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