As the 2024 political party conferences wrap up, Farmers Guardian's news and business team discuss the goings on at the Liberal Democrat, Labour and Conservative Party conferences and what each party has to offer for the farming sector.

Message us

This week's Farmers Guardian podcast is a little different.

FG's online editor Emily Ashworth joins the machinery team, Toby Whatley and James Huyton, to delve into the world of machinery and talk about the opportunities in the sector, especially when it comes to careers.

From technology talk to taking a first - and very slow - drive of the Claas combine on James' farm, this podcast really highlights that we need to bridge the gap between agriculture and the wider public.

Message us

On the pod this week, news reporter Chris Brayford visited students and staff at Barnsley College’s Wigfield Farm campus to discuss the importance of agricultural courses in educational settings.

@WigfieldFarm // @barnsleycollege

Should more schools be providing agricultural courses? Should agriculture be featured on the syllabus and curriculum from the moment a child starts school until they leave to kickstart their careers? Can agriculture offer a viable career path for young people to enter the industry and fulfil a dream to a farmer?

We spoke to students at Barnsley College including Jayden Taylor, Emily Hanson, Dana Bradley-Allen and Jasmine Powell about why they have chosen to study agriculture at Barnsley College, the skills they have picked up along the way, alongside their hopes to be the next generation of young farmers. They told us an agricultural course has provided them with confidence to learn and experience new things, alongside strengthening their ability to work as a team and live out a dream to work with livestock and people. Chris also caught up with Barnsley College’s agriculture and animal care teacher, Emily Smith, and Macauley Parkin, the agriculture course leader, about their enthusiasm and passion to help nurture students’ skills in the sector and how they have made courses more accommodating and exciting for students to see the value of agricultural careers. Agriculture provides us all with so many benefits, so is it time to recognise its value in an educational setting even more?

Message us

On the podcast this week, we are joined by Welsh farmer Clive Jones, Wales’ Rural Affairs Secretary Huw Irranca-Davies (@huw4ogmore) and Wales’ Wildlife and Rural Crime Coordinator Rob Taylor (@rural_wales), to discuss livestock worrying.

@WGRural

Livestock worrying, when a dog chases or attacks livestock on agricultural land can have costly consequences on the health, well-being and finances of farmers across the UK. In most cases, farmers are witnessing first-hand the devastation a dog can have on livestock, leaving farmers to pick up the pieces afterwards. Tavistock farmer Chris Dawe said 49 sheep were killed after being attacked by dogs on farm back in January.

Last week, Farmers Guardian reported on the devastating livestock worrying attack at Liz Nutting’s farm in Lampeter, Ceredigion, which killed 10 of her Ryeland flock. Following numerous bids to seek justice, the dog owner only received a £75 fine despite his dogs causing £6,500 in damages. Cheshire farmer Phil Latham was left disgusted and heartbroken after loose dogs savaged 18 calves in a pen. And you will hear about the impacts of livestock worrying Mr Jones has had to face as well. In its latest annual ‘Rural Crime Report’, NFU Mutual said livestock worrying had cost farmers £2.4 million, with animals being severely injured or killed in dog attacks, up nearly 30% compared to the previous year. Incidents keep on taking place on what seems like a weekly basis. But why? Is the law outdated? The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) Act was created 71 years-ago in 1953. The new Labour Government has yet to confirm whether a private members’ bill, tabled by former Defra Secretary Therese Coffey in December to amend the law and provide police with greater powers, will be progressed or not

Police in Scotland have the powers to impose fines of up to £40,000 for owners found worrying livestock, alongside receiving a potential 12 month prison sentence. Is it a lack of respect from dog owners? Incidents can often take place when a dog is not on a lead. And an attitude of ‘my dog could never hurt anyone’ still persists. Is education the answer? The Welsh Government has worked hand-in-hand with animal charity Blue Cross and Mr Taylor regarding an optional educational course if dog owners are found worrying livestock. You will hear more about the course in this podcast.

Farmers Guardian has been supporting the ‘Take the Lead’ campaign, alongside the National Sheep Association to raise awareness of keeping dogs on lead when near livestock. We can provide you with free signs to place around your farm warning dog owners to keep their dogs on a lead near livestock. To request yours, send a stamped self-addressed A4 envelope to: FG Take the Lead, Farmers Guardian, Unit 4, Fulwood Business Park, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 9NZ. We will be able to send up to 25 signs. Alternatively, you can contact reporter Chris Brayford if you have been a victim of a livestock worrying incident and if you wish to share your story at chris.brayford@farmersguardian.com. But for now, enjoy the pod!

Message us

For siblings Anna and Sam Hallos, the future succession of their tenanted upland beef and sheep farm in West Yorkshire has been an ‘open and honest’ conversation around the farmhouse kitchen table for many years now. They have both been ‘heavily involved’ in the business from a young age, but now older, at 27 and 24 years old, Sam and Anna have started making decisions, which they both said is helping to shape their future on the farm. While both Anna and Sam are relishing the opportunity to support the farm business in making key decisions, they share a strong admiration for what their parents have done since taking on the farm tenancy, and the changes they have made to ensure their children can now be employed on the farm.

Message us

Our Yorkshire Farm, featuring the Owen family, was an immediate success with TV viewers. Looking into the Owen family's life with nine children on one of the most remote hill farms in the country enthralled the nation, and now, six years later, one member, Reuben Owen, is carving out his own path. His latest TV series, Life In The Dales, has been a hit, and he is making his own mark on the Yorkshire Dales with his new business. But farming, of course, is never far from his mind.

Message us

On the podcast this week, we learn about the value of agritourism and diversification in Scotland with Dundee farmer Caroline Millar. Escaping from the world to a farm's tranquil surroundings in the Angus countryside could be the ideal answer for any couple seeking a romantic weekend getaway, with the diversification working hand-in-hand alongside the farm. The Hideaway Experience at Balkello Farm, run by Scottish farmers Caroline and Ross Millar alongside their two children Finlay and Sophie, is a collection of self-catering holiday lodges in Dundee offering bespoke luxury features including saunas and hot tubs. Guests can also enjoy the food which is produced on-farm during their stay. Rated five-stars by Scotland's national tourist organisation VisitScotland, guests can also relish the comforting surroundings of a log burning fire during winter, grill delicious red meat on a gas BBQ during summer and enjoy the wildlife surroundings of the Angus countryside in holiday lodges. The farm has two units across the 263-hectare mixed arable business, with around 120 breeding cows including Aberdeen-Angus and Herefords, and growing cereals. Branching into the world of agritourism, an agricultural operation which attracts tourists to a farm, in 2005, Caroline said her farming background has played a valuable role in her strong work ethic. Enjoy the pod!

Message us

Shepherdess Brittany Cole Bush talks to Farmers Guardian US Correspondent John Wilkes. California is experiencing some of the worst ever wildfires. By August 16, a total of 5,210 wildfires burned 332,606 ha (821,887 acres).

The Park Fire is the fourth largest in Californian history – approximately 14 times the size of San Francisco. Since late July it has destroyed 173,000 ha in Northern California.

This podcast was recorded August 4.

On the podcast this week John is joined by the entrepreneurial sheep and goat grazer Brittany Cole Bush from the Ojai Valley, Ventura County in Southern California.

Cole’s personal journey to set up her company called “Shepherdess Livestock and Land” draws global media coverage from The Guardian, French Elle and others.

Her “flerd” of sheep and goats is in demand to remove dense highly flammable vegetation for an array of governmental agencies and other property owner clients.

Cole also established “The Grazing School of the West” where she operates bootcamps.

The school’s goal is to encourage a new generation into this burgeoning sector within the American sheep industry. Like Cole, the majority of applicants are from non-agricultural backgrounds.

In the context of the American sheep industry Cole sees herself,

“As a black sheep. A black Navajo-Churro sheep, a Heritage breed that has to be wily, very resilient, small framed and wooly.

I represent a very unique population; a single woman owned sheep business from Southern California. The first in my family to do something like this.”

Message us