Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have land use strategies. There is no land use strategy for England1. This makes it difficult to take consistent decisions on how much land should be devoted to crop production, forestry, bio-diversity/ nature, recreation, transport, housing, industry, water and so on. The decision is doubly

This morning (13/11/23) on BBC Farming Today1, a grower of cauliflowers pointed out that in 1976 when he left school the price was 75p each; today he is selling caulis at £1.20.  In ’76 his first new tractor was £9,500; today a new tractor is £150,

At the time of writing, late July 2023, the local grain harvest is just starting. The combines will be out in the Winter Barley. But there is a long way to go and typically the weather has changed to a pattern of Atlantic lows giving us sunshine and showers from

Rupert Knowles – CA-WN Farming Correspondent Some of you may be old enough like me to remember dancing to Donovan’s 1966 hippy hit song by this name. But today, it is Farrington’s oils that invoke the magic of flower power. Farrington’s cold-pressed rapeseed oil is produced at Bottom

In early September 2022, I visited the Pick Your Own farm at Harpole for a chat with the owner, Teresa Drage. I wanted to find out how her enterprise had been affected by the hot, dry summer. Manor Farm has been in the family for many years. It is a

Rupert Knowles - CA-WN Farming Correspondent New-born lambs are scampering after their mothers all over West Northamptonshire. I was driving up a farm track north of Braunston last week and they went skipping ahead without the sense to veer to left or right. The pastures to the side undulate with