This Week in Farming: Land sales, tenant woes and flooding

Welcome back to another edition of This Week in Farming, your regular round-up of the best Farmers Weekly content from the past seven days.

But first, did you know that FW will be celebrating its 90th birthday this June?

To help celebrate, we’re going to do a special interview with a farmer born in each decade since we were founded – in the 1930s.

If you’d like to be involved, or know a good storyteller who should be, click here to find out more.

Now, on with the show.

Flood payment furore

It’s been a reasonably quiet time recently for anyone tasked with fighting fires at Defra, but they were surely summoned into action this week after farmers reacted with anger and astonishment at how limited the flooding compensation package is.

Officials speedily removed a requirement for land to be within 150m of rivers to be eligible funding, and after initially not falling within the parameters, it appears that prominent flooding victim Henry Ward will also get a payout.

Calving special

Many of you with spring-calving herds will be well into the busy period of arrivals by now, making it a good time to take stock of what’s gone well and what hasn’t.

If you’ve been suffering too many deaths at, or soon after, birth, then reading our guide on how a dairy unit and a beef farmer have both tackled problems of their own may be useful.

Solutions include more selective breeding choices, addressing mineral status and improving transition management.

And as thoughts turn to silage-making, this in-depth look at the arguments around the efficacy of silage inoculants will also come in handy before spending money.

Tenant uproar in Cumbria

Up to 120 tenant farmers on two large Cumbrian estates have been served notice to quit grazing licences and tenancy agreements close to their end date, when they had been expecting to see them renewed.

Trustees of the Lowther and Lonsdale estates have said they need to increase the amount of trading activity in order to qualify for inheritance tax relief.

It comes in the same week that a new landlord-tenant code of practice has been published by the cross-sector Farm Tenancy Forum.

Meanwhile, the amount of land coming forward for sale is predicted to increase this year as some farming landowners bring forward retirement plans or take steps to reduce debt.

Cropping conundrums

When is too late to drill spring barley? That’s the question being glumly asked in many sheds this week as rain continues to delay fieldwork.

Luckily our Crop Watch agronomists have the answer. Unluckily, the answer is “it’s complicated”.

Farmer Focus writer Andrew Wilson is trying to keep his spirits up by focusing on the positives in his article from North Yorkshire – despite not being able to plant a seed since December.

Sprayer tank mixes will also need some careful thought, as growers look to fight off disease in rain-battered crops. We’ve got the latest expert advice here.

Online shopping

A day out at market has long been a method of avoiding a downpour at home, but the pleasant pastime is under threat as even cattle can now be bought from the comfort of your kitchen.

Stephen Carr shares his first experience of selling pedigree Sussex bulling heifers this way in his opinion column this week.

Meanwhile, Will Evans launches a campaign to have massage functionality in his tractor seat. What could possibly go wrong?

Who’s up and who’s down?

There’s an arable theme this week with seed and spray giant Syngenta feeling very chirpy after winning UK approval for their new septoria-tackling SDHI.

Feeling glum this week is… seed and spray giant Syngenta!

Its promising new breadmaking variety, Cheer, will need another round of testing before it can potentially be granted a formal Group 1 rating.

Listen to the FW Podcast

Don’t forget the latest edition of the Farmers Weekly podcast with Johann Tasker and Sandy Kirkpatrick.

Listen here or bring us with you in the cab by downloading it from your usual podcast platform