UK–EU farm deal, SFI rethink, bovine TB, water councils & bishop backs farmers

Will closer links with Europe bring fresh opportunities for British growers and livestock producers – or new restrictions on UK farming? This week, we examine the proposed UK–EU deal to ease checks on food and agricultural trade. NFU president Tom Bradshaw explains why farming is the testbed for …

Can AI replace your agronomist? Farmer vs machine in the field

Artificial intelligence can diagnose crop symptoms, interrogate huge amounts of data and even devise a fungicide programme. But can it really replace an experienced agronomist? In this episode, Johann Tasker investigates what AI could mean for crop management. He travels from a Bedfordshire wheat…

Fertiliser carbon tax, 25 years of responsible spraying, & Britain’s first olive harvest

Will a new carbon tax push up fertiliser prices? Has the farming industry successfully regulated its own pesticide use? And could English olive oil become the next big farming opportunity? In this episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast, we examine the government’s latest proposals for a carbon tax …

Autumn Budget Special: Hit or miss for farming?

Has the government missed another opportunity to support British farming? In this special edition of the Farmers Weekly Podcast, we examine Chancellor John Healey’s Autumn Budget and ask what it really means for farmers, food production and the wider rural economy. The Chancellor extended the fue…

Farm tax breaks, potato harvest, organics, and Clarkson at Tory conference

Farm leaders are calling for an urgent rethink of inheritance tax and investment allowances ahead of the autumn Budget on 28 October. With farm investment stalling and confidence at a low ebb, the NFU and major supermarket chains are urging the government to introduce tax reforms that could unlock…

Red diesel prices, Can AI replace your agronomist? & Farmers Weekly Live

Soaring diesel prices are putting fresh pressure on farm businesses – and the outlook suggests volatility could continue well into 2027. In this episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast, we examine what is driving the surge in fuel costs, whether farmers should buy now or wait, and how hedging and re…

SFI26: Sifting through the wreckage of the Sustainable Farming Incentive

Farmers are ploughing up environmental features after thousands were shut out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive when funding ran out less than six hours after applications opened. In this episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast, we hear from Lincolnshire farmer Charles Anyan as he returns buffer …

Emergency Episode: SFI26 funding gone in under six hours – what now?

Defra is under intense pressure after the £233 million budget for the 2026 Sustainable Farming Incentive was exhausted just five hours and 48 minutes after applications opened. In this emergency episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast, farmers describe technical problems that prevented them from sub…

SFI scramble, sugar beet arbitration, maize quality, & Daniel Zeichner on life inside Defra

Farmers face a race to secure funding when the Sustainable Farming Incentive reopens – with warnings that the available money could be allocated within just 24 hours. We look at how to prepare an SFI26 application, why growers should resist simply chasing grant money and what could happen to farme…

Abi Kay's Big Questions: Former minister Daniel Zeichner lifts the lid on life inside Defra.

In an exclusive interview with Farmers Weekly's Abi Kay, former farm minister Daniel Zeichner gives an extraordinary account of life inside Defra.  Revelations include Mr Zeichner's claim that as a minister he knew nothing about government plans to impose inheritance tax on farmers until after the…