The Nitrogen Crisis - Dutch dairy farmers fight for their future

Dairy farmers in the Netherlands say they face being driven out of business after being told to slash greenhouse gas emissions. It follows calls by the Hague government for a 50% cut in nitrogen emissions by 2030 – a target that has seen farmers take to the streets in protest. One of the world's …

How to stress-test your farm business – and why it is important

Before making any changes to the way you farm, it's important to ask: is your farm business financially robust? Stress testing and financial modelling are valuable tools in identifying overall farm business vulnerabilities and finding answers to all your “what-ifs”. Measuring how vulnerable you a…

Food security: How to balance profitable food production with care for the environment

In this episode, we are discussing food security – and the need to balance profitable food production with care for the environment. Agriculture faces a defining decade – with farmers expected to do much more than simply produce safe, affordable and nutritious food.  Growers and livestock produce…

Carbon farming: how to seize the opportunities and avoid the pitfalls

Carbon is set to become an increasingly important revenue stream for farmers over the coming years. Whether it being paid to off-set carbon emissions on behalf of somebody else or reducing  your own on-farm emissions, the possibilities seem endless. But it is a fledging market and it can be confu…

How technology can boost profitability by reducing farm inputs

In this episode, we discover how technology can increase farm profitability by reducing input costs while driving down greenhouse gas emissions. We look at a number of options for arable farmers when it comes to establishing, managing and harvesting combinable crops and maize. We examine how stri…

Volatility, Ag-Inflation and the Money Men - how to deal with unpredictable commodity markets

Huge increases in farm input costs pose a massive challenge to UK growers and livestock producers, piling pressure on business cashflows. Eye-watering levels of AgInflation have seen fuel costs more than double in recent months, with fertiliser prices more than trebling. Commodity prices too have…

Transition Farmers Rachel and Richard Risdon: Grass-based dairying in Devon

Transition Farmers Rachel and Richard Risdon run a grass-based herd of 300 Friesian cross Jersey  dairy cows at Bramford Speke, near Exeter, Devon. The herd is rotationally grazed and yield about 4,900 litres and 452kg of milk solids from about 650kg of concentrate. Grass is topped up with cake w…

Transition Farmer Alan Steven: Quality crops for local markets in Fife

Scottish farmer Alan Steven farms cereals and fieldscale vegetables at Hillhead Farm, Kingsbarns, near St Andrew, Fife. In this episode, Alan talks about his quest to produce quality crops while overcoming the limitations of his farm business. Challenges include improving soil health, the double-…

Transition Farmer James MacCartney: Beef and sheep can be 'better than Net Zero'

Beef and sheep producer James MacCartney farms near Oakham in Rutland – in the East Midlands of England. It's a 160ha grass-based farm – about 400 acres – and in his quest to become more sustainable, James says he has three key goals: Improving the grassland, gaining disease free status for his s…

Introducing Transition - Trailer

UK farmers stand on the cusp of a new agricultural revolution. Food production is their primary role.  But the need to do so sustainably has never been more important. From a focus on all-out production, there is an increasing emphasis on farming in a way that improves the environment too. Worki…