While agriculture employs just 1% of the UK’s workforce, it’s responsible for 18% of all deaths in the workplace.

According to research carried out by the Farm Safety Foundation involving 900 farmers across Britain, 91% agree that farming is dangerous and most feel a personal responsibility to do something about it, with younger farmers especially keen to take action.

Having a health and safety (H&S) policy is vital for all farms, and a written policy is a legal requirement for businesses with over five employees. Moreover, key assurance schemes like Red Tractor require an active H&S policy to be in place regardless of farm size.

Wayne Owen, from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) Agricultural Sector Team, explained: “The law says that every business, including farmers, must have a policy for managing health and safety.

“A health and safety policy sets out your general approach to health and safety. It explains how you, as an employer, will manage health and safety in your business. It should clearly say who does what, when and how.”

While the benefits of having a H&S policy are many, negative attitudes to the process still prevent farmers from having one, which is what the Farm Safety Foundation’s new tool is here to address.

Charity manager Stephanie Berkeley believes the key component in adopting good health and safety culture is “buy-in”.

“Agriculture isn’t like other industries in that it can present hazards to people not actively involved in the industry, such as children and family members living on the farm and visitors. Hazards can also exist for vets, delivery workers and even emergency medical services personnel, as they provide assistance and care to victims of farm incidents,” she pointed out.

The Farm Safety Foundation’s new tool aims to simplify the process of creating a H&S policy by giving farmers a series of simple questions to work through. There are also lots of useful links on the site providing further information, broken down into different farming categories.

Ms Berkeley added: “Each and every farm worker thinking about what could happen to their work colleagues, visitors or family members on the farm, what could cause it and how serious it could be, is something we should all buy into. It’s a matter of common sense… but it is not common practice.

“Rather than providing a templated policy that the farmer doesn’t even have to read before signing it and that will sit on a shelf in the farm office gathering dust, we want to walk the farmer through a simple online process.

“We’re making it easier for farmers to build a policy for their particular farm, that they can share with workers, reminding them why safety matters,” she concluded.

“A valuable tool for farms of all sizes”

To gather content for the digital tool, the Farm Safety Foundation worked with Casey Barker, a health and safety expert from NFU Mutual Risk Management Services, and engaged Warwickshire-based design consultancy Exhibit Interactive to create the user interface.

Joe Ashton, MD of Exhibit Interactive, commented: “We have worked with Stephanie and the team for several years now to create various cutting-edge approaches to improving farm safety, notably their Virtual Reality farm safety training sessions.

“We were delighted to support them with this project as it seems like such a valuable tool for farms of all sizes,” he added.

Having gone through extensive testing by health and safety experts, the HSE and Red Tractor, the tool is now available free of charge on the yellowwellies.org website.

Christine Tacon, chair of Red Tractor, highlighted that having an active H&S policy is critical to encouraging farm owners to think about potential risks and how to manage them.

“This tool allows members to ensure their policy accurately reflects their farm make-up and activities, and the format allows those responsible to make amends as their business changes and grows. The format also supports communication, understanding and adoption of practices, to ensure on-site health and safety is available to all,” she said.

“Red Tractor are the largest assurance scheme in British agriculture, and we’re pleased to be able to direct our members to these new Farm Safety Foundation resources.”

To access the Farm Safety Foundation’s Build Your Own Health & Safety Policy visit the Yellow Wellies website or click here.

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Shirley’s husband Neil busy on the farm. Both grew up on farms and always knew they wanted to own their own.

Bridging the gap between farm and the consumer is something that lots of farmers are trying to do in an effort to help more people understand the reality of what goes into producing their food, and hopefully alter public opinion on why supporting and buying British is so important.

As part of their work on social media to contribute to farmer’s efforts in showcasing British agriculture, A-Plan Rural Insurance have setup a Rural Community blog, where they invite farmers to give their experiences in the industry, sharing their contributions to over 115,000 followers on Instagram. Since starting the blog, A-Plan Rural have worked with a great variety of farmers from differing backgrounds and locations all over the UK.

In their latest blog, they spoke with Shirley McNiven who owns a sheep and cattle farm. Shirley shared more about her background and journey into farming, the development of her first flock and offered advice to first generation farmers around the incredible reward but inevitable ups and downs that farming in Britain brings…

Read the full blog here.

The post In farming it “helps to have a practical mind for problem solving.” appeared first on Farmers Guide.

The event took place from 31st March to 2nd April and offered 16-to-18-year olds with no farming experience an opportunity to learn about agricultural careers.

The group enjoyed an activity-packed schedule, including sheep herding and lamb handling at the University College’s working farm.

16-year-old Jordan said: “It was great to get out of my comfort zone and experience something that I wouldn’t have before. My favourite part was getting in the barn with the pigs and cuddling the piglets.”

The exciting initiative is called ‘New Faces For Farming’ and was launched by Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones, founder of ‘The Black Farmer’ brand, in partnership with the University College.

Wilfred, who was awarded an MBE for Services to Farming in 2020, says: “As a young boy growing up in an inner-city area, I found it impossible to find opportunities to develop my interest in farming. Fifty years on, many young people still do not know where to go to learn more. This weekend was the first step in bringing about much needed change.”

“It is my mission to encourage more youth and diversity into farming and agriculture, so to be able to work with Writtle University College on these initiatives is tremendously exciting.”

The New Faces For Farming scheme offers young people from backgrounds that are under-represented within agriculture the chance to gain hands-on experience.

The weekend featured talks by industry experts, from academics to business owners. The young people also met Wilfred in person, and learnt how he fulfilled his dream to become a farmer.

“The experience on the farm and off the farm was just amazing,” said 17-year-old Manjinder. “I developed quite a lot of skills such as communication, confidence and critical thinking.”

The residential weekend was only the first stage of the New Faces For Farming programme. The young people can look forward to mentorship from sector experts.

Katy Warkup, group learning and development manager at Cranswick Plc. said: “Cranswick were delighted to be invited to support the New Faces for Farming initiative. As a proud British pig and poultry producer, we are passionate about ensuring that young people are aware of the varied careers that are available throughout the supply chain and encouraging more diverse talent into the food and farming industry. We look forward to working with the initiative by supporting the young people through mentoring relationships and wish them all the best of luck following the programme”.

Writtle University College’s Widening Outreach and Participation Officer, Amy Furney, said: “Thank you to everyone involved with this fantastic, fun-filled weekend. It has been a collaborative effort across the institution and externally. We were so excited to meet and work with the farmers of the future and look forward to our next steps.”

The post Young people visit Essex for a taste of farm life appeared first on Farmers Guide.

Bridging the gap between farm and the consumer is something that lots of farmers are trying to do in an effort to help more people understand the reality of what goes into producing their food, and hopefully alter public opinion on why supporting and buying British is so important.

As part of their work on social media to contribute to farmer’s efforts in showcasing British agriculture, A-Plan Rural Insurance have setup a Rural Community blog, where they invite farmers to give their experiences in the industry, sharing their contributions to over 115,000 followers on Instagram. Since starting the blog, A-Plan Rural have worked with a great variety of farmers from differing backgrounds and locations all over the UK.

In their latest blog, they spoke with Milly Fyfe, who held has numerous positions across multiple agricultural initiatives, owns her own small business and blog and produces her own podcast all aimed at closing the gap between farm and fork.

Read the full blog here.

The post Farming “is a hugely rewarding industry to be a part of” appeared first on Farmers Guide.

On the farm shop’s website, the celebrity farmer explains the spirit is distilled from whey, the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained, also used in protein drinks. With the milk supplied by the farm’s own cow residents, the product is ‘the greenest of all green mile vodka out there’.

Boasting an ABV of 40%, Diddly Squat cow juice vodka is currently priced at £39 a bottle and can be enjoyed ‘chilled, straight up, over ice, or in a cocktail’.

Other than the Diddly Squat farm shop and online store, Jeremy’s brand new vodka line is stocked exclusively at Plonkers Wine Bar in York, who have invited customers to give it a try on Instagram:

Speaking to Farmers Guide, Plonkers manager Jo Ayrton explained how the wine bar came to stock Diddly Squat vodka, which was a simple case of “if you don’t ask you don’t get”.

“Our business owner had watched series two during half term whilst he was away with his family. It was obvious from both series that Jeremy, Lisa and the team cared a lot about supporting independent businesses in the farming sector and locally in Oxfordshire. As a family-owned independent business in York that shares many of the same values around supporting smaller business in the UK we wondered if there might be some way to get involved.

“Times are really tough in the hospitality trade, just like with farming. The chains are really driving the independents out of business – and although we’re a well-established business with a solid customer base, we’re also not immune to the impacts of the economic climate in the UK.

“We reached out to Diddly Squat Farm Shop during half term holidays at the end of February, and after a little backwards and forwards the team at Diddly Squat, led by the super helpful Lucca Allen working with Lisa, got our first product delivered to us on the 16th of March. We’re honoured to be the first bar in the UK to stock the vodka from a trade perspective.”

Commenting on how Diddly Squat cow juice vodka compares to other products on the market, the manager said: “The Cow Juice Vodka is actually pretty outstanding – its smooth and clean, and clearly is a premium product. Obviously, a great deal of thought and attention has gone into the vodka and it’s packaging.

“Our customer base here at Plonkers has really taken to it, and I’m expecting to have to re-order quite quickly! We’re really looking forward to working with the team at Diddly Squat in the coming weeks and months and working out how we can do more together to promote both our businesses, and the independent sector more generally.”

In related news, Jeremy has also been dipping his toes into the alcohol-free drinks market, giving hints of a new product line that will bear the name ‘Diddly Fresh containing diddly squat alcohol’.

According to media reports, the TV presenter has applied to the Intellectual Property Office to have the drinks sold at his farm shop trademarked. His application has been published by lawyers and it will remain law for 10 years if it is passed in the coming weeks.

Drinks currently sold by Jeremy’s farm shop include Diddly Squat Farm Gin in a Tin and Diddly Squat Whisky, which is a blend of the farm’s own bee juice and fine Scottish Whisky.

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According to media reports, 16-year-old workers at Diddly Squat Farm in Chadlington, Oxfordshire, have been given body cams as a precautionary measure after being targeted by cross villagers.

Mr Clarkson, who opened Diddly Squat Farm Shop in 2020 as a means of diversification, has been caught up in a row with the local council and residents over plans to expand the car park to accommodate 70 vehicles, for which permission has been repeatedly denied.

Villagers and council members have reportedly been concerned that more visitors to Clarkson’s shop would disturb the tranquillity of the Cotswolds area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB) and cause further traffic disruptions.

At a two-day council hearing earlier this week where planning inspectors considered Clarkson’s plans, Chadlington resident Hilary Moore called visitors to the farm “motorheads” who drive slowly on surrounding roads to attract attention.

In response, Annabel Gray, who works on a catering trailer at Diddly Squat, pointed out the description was “unfair” as she had seen locals driving slowly too. Highlighting the lifeline Clarkson’s farm could offer local businesses, she was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying:

‘Diddly Squat has an important opportunity to educate people about local farming and I find it really frustrating that the council is overlooking that.

‘There are few places about where you can experience where we get food from.

‘This is a massive, massive opportunity for WODC [West Oxfordshire District Council]. I am begging you that this is something that can be improved on rather than turn your back on.’

Echoing her words, Henry Lawrence, owner of local business Hook Norton Butchers, said Clarkson’s farm shop could be “the crown jewel” of sustainable farming, adding his business has grown “dramatically” since becoming a supplier of the shop.

Responding to the council’s treatment of the former Top Gear presenter in season two of Clarkson’s Farm, Farmers Guide reader Pat Flower said:

“I genuinely feel for Jeremy in his battles, estimated costs of £500,000 for an appeal, no permission to have a decent car park yet the council can visually blight the AONB with thousands of cones to stop parking! Change the roof from normal agricultural-style cladding to slate because of appearance! Maybe a few cones on top would have alleviated the plight.

“I understand it is a program but diversification is crucial to farming and Jeremy has shown exactly what is faced in trying to bring this about.”

Commenting on the manner in which Mr Clarkson’s plans were rejected, former councillor Paul Taylor told Farmers Guide: “As an ex-borough and parish councillor I was disgusted at the district council’s attitude.

“The planning officer should have given a recommendation to the council and it should be based on the information in guidelines plus information in the report. It appears statutory bodies have been satisfied and whilst taking in public opinion, the councillors should also consider guidance.”

In response to the council’s claim that Clarkson is being treated like all other farmers, another Farmers Guide reader said:

“Yes exactly and farmers are forced to sell their produce to supermarket chains at low and no margins. The above comment highlights the fact that laws should be changed to allow farmers to create cooperatives and have a restaurant on their farms.”

Oxfordshire council members receive death threats over Clarkson case

Following the airing of Clarkson’s Farm season two, members of WODC received ‘a number of threats and abuse’, according to a statement issued by the council.

WODC said in the statement: ‘Unfortunately we have had to take safety precautions following a number of threats and abuse directed at councillors and local people since the airing of Season 2 of Clarkson’s Farm.

‘This has included death threats and as a result we have had to consider a range of safety measures to protect councillors, staff and residents.

‘We understand people may not agree with decisions taken by the council but there is no place for threatening or abusive behaviour. It damages the democratic process when people feel intimidated and do not feel safe to express the opinions they are entitled to,’ the authority added.

Addressing the decision to refuse further developments at the Diddly Squat site, the council claimed it has been working with Clarkson and planning agents over the past two years to reach consensus and enable the business to operate ‘within the planning laws and policies’.

‘Over recent years, Diddly Squat Farm has had many planning applications approved where they were in line with national and local planning policy.

‘This included approving the farm shop with its current car park, approving a lambing shed and allowing the area from which farm shop produce could be sourced to be extended.

‘The farm shop we approved can sell local produce from local farmers – which we wholly support,’ the statement concluded.

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Photo of Welsh farmer collecting hay from Jac Williams’ ‘Honest Agriculture’ project.

Inspired from a university peer’s comment “I have never seen farming like that before”, Jac set out to bring the culture of traditional mountain farming to public attention through images taken on his four-generation family farm in Denbighshire, Wales.

Now based in Chester, Jac often returns to the farm where his family raises sheep and beef cattle on the mountainside, to help with shearing and other labour-intensive chores.

Speaking to Farmers Guide, he recalled his fondest memory from growing up on a farm, which was being given the freedom and trust to turn hay with a Massey Ferguson 165 while his grandfather watched over him from the shade.

Other than farming, he also takes photos of landscapes and sports, particularly rock climbing, rowing, running and skiing.

Through the images featured in ‘Honest Agriculture’, Jac hopes to educate the public about the hard work smaller family farms do to contribute to food production in the UK.

“I feel with post-Brexit, the Covid pandemic and the recent war in Ukraine, farms like ours will be the subject of difficulties for the next few years which I hope to document and bring to public attention,” he wrote on his website.

Like many farmers, Jac is also concerned about the withdrawal of the basic payment scheme, and the lack of clarity around future income support for producers. He believes diversifying and creating additional income streams will be key to keeping farming businesses viable going forward.

As a member of the British Guild of Agricultural Journalists, Jac plans to carry on documenting the lives of farmers in the future while working on other photography commissions and projects.

“I hope to continue the Honest Agriculture project, to capture memories of my family and my culture, futher informing the public of what family farms go through to produce food for the country all year round,” he told Farmers Guide.

Jac’s work will be exhibited at the Dory gallery in Llangollen, North Wales, from March 25th until May 21st, with prints also available for purchase. A collection of his photos can also be viewed on his website and Instagram.

The images below are samples from the ‘Honest Agriculture’ project. All credits to Jac Williams.

The post Photographer captures the essence of Welsh hill farming appeared first on Farmers Guide.

Bridging the gap between farm and the consumer is something that lots of farmers are trying to do in an effort to help more people understand the reality of what goes into producing their food, and hopefully alter public opinion on why supporting and buying British is so important.

As part of their work on social media to contribute to farmer’s efforts in showcasing British agriculture, A-Plan Rural Insurance have setup a Rural Community blog, where they invite farmers to give their experiences in the industry, sharing their contributions to over 115,000 followers on Instagram. Since starting the blog, A-Plan Rural have worked with a great variety of farmers from differing backgrounds and locations all over the UK.

In their latest blog, they spoke with Rachel Stratton who has worked as a shepherd, shearer, tractor driver, stock(wo)man, advisor, admin, and several other roles within the industry across the globe. She has farmed all over the world and shares her stories through A-Plan Rural’s Community Blog, as well as her own blog on her website: www.theglobalfarmher.com.

Read the full blog here.

The post The Global Farmher: Using agriculture to travel the world appeared first on Farmers Guide.

Bridging the gap between farm and the consumer is something that lots of farmers are trying to do in an effort to help more people understand the reality of what goes into producing their food, and hopefully alter public opinion on why supporting and buying British is so important.

As part of their work on social media to contribute to farmer’s efforts in showcasing British agriculture, A-Plan Rural Insurance have setup a Rural Community blog, where they invite farmers to give their experiences in the industry, sharing their contributions to over 120,000 followers on Instagram. Since starting the blog, A-Plan Rural have worked with a great variety of farmers from backgrounds and locations all over the UK.

In their latest blog, they spoke with Rhi Pinches, a suckler beef and sheep farmer based in the Shropshire Hills, who works with her father on their family farm. They asked Rhi some questions around her farm, the animals she farms, some of her processes for rearing her animals and why she loves being a farmer in Britain.

Read the full blog here.

The post “I completely live and breathe farming” appeared first on Farmers Guide.

As it returns for a second season, Clarkson’s Farm once again demonstrates the serious challenges facing British farmers – not least the soaring input prices and large amounts of red tape for those hoping to diversify.

West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) came under fierce criticism from viewers as it was revealed Clarkson was not only denied planning permission to convert his lambing shed into a restaurant selling local produce – but also to create a car park and farm track to help tackle traffic build-up in the local village and mud on the roads.

Series two of the popular show documents the former Top Gear host’s bid to introduce beef cattle to his farm and sell the meat in his own restaurant – which would be stocked solely with produce from his own farm and other local businesses.

As well as offering healthy local produce and very low food miles, the endeavour would have created around 50 jobs and supported local farmers who are struggling to stay profitable. One of Jeremy’s suppliers is a dairy farmer who has lost 50% of her herd to TB and whose business is no longer financially viable as a result.

Planning permission for the restaurant and car park for Diddly Squat Farm Shop were denied, leaving him with no way to sell his beef profitably. His application for a new farm track was also rejected, which the farm’s advisor Cheerful Charlie acknowledged was almost unheard of.

This is despite the fact that a document shown to Jeremy ahead of the vote confirmed that there were no objections from the parish council, Oxfordshire County Council Transport, Thames Valley Police, Environmental Health, WODC, Cotswolds Conservation Board, drainage, ecologist and archaeologist.

One councillor is shown raising concerns about light pollution, but the main objection appears to have come from a barrister hired by local resident Hamish Dewar, described as Clarkson’s “nemesis”. The barrister claims Clarkson’s lambing shed was a “trojan horse” that was only ever intended to be used as a restaurant – despite the fact that it was used for lambing in 2020, shown in season one of Clarkson’s Farm.

Viewers were left baffled as yellow cones were then placed for 2km along the Diddly Squat farm track, blocking off an entrance to Jeremy’s farm, in an apparent bid to prevent visitors to the farm shop from parking on the verges.

“Missed opportunity”

The footage has prompted a furious backlash against the council, which has been accused of not supporting local farmers and making its decision based on Clarkson’s celebrity status, rather than considering the merits of the proposal.

On Twitter, Oxfordshire County Councillor Liam Walker called WODC’s decision a ‘missed opportunity’ for the county and local farming, adding that in his view ‘it’s all very personal’. Similarly, Welsh farmer Gareth Wyn Jones said it’s a ‘pity the council aren’t supporting @JeremyClarkson […] supporting rural business backing British agriculture’.

Meanwhile Facebook user Susie Barker accused WODC of abusing its powers and having a “personal vendetta” against Jeremy Clarkson. ‘To even deny a track road on a farm is unheard of. They are not looking at the bigger picture of him forming a cooperative farming association, plus the 50 job opportunities he would be providing for locals. Which villages & farms need in order to continue to sustain the community. The Secretary of state needs to investigate this council as their conduct is an absolute disgrace.’

Abi Jenkins, however, noted that farmers across the UK are facing similar obstacles, not just Clarkson. ‘It’s anti enterprise, anti diversification and anti survival of U.K. small business and in particular U.K. farming. Councils should not be allowed to get away with this obstructive behaviour.’

Viewers were also quick to point out that there is a caravan park sited close to the farm, calling into question the validity of concerns about preserving dark skies and the natural beauty of the area.

District council reacts to criticism

Reacting to the criticism, the council issued a statement: ‘We understand that the planning process shown in Season 2 of Clarkson’s Farm can seem obstructive and that people will be confused by the planning decisions at Diddly Squat Farm. […]

‘The work Diddly Squat Farm is doing to highlight the wider challenges faced by farmers is commendable and we support farm diversification to help local farmers bring in income as they have lost other funding. Farming and rural businesses are incredibly important in West Oxfordshire and we sympathise with the challenges farmers face in running their businesses, especially after the uncertainty caused by Brexit as highlighted in Clarkson’s Farm. […]’

The council claimed it recognised the benefits of Clarkson’s proposals to local farmers and the economy but the proposals did not ‘meet other planning requirements’. It also said it has recently suggested Clarkson make an application for temporary planning permission for a car park in an alternative location.

However, the statement did little to dampen the strength of feeling on the issue, with hundreds of responses on Twitter continuing to criticise the decision.

@conorlander wrote: ‘The Cotswolds won’t be an AONB in time. The farmers will have all gone bust or sold up due to an oppressive council stopping them from diversifying. This will lead to much farm land being sold to housing developers.’

While Clarkson’s Farm concludes with the Diddly Squat team opening the restaurant using a legal loophole, it was subsequently hit with an enforced closure notice by the council and Clarkson has since abandoned his attempts to open it.

Clarkson’s Farm season two is now available on Amazon Prime.

What are your thoughts on the planning permission system? Have you struggled to set up a diversified business on your farm due to red tape? Share your views with us at editor@farmersguide.co.uk

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