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Herefordshire farmers speak out after receiving letters accusing them of not meeting water rule targets

Dog walkers and ramblers have flattened crops at Richard Payne's Somerset arable farm, which costs him between £1,500 and £2,500 each year

With Defra targets of increasing agroforestry to 10 per cent of all arable land by 2050, farmers are concerned about the finances and practicality of this for the farm business

With harvest progress falling behind and increased reports of lodged crops, growers continue to face challenging conditions.

NFU crops board chairman Matt Culley is a fourth-generation farmer from Hampshire working in partnership with his parents and brother.

Rob farms on the Worcestershire/Herefordshire border with his parents and young family, growing combinable and forage crops with a mix of owned, tenanted and contracted land. An agronomist for Edaphos, Rob also hosts AHDB Monitor Farm events.

Sugar beet could yet make a comeback in Scotland more than fifty years after British Sugar closed its factory at Cupar.

Ben Boothman is an independent agronomist and member of the Arable Advisor Group and the Association of Independent Crop Consultants (AICC), covering Yorkshire and the North East. He is BASIS, FACTS and BETA qualified and studied for a degree in agriculture and crop management at Harper Adams University.

The 2023/24 FACTS annual online assessment scheme for agriculture and vegetables will deal with the broad, but highly topical subject of ‘managing soils for effective nutrient supply’.