EnvironmentAn analysis of 422 studies found reduced and zero tillage the most reliable conservation practices for lowering greenhouse gases, while mulching and fertiliser strategies gave mixed results depending on climate and soil.
AgribusinessPoultry and vegetable farmers describe lay-offs and smaller harvests, and the National African Farmers Union calls for a temporary cut in the fuel levy before another fuel price rise in October.
AgribusinessIn a letter to Andy Burnham, the alliance's chairman Lord Herbert puts the reforms to agricultural and business property relief at the top of a list of rural grievances, backed by polling on rural voters.
IslamWriting in Amar Desh's literary supplement, Zahid Hasan describes how the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258) built networks of canals and dams to bring Iraq's idle land under cultivation, and how irrigation technology turned al-Andalus into fertile farmland.
AgrotechHarvestPath, built by fourth-generation rancher Carrie Richards, tracks every cost between the pasture and the shelf, while Agco's Adrian Crawford argues farm AI must start from a farmer's real problem.
EnvironmentAfter a summer of drought and wildfires left slurry stores fuller than usual, the Welsh Government will let farmers spread until 15 November and pay 80% of SFS and BPS claims in advance.
AgrotechAn automated biotelemetry system built by Stellenbosch University researcher Megan le Roux records night-time video of black-backed jackals on farms and uploads it without human help, to study a predator culling has failed to control.
Market ManagementAn analysis on FarmingPortal warns that costs locked in during 2026, from diesel to imported fertiliser and finance, could meet a very strong El Niño and turn next year's crop into an expensive, lower-yielding one.
EnvironmentAmanda and Adrian Currie, accountants who bought a 750-hectare sheep and beef farm in 2012, now spray home-bred microbes, rest paddocks and use dung beetles instead of buying fertiliser.
Market ManagementLove British Food wants retailers, caterers and public buyers to back British farmers during the fortnight from 26 September to 11 October, with Red Tractor joining as lead assurance partner.
A training day at Taaibosch Piggery brought NSPCA inspectors, the pork producers' body SAPPO and vets together; group housing and batch traceability won ground, but farrowing crates and tail docking remain in dispute.
CropsResearchers in the United States and Brazil reviewed how plant growth-promoting fungi such as Trichoderma and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi could help crops cope with nutrient-poor regolith, but say tests on real Moon and Mars material are still needed.
New Zealand's Rural Co-ordination Group says silage is very tight and transport is stretched, and urges farmers to plan feed early and seek support.
