AHDB Food & Farming

Lameness is one of the most costly challenges facing British dairy farmers today, with each case amounting to around £330. Affected animals produce less milk, take longer to get back in calf, and are more likely to be culled. Addressing lameness incidences on your farm will not only help your bottom line but also make a big difference to animal welfare and staff morale. In this episode, Knowledge...

In England, the government is rolling out Direct Payments and phasing in new policies under the Agricultural Transition Plan. One of these is the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway (The Pathway), which launched the first of four steps in Spring 2022 to provide farmers in England with a fully funded vet visit. The Pathway will push forward and support the gradual and continual improvement in farm an...

In this Food and Farming podcast, Knowledge Exchange Manager, Emma Steele, chats to Shropshire Beef & Lamb Strategic Farmer, Neil Brown, about his use of EID and using the information he collects to make management decisions, including weaning. We are also joined by Matt Blyth from BLAS UK, who is supporting Neil in recording and utilising data on farm. Download the podcast today to discover m...

This Food & Farming podcast episode is the second part which follows the journey of Beef & Lamb Strategic Farmer Chris Elkington and independent consultant Dr Liz Genever as they look into reducing inputs (such as fertiliser) and understanding what soil tests are telling us with a view of formulating an action plan to run a trial on Chris’s farm.  Chris is a sheep farmer from Lincolnshire...

In this pork-focused edition of AHDB’s Food and Farming podcast, we discuss the Pig Industry Scholarship Programme (PISP) and find out how it is helping placement students learn about the pig industry and how companies are benefiting from taking part. Our guests Bob Dixon, National Sales Manager, ABN; Ian Hunt, Technical Director, Karro Foods; Sarah Reid, Harper Adams University Placement student,...

Milking cows and dry cows have very different requirements from their diet. What might be high quality silage for one animal is another’s poison! As forage makes up the major part of a cow's ration it is vital that silages are made with the end use in mind, and targeted to the dietary requirements of the group. Planning a silage strategy starts well before the mower comes out of the shed. Sward ty...

“The next generation has always been and will be better than the previous one. If it is not, then the world would not be moving forward” – Kapil Dev, former captain of the Indian National Cricket team. This is a concept not limited to the world of cricket. Building on your herd foundations from generation to generation is key to the success of a livestock farming enterprise. The selection and bree...

Trade is crucial for the UK’s domestic and global prosperity. This means delivering an ambitious set of Free Trade Agreements and removing market access barriers.  In this episode of AHDB’s Food & Farming podcast, hosted by John Bates, AHDB’s Dr Phil Hadley and Karen Morgan from the Department for International Trade (DIT) explain what it takes to open new markets and how they go about strengt...

This Food & Farming podcast episode is part one of two episodes which follows the journey of Beef & Lamb Strategic Farmer Chris Elkington and independent consultant Dr Liz Genever as they look into reducing inputs (such as fertiliser) and understanding what soil tests are telling us. The condition of soil on livestock farms directly influences the yield and quality of grass and forage crop...

Join this Food and Farming podcast with AHDB's Will Jackson and NFU President Minette Batters to find out more about the next steps for voting on AHDB's Shape the Future. You’ll get to have your say on the challenges you want AHDB to focus on and the services we will deliver for you in the future. It’s your chance to influence how your levy is spent on the things that matter to you most. The secto...

British food products remain relatively niche in export markets and more needs to be done to highlight the positive attributes of pork from the UK. These findings come from new research from our consumer insight team, which explored consumer buying behaviour across three continents to provide valuable insight into where British produce fits into these markets. In this episode, John Bates speaks to...

This special podcast celebrates all things beef and is in support of the 12th Great British Beef Week, which will take place this year from 23 April. Farmers, processors, supermarkets, butchers, farm shops, pubs and restaurants are uniting to celebrate the beef produced in the UK.  St Georges day begins a week of celebrations known as Great British Beef Week (GBBW). This podcast focuses on the gre...

As we embark on another year of output from our growing network of strategic farms, Jane Craigie takes some time to speak to Suffolk farmer, Brian Barker, the first ever AHDB strategic cereal farm. This episode discusses the journey and successes so far, creating that blueprint for future farms and what’s left to do.

In this AHDB Food and Farming podcast John Bates speaks to AHDB analyst Vikki Campbell as she has been looking closely at the  situation in Ukraine and what it means for markets expecting wheat and other food stuffs to be shipped. The big picture here is the dependency of one part of the globe has on another.  Here at home, we see food security rising the political agenda as  fuel and energy price...

With the UK Government’s plan to replace Single Farm Payments with new Sustainable Farming Incentives, the environment will become central to all farms over the next few years. With this in mind, it’s a good idea to make the environment a primary focus area within your business plan. In this episode James Hague, Knowledge Exchange Manager for AHDB Dairy, is joined by Ruari Martin, Farm Director at...

Pork: Effective management of feed on farm Feed is not straightforward and accounts for a huge percentage of the costs of rearing livestock, of which farmers have little or no control. In this pork-focused edition of AHDB’s Food and Farming podcast, Vikki Campbell, Senior Market Specialist Manager (Arable) AHDB, Carol Davis, Lead Analyst - Farm Economics AHDB, Dr Phil Baynes, Managing Director Bay...

In this AHDB Food and Farming podcast AHDB’s Emma Steele, Knowledge Exchange Manager, chats to beef and arable farmer, James Herrick who farms 450 acres in Leicestershire. They have a discussion around James’ grazing story and how he went from a traditional stocked farm to rotational grazing. James gives honest advice on how he started his rotational grazing journey and the benefits of grazing you...

This AHDB Food and Farming podcast follows part of a visit that The British Embassy in Washington recently undertook, as part of a four-day agriculture trade mission to the UK. The delegation of US officials visited the UK, to understand more about UK food and farming in all its glory. AHDB's John Bates tagged along for part of the programme when the delegation visited two livestock farms in Glouc...

In this episode John Bates is joined by Tim Rycroft, AHDB’s chief executive, to answer some questions sent in by levy payers around Shape the Future. Tim also talks about his first six months in the job and how the next six months are shaping up.  Shape the future of farming Levy payers are at the heart of everything we do, so it’s only right that we give you a greater voice in how we spend your l...

The Environment Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee is the topic for this podcast. As a levy payer the work of the EFRA committee is relevant and so too, is the liaison AHDB does on your behalf to inform discussions and decisions made by the committee. Select committees are an important part of examining the work of government. Put simply they check and report on areas of government department...

It feels like dairy farmers move from one challenge to another, with few periods of stability in between. Currently high input costs are challenging margins, and while milk prices have moved up to help offset them to a degree, periods of tight margins occur on a regular basis.   On top of that, the industry is being faced with increased scrutiny and pressure to justify its environmental credential...

In our latest Food and Farming podcast, we headed to Scotland to chat about agricultural policy, climate, digital data, barley (and of course whisky!), costs of production, AHDB’s Monitor Farm and the legacy that followed. Grab a cuppa and join us in the grain shed. Shape the future of farming Levy payers are at the heart of everything we do, so it’s only right that we give you a greater voice in...

Last year, we conducted a review of leadership and management in the UK farming sector, looking at best practice, traits, qualities, uptake, barriers and future needs. This review highlighted a shocking statistic that only 0.37% of farmers and their employees engage each year in any formal leadership and management training. In this episode, AHDB’s Mark Campbell talks to two farmers about their ex...

In this podcast Bryony Ennis talks to specialist sheep vet Fiona Lovatt and farmer Clare Wise to get a practical take on best practice advice at lambing time to prevent watery mouth, with their top tips for managing ewes and lambs to prevent disease. They discuss nutrition, body condition and the importance of colostrum.  Speakers: Clare Wise is a 5th generation beef, sheep and arable farmer from...

In this pork-focused edition of AHDB’s Food and Farming podcast, AHDB’s John Bates chats with pig farmers Rob Mutimer and Fergus Howie, and AHDB Senior Marketing Manager Nicola Dodd. They discuss our Mix up Midweek with Pork marketing campaign, as well as our We Eat Balanced campaign, which are both targeting consumers during January and February. Since 2017, we have been changing the perceptions...