Good news for everyone who’s been hooked on possibly the most popular modern mainstream TV show about farming and life as a farmer. “Clarkson’s Farm,” which features Top Gear and The Grand Tour star Jeremy Clarkson and his now-famous hired hand Kaleb Cooper, has been renewed for a second season on Amazon Prime Video. The… Read More
Category: United Kingdom
In presentations I frequently open up my talks discussing the agriculture challenges in Canada and the United States and then finish the opening by saying, “it could be worse, we could be in the UK.” It always gets a laugh, but for farmers in the UK, a possible crash exit from the EU is no… Read More
A case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) was found in Scotland this past week, in the area of Aberdeenshire. This is the first time of a recorded case of BSE in the UK since 2015. Back then, there was a case found in Wales. “I have activated the Scottish Government’s response plan to protect our… Read More
The ceiling on what’s possible with wheat yield has been pushed higher once again. A farmer in northeast England has just claimed a new world wheat yield record of 16.52 tonnes per hectare, or in North American terms, 246 bushels per acre. As was pointed out in this Wheat School episode, yields surpassing 120 bushels per acre… Read More
Wheat production in the United Kingdom hovers just below 200, 000 hectares (about a half a million acres). It’s used for export markets, human consumption, and plays a key role in animal rations. Thanks in large part to the UK’s temperate climate, yields of 120bu/ac are not uncommon. And, as you’ll find in the following… Read More
Last month, I had the opportunity to head to Scotland’s Aberdeenshire for the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists congress. While there, I received requests to document some of the differences in prices and availability of food products. Instead of writing a comprehensive report outlining the experience (boring!), I decided to do a vlog, which is totally… Read More
If you leave Dyce, Scotland in a northeasterly direction, you’ll no doubt end up along the North Sea’s coastline. You’ll pass Donald Trump’s controversial golf course along the A90, infamously known by environmentalists, many of whom opposed its start up and watched closely as Trump took his opposition to an experimental offshore wind farm to… Read More
The following is a written version of the audio above, though the audio provides sound clips and interviews from the tour itself (recommended). Over 200 journalists from 37 countries met this September for the annual IFAJ congress in Dyce, Scotland, a suburb of the booming granite city of Aberdeen. The theme this year was innovation,… Read More
I’ve often heard travelling farmers suggest their peers ignore the customs declaration form that asks whether or not you’ve recently visited a farm or are returning to one. The fear, is, of course, that the customs staff might waste your time with needless questions, disinfecting of boots and so forth. I’ve never paid much heed to… Read More
It’s drizzling rain, with autumn on its way. The telly is on, to provide background noise and prevent the inevitable feeling of loneliness that so often accompanies travel. The video pans across a house inspired by “earthship” designs. An angry accent trembles through the air outside: a worried father. I’m writing from a hotel near Aberdeen,… Read More