NEWS

Tuesday 29 September 2026 Farmers across Northern Ireland could receive support to restore wildlife habitats together under a new scheme planning to fund up to ten projects, each potentially involving up to 50 farmers and land managers. The Farming with Nature Landscape Projects Scheme will open for proposals on Monday 9 November, with applications closing at 5pm on Friday 4 December 2026. The aim is to connect and improve habitats across farm boundaries, tackling environment

Monday 28 September 2026 Almost half of people surveyed as part of new Northern Ireland research did not know there is no legal requirement for someone shoeing horses here to be registered as a farrier. The Queen’s University Belfast study has highlighted potential risks to horse welfare from inconsistent standards, shortages of farriers and difficulties for owners trying to establish whether someone is properly qualified. More than two-thirds of respondents said they did not

Sunday 27 September 2026 Beef and dairy farmers in the Ballymena area taking part in Northern Ireland’s Bovine Genetics Project can now use free local drop-off points to return DNA samples collected from their cattle. The service is designed to make participation in the new genotyping scheme easier, allowing farmers to leave samples locally rather than relying on posting them directly to the laboratory. Four collection points serving the wider Ballymena and North Antrim area

Carla Lockhart MP Sunday 27 September 2026 Prime Minister Andy Burnham is facing renewed pressure to revisit controversial inheritance tax changes affecting family farms, with DUP Agriculture spokesperson Carla Lockhart welcoming reports that the policy could be reconsidered ahead of the autumn Budget. The Upper Bann MP said any move by the new Prime Minister to change the reforms introduced under his predecessor Sir Keir Starmer would be welcomed by farming families, includi

Saturday 26 September 2026 The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) is urging the Chancellor to pause plans to apply a new carbon charge to imported fertiliser, warning that higher costs could ultimately fall on farmers and make domestic food production more expensive. The UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is due to take effect from 1 January 2027 and will put a carbon price on certain imported goods, including fertiliser. The UFU wants the measure suspended for fertiliser

Friday 25 September 2026 A County Antrim farmer has been fined £3,000 after a slurry spill caused a fish kill and pollution travelled approximately nine kilometres downstream, affecting two County Antrim rivers. John Stewart, 35, of Boyland Road, Ballymoney pleaded guilty at Coleraine Magistrates’ Court to a water pollution offence. Alongside the fine, he was ordered to pay a £15 Offenders Levy and agreed to repay £1,929.80 in fish kill remediation costs. Failed valve allowed

Farmers’ Choir NI Committee Members attending NI Farming Awards at the Culloden Hotel More than 40 members of Farmers’ Choir NI are back rehearsing in Ballymena for a new season — and they already have plenty to sing about after earning recognition at both Northern Ireland and UK level. The cross-community choir, which brings together farmers, people working in agriculture and members of rural communities, has reached the final of the Making Music UK Group of the Year Award 2

Monday 21 September 2026 Glens of Antrim Potatoes has ceased trading after administrators were appointed to the long-established County Antrim business, with almost all of its 95 employees made redundant. The company, which has operated for more than 50 years and has sites in Cushendall and Ballymena, supplied potatoes to major retailers across Ireland and also produced the Glens of Antrim Crisps range. Administrators appointed Stuart Irwin, Ian Leonard and Robin Coughlin fro

Irish Beltex Premier Show & Sale: Judge Andrew Baillie and Sophie McAllister with Overall Show Champion, Artnagullion Major. Sunday 20 September 2026 Kells sheep breeder Elizabeth McAllister secured the overall championship, reserve male championship and highest shearling ewe price at the Irish Beltex Sheep Breeders Club’s Premier Show and Export Sale in Dungannon. Her homebred ram lamb, Artnagullion Major, won the top show honour before selling for 4,500gns to Douglas Nisbet

Wednesday 16 September 2026 Newly released government figures reveal 456 cattle were involved in 56 recorded operations by DAERA’s Humane Slaughter Team — putting the controversial destruction of 51 cattle near Fivemiletown into stark new context. The figures show the June operation, now at the centre of an independent external review, was one of the largest deployments contained in the records released by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. They als

Land-based Engineering students Emily Scott (Garvagh) and Oliver John (Ballycastle) invite you to attend Greenmount Campus Open Day. Young people considering a future in agriculture, agri-food or land-based engineering will have the chance to explore courses, career opportunities and campus life at a special Open Day at CAFRE’s Greenmount Campus next month. The College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) will welcome prospective students to its Antrim campus on

The Ulster Farmers’ Union has called for more Northern Ireland-produced food to be served in schools, hospitals and other public sector institutions, arguing that taxpayers’ money could do more to support local farmers and strengthen the region’s food supply. UFU deputy president Glenn Cuddy said recent debate over the sourcing of chicken products used in Northern Ireland school meals should prompt a wider conversation about where food bought by public bodies comes from. The

Inset: DUP Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart Questions over the sourcing and labelling of chicken served in Northern Ireland schools remain despite fresh assurances from the Education Authority that halal-certified poultry is not being provided as a blanket policy, an MP has said. Upper Bann DUP MP Carla Lockhart is calling for greater transparency for parents and increased use of locally produced food in publicly funded catering, as she prepares to meet Education Authority (EA) o

Northern Ireland farmers are being urged to watch their livestock closely for signs of bluetongue after the disease was confirmed in an animal in County Wexford. The case, involving an unvaccinated heifer, is the first detected in the Republic of Ireland during the 2026/27 bluetongue season. No cases have been confirmed in Northern Ireland this season, but the Ulster Farmers’ Union has warned that the infection’s arrival south of the border underlines the continuing threat to

A day of work and play at Craig’s Corn Cutting charity event in 2025. (Images: Brian Millar) Families, farming enthusiasts and vintage vehicle owners are being invited to enjoy a day of rural demonstrations and entertainment near Cullybackey tomorrow, with all proceeds supporting Air Ambulance Northern Ireland. Craigs Corn Cutting Charity Day will begin at 11am on Saturday 5 September at 49 Duneoin Road, Cullybackey, BT42 1PN. Working machinery and vintage vehicles The event

James Orr discusses genotyping with Senior CAFRE Beef and Sheep Adviser Rachel Megarrell. A Co Antrim father and son are using genetic testing to take some of the guesswork out of breeding decisions on their family farm — uncovering differences within their cattle that cannot necessarily be spotted simply by looking at them. James Orr farms alongside his father William near Ballintoy, where the family runs a suckler herd of around 100 cows, mainly Limousin-Simmental crosses a

Helping announce the new call for entries from Co. Antrim pupils in Yr. 11 are the finalists representing Ballymena Academy in this year’s ABP Angus Youth Challenge. This year’s winners will be announced on 22nd October at an awards ceremony in the Eikon Centre, Balmoral Park. Year 11 pupils across County Antrim are being invited to put their farming knowledge, ideas and teamwork to the test for the chance to rear their own mini-herd of Angus-cross calves. Entries have opened

Northern Ireland farmers will be able to use electronic identification tags for newborn cattle from Monday, 7 September — but adopting the technology will remain entirely voluntary. The electronic identification system, known as EID, is intended to make it faster and more accurate to identify animals and record cattle movements while reducing the need to read tag numbers manually. Farmers can continue using existing tags Herd keepers will be able to replace one of the two con

Dairy Conference Partners pictured (L-R) are Glenn Cuddy, Deputy President at Ulster Farmers Union, Joe Mulholland, Head of Dairy at CAFRE, Jason Rankin, Senior Industry Advisor at Agrisearch and Ian Stevenson, CEO of Dairy Council for Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland dairy farmers will hear how genetics, research and better use of farm data could help improve profitability while reducing environmental impact at a major industry conference this autumn. The Dairy Council for

Albert and William Wallace discuss genotyping with CAFRE Dairy Adviser, Luke Murray. A Tobermore farming family whose dairy herd ranks among Northern Ireland’s highest-performing producers is highlighting how genetic testing can help farmers make more informed breeding decisions, ahead of a major government-backed genotyping scheme opening on Tuesday. Albert Wallace and his son William, who farm just outside Tobermore, have been using genotyping for six years to identify the