Livestock
Swaledale Sheep: Breed Guide, the Mule Connection and Life on the High Moors
Tim’s take: The Swaledale is the sheep on the Yorkshire Dales National Park badge, and for once the marketing is accurate: the high Pennine moors are Swaledale…
From the fields and beyond
Author: Tim Harfield
Tim Harfield is a working British farmer in Suffolk with 21 years in UK commercial agriculture — primarily salad and veg, with arable added to the rotation in the last two years. Full stack from hand-harvest to running the whole operation. He founded BritFarmers as an independent publication alongside his day job, sourcing every guide from DEFRA, AHDB and NFU primary material.
Industry
Red Diesel Prices UK 2026: What a Litre Costs and the Duty Cut Running to December
Tim’s take: Fuel is the input cost nobody budgets honestly, because nobody knows where it will be by drilling, let alone by next harvest. Pump diesel has…
Livestock
Blackface Sheep: The UK’s Most Numerous Breed and Why the Hills Run on It
Tim’s take: Stand on any Scottish hill road long enough and the sheep that walks out in front of the car will be a Blackface. No breed…
Livestock
Orf in Sheep: Symptoms, Treatment and When to Vaccinate
Tim’s take: Every flock meets orf eventually, usually in the lambing shed, usually at the worst moment: a pen of thriving lambs one week, scabby mouths and…
Arable
UK Wheat Prices 2026: Feed Wheat, Milling Premiums and What Moves the Market
Last updated: 7 October 2026. The price table and the market analysis cover AHDB figures for the week ending 2 October; the harvest figures come from AHDB’s…
Livestock
Sheep Breeding in the UK: Tupping Dates, Ewe Lambs and Ram Ratios
Tim’s take: Sheep breeding decisions get made in August and paid for in March. The ram going in this autumn sets next spring’s lambing percentage, the labour…
Livestock
Cattle Gestation Calculator: Calving Dates for UK Herds
Use this cattle gestation calculator to turn any service date into an expected calving date, then plan the scour vaccination window around it.
Industry
How Much Does a Cow Cost in the UK? (2026 Prices)
Current GB deadweight values turned into per-head money, why there is no public national price for store and breeding cattle any more, and the CPH number and…
Industry
How Much Does a Sheep Cost in the UK? (2026 Prices)
Live per-head figures from the August 2026 trade, the arithmetic behind a finished lamb's value, why breeding ewes have no national price, and the CPH registration you…
News
More Than 700 Scottish Farms to Share £14.25 Million in New Grant Funding
Grants of up to £20,000 per business will be available regardless of holding size, with at least 725 operations expected to benefit.
