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As a new year begins, I look back over 2021 and cannot help but think of how much the agricultural industry had to overcome.

The new barn is here. After a month of delay due to supply chain issues, the holes have been dug, the concrete has been poured and the steel is going up.

Josie Troop, 23, currently lives on her family’s beef and arable farm in Newark, Nottinghamshire and is the NFU’s student and young farmer ambassador for the East Midlands.

NEW WRITER - Dan Jones farms 650 ewes at the National Trust-owned Parc Farm, which sits on the Great Orme, a limestone headland which rises up 207 metres (683 feet) on the North Wales coast near Llandudno. His Farm Business Tenancy covers the 58 hectares (143 acres) at Parc Farm, plus 364ha (900 acres) of grazing rights on the hill.

Happy new year. January is always a month that flies by but in theory should be quiet, with little other than routine feeding to be done.

By rights, when you read this Stephen and I should have had a couple of days in Glasgow at the Semex conference, which is always an interesting and thought provoking conference. However, it has obviously been cancelled due to restrictions in Scotland.

Floss Styles, 30, is the founder of the First Generation ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Group on Facebook. From two sheep to 60, she is building up a farming business in Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, while working full-time.

Cost and carbon footprint have driven a Devon family to reduce the number of replacements reared.

Labour savings, improved cow performance and better health management have been some of the benefits of moving to robotic milking on one Cumbrian dairy farm.

Maximising herd efficiencies by optimising cow environment and not carrying any passengers is a must in light of escalating costs and tightening margins.