²ÝÁñÉçÇø

Beth Alexander, 23, is from Blairgowrie, Scotland and farms 800 suckler cows and 1800 ewes across three upland units. She also works in the industry development team at Quality Meat Scotland as a cattle and sheep specialist.

Matthew Probert on an unpredictable year.

2021 seems to be the year of the consultation. By the time you read this, the urea consultation will have closed, and no doubt growers will have had communication from Red Tractor regarding the opening of its V5 standards consultation.

Winter seems to be progressing in the normal way, with December being suitably wet and the last field destined for winter wheat will now be planted with spring wheat.

Share farming is increasingly popular for people wanting to get a foot on the farming ladder, as well as those struggling with succession. Ruth Wills looks at some of the options.

Vibrant green paddocks ease down to the rugged coastline at Caulston Farm as they have done for centuries, but a strategic approach that drives how this land is farmed has an entirely modern grounding today. Rachel Lovell rep

As winter draws to an end Tom and Jimmy Stobart hope their efforts to restore health and resilience to the soil mean their land will support a relatively early turnout. Ann Hardy reports.

Happy New Year. I hope you all had some form of rest and normality over the festive period. Like many of you, I was happy to see the back of 2020 while filled with excitement for what the new year has in store for us. Well at this moment in time I am slightly concerned that 2021 is just 2020 reappearing in disguise.

The environmental impact of farming is a hot topic at the moment and one of the main bugbears is the use of soya in animal feed, which is becoming a growing concern for consumers and retailers. Lynsey Clark reports.

Family farmers are the backbone of our countryside, they’ve shaped our landscape over many centuries - the reason why people flock to our National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty every year, writes Liberal Democrat agriculture spokesman Tim Farron.