21st September 2024
Smith’s Soapbox: Behold the flatliners
It’s a pensive moment to be writing in CPM magazine on its 25th birthday – a quarter of a century is a notable passage of time. It used to be the definition of ‘a generation’…
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Opinion
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17th September 2024
Talking Taties: Threat means opportunity
Before I get my crystal ball out, I think we should consider the past – 25 years ago feels like it should be 1985, but it’s actually 1999 – scary!
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17th September 2024
Last Word: The future is feeling
During our latest readership survey, one thing was apparent – CPM readers treasure physical copies of the magazine. In fact, 65% of those who participated answered ‘no’ when asked if they’d be happy to receive…
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17th September 2024
Nature Natters: 2050 – A walk around my farm
It’s now 2050 – as I step outside the farmhouse door on a September morning, I think to myself what tremendous changes have taken place.
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16th August 2024
Last Word: Timeworn pages
“Remember the real me when I cannot remember you” – wow, as someone who’s cared for a relative with dementia, that quote has brought a tear to my eye.
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16th August 2024
Talking Taties: Variable outcomes
Somewhat predictably, given the rain, it’s a light land year. Our winter barley is all cut and varied in yield from not quite 6t/ha to a reasonable 7.9t/ha, with the average tantalisingly close to 7t/ha.…
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16th August 2024
Nature Natters: Harvesting new opportunities
It’s been a busy summer of conferences, shows and events across the country and I’ve had conversations with many different farmers. It’s become increasingly obvious that they fall into two distinct camps – those who…
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15th August 2024
Smith’s Soapbox: St. Margarets field under new holy orders
Harvest 2024 is erased from the fields but probably not from the memory, for all the wrong reasons. The record wet that fell in both the autumn and winter left its scars – cereals don’t like…
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24th July 2024
Talking Taties: Testing Times
As seasons go, spring 2024 must be one of the most frustrating that I’ve experienced in 30 years of farming. It’s tested everything – from kit to people to resolve, and everything in between. But…
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24th July 2024
Nature Natters: Hopes for harvest and beyond
With a changing climate, the unpredictability of our weather has certainly been bad news for food this year and not for the best for farming. Predictions were always that it’d get warmer, but lately we’re…
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24th July 2024
Smith’s Soapbox: A PTSD-conditioned harvest
I once read that to claim to have lived a full farming life, a farmer should see first-hand at least fifty harvests. I’d guess I’m far from alone in that given I was handed harvest…