News

On the southern slopes of Dartmoor, the Cleave family has been farming at Higher Mill Leat Farm for more than three decades. The family-run hill farm blends a traditional farming system with modern methods to create a thriving multi-generational business.

Improving efficiencies and embracing new opportunities has always been Andrew and Nicky Branton’s mindset on their Tiverton dairy farm. But this approach has been reinvigorated since their children Izzy and Matthew joined the business.

Family circumstances brought fifth generation farmer George Greed back to the farm sooner than expected but fortitude and resilience are important on Fortescue Farm, where Jilly, Ed and George have demonstrated their determination to create a sustainable future for the farm.

Cornhill Farm in West Cornwall is expanding its education and community outreach programme thanks to a new farm trailer sponsored partly by farming insurance experts Cornish Mutual.

Enterprise stacking is a form of farm diversification with integration and sustainability at its heart. Farmers Tim May and Dave Oates told the Farming Focus™ podcast how they’re stacking enterprises on their farms to build business resilience.

Having grown up on a dairy farm and worked in several other farming businesses, it wasn’t until Andrew Sincock moved into the commercial world, he began to appreciate the manure he’d been surrounded by in his former life. He shares what he’s learnt on Farming Focus™. “My interest in organic manures started really when I joined Agriton. Of all the products they supplied, one really caught my eye and stood out as being very different, very interesting, very simple,” explained Andrew.

In a Farming Focus™ bonus episode, Mel Bradley and Ben Mortimer return to the podcast to discuss the main considerations and practical aspects of starting and running a successful farm cluster group, based on their experiences with the Kenn Valley group in Devon.

Overhead power lines (OHPLs) pose a particular risk to farmers when working with high or wide machinery, such as combine harvesters, tipper trucks/trailers, telehandlers and spray booms, and not forgetting radio aerials, flashing beacons and vehicles rolling silage clamps. Other jobs around the farm can also increase the risk, including the use of rain or slurry guns, building temporary stacks of bales, fertiliser, potato boxes or pallets and moving ladders. Serious injuries and fatalities occur from coming into direct contact with live lines but also from being too close to one, causing an electrical discharge known as a ‘flashover’ or ‘arc flash’. Even a jet of water or slurry touching a live line is a danger.

Bicton College student Tia Whitrow has been named Cornish Mutual South West Agricultural Student of the Year. As a prize for this prestigious award, Tia will receive funding to attend a leading agricultural event of her choosing.

Among the numerous hazards on a farm are harmful substances. Coming in many forms, Health & Safety Advisor Amy Jasper explains the regulations around these materials and what they mean for handling them on farm.  

Professor John Gilliland strongly believes in the need to ‘measure to manage’ and says if you have “good knowledge you make good decisions”. In this episode of Farming Focus™, he shared his views on using data to inform decision-making, using examples from his extensive and varied background.

A series of Farming Focus™ described as ‘rich and varied’ with insights and innovation from across the farming world, podcast host Peter Green picks five episodes to revisit with farmer and independent strategic advisor Emily Norton in this series finale. They discuss what’s been learnt and what it all means for the future of farming.

Enterprise stacking is a form of farm diversification with integration and sustainability at its heart. Farmers Tim May and Dave Oates told the Farming Focus™ podcast how they’re stacking enterprises on their farms to build business resilience.

Having grown up on a dairy farm and worked in several other farming businesses, it wasn’t until Andrew Sincock moved into the commercial world, he began to appreciate the manure he’d been surrounded by in his former life. He shares what he’s learnt on Farming Focus™. “My interest in organic manures started really when I joined Agriton. Of all the products they supplied, one really caught my eye and stood out as being very different, very interesting, very simple,” explained Andrew.

In a Farming Focus™ bonus episode, Mel Bradley and Ben Mortimer return to the podcast to discuss the main considerations and practical aspects of starting and running a successful farm cluster group, based on their experiences with the Kenn Valley group in Devon.

Overhead power lines (OHPLs) pose a particular risk to farmers when working with high or wide machinery, such as combine harvesters, tipper trucks/trailers, telehandlers and spray booms, and not forgetting radio aerials, flashing beacons and vehicles rolling silage clamps. Other jobs around the farm can also increase the risk, including the use of rain or slurry guns, building temporary stacks of bales, fertiliser, potato boxes or pallets and moving ladders. Serious injuries and fatalities occur from coming into direct contact with live lines but also from being too close to one, causing an electrical discharge known as a ‘flashover’ or ‘arc flash’. Even a jet of water or slurry touching a live line is a danger.

Enterprise stacking is a form of farm diversification with integration and sustainability at its heart. Farmers Tim May and Dave Oates told the Farming Focus™ podcast how they’re stacking enterprises on their farms to build business resilience.

Having grown up on a dairy farm and worked in several other farming businesses, it wasn’t until Andrew Sincock moved into the commercial world, he began to appreciate the manure he’d been surrounded by in his former life. He shares what he’s learnt on Farming Focus™. “My interest in organic manures started really when I joined Agriton. Of all the products they supplied, one really caught my eye and stood out as being very different, very interesting, very simple,” explained Andrew.

The Government’s decision to make changes to farm inheritance tax (IHT) law has caused significant unease across the farming community. This has now been compounded by its surprise announcement of a sudden pause to the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) scheme, which took immediate effect. At Cornish Mutual, we wish to express our unwavering support for farmers during these uncertain and challenging times.

In a Farming Focus™ bonus episode, Mel Bradley and Ben Mortimer return to the podcast to discuss the main considerations and practical aspects of starting and running a successful farm cluster group, based on their experiences with the Kenn Valley group in Devon.

Overhead power lines (OHPLs) pose a particular risk to farmers when working with high or wide machinery, such as combine harvesters, tipper trucks/trailers, telehandlers and spray booms, and not forgetting radio aerials, flashing beacons and vehicles rolling silage clamps. Other jobs around the farm can also increase the risk, including the use of rain or slurry guns, building temporary stacks of bales, fertiliser, potato boxes or pallets and moving ladders. Serious injuries and fatalities occur from coming into direct contact with live lines but also from being too close to one, causing an electrical discharge known as a ‘flashover’ or ‘arc flash’. Even a jet of water or slurry touching a live line is a danger.

Often thought of as simply ‘shutting the gate’ on a piece of land, farming consultant Jim Bliss explains why rewilding requires an active approach in the UK, while regenerative agronomist Hugo Ellis describes it as driving for balance and diversity in habitats and farm enterprises. And livestock, they say, are essential. On his Nuffield travels, Jim Bliss saw some spectacular examples of what he calls ‘passive’ rewilding, where stock had been removed from the land and nature returned – Patagonia National Park being one. But the UK doesn’t have the space to take this approach. “So, it's much better to have active rewilding, which does involve farming, just in a more nuanced way, where it's all about diversity,” says Jim.

Six agricultural students in the South West have been awarded Cornish Mutual Young Farmer Bursaries. The bursaries offer support for the next generation of farmers and celebrate their enthusiasm for the industry.

Cornish Mutual has been putting farmers and the wider farming community across the South West at the heart of all it does since 1903. And the start of 2025 takes this to a new level.