Current issue

81 Vol 21-1. May - August 2012

Back issues

80 Vol 20-4. Feb-May 2012

79 Vol 20 - Issue 3 - Autumn 2011

78 - Vol 20 - Issue 2 - Summer 2011

77 - Vol 20 - Issue 1 - Spring 2011

76 - Vol 19 - Issue 4 - Winter 2010

see all back issues

What they say about us...

Before I start building or adapting a machine, I turn to Practical Farm Ideas. I don't know how many times I have flicked though my copies!

Robin Benbow, Welshpool

If you'd like your comments featured here, please contact us

Get diesel in now ready for harvest

With the 60p/litre milestone now passed, buying in extra red tractor diesel might seem like a good way of severely damaging cash flow. Yet, with harvest nearly upon us, and fuel supplies being disrupted on the continent, there's something to be said for filling up your farm tanks ready for combining and baling, and maybe sourcing some extra storage. The price of diesel is unlikely to reverse itself by much, if at all, and may still ease up a penny.

The harvest looks set well, crops looking exceptional and prices this year are sufficiently to fit a lock on the barn door.

It would be a disaster if harvest was messed up by problems of fuel supply! Galling if all was spoilt because of worries of short term cash flow.

Tanker being turned away from refinery

This post was prompted by recent news from France:

Fuel price strike puts France in gridlock
   French farmers and lorry drivers joined fishermen in protests against soaring fuel prices, blocking motorways and oil refineries, as other European countries followed suit.
   Riot police fired tear gas and charged farmers who had blocked a petrol depot in Frontignan, on the southern French coast. Two people were injured. Further west, near Toulouse, 300 farmers used their cars to cut off a Total fuel depot, demanding emergency measures to help cope with the petrol price rise.
   In Spain and Portugal, fishermen are calling an "unlimited" strike starting tomorrow, possibly joined by their Italian and Greek counterparts. Dutch drivers are planning a national day of action.