Cereals 2026 at Clarkson's Farm: Does it still pay to grow combinable crops?
The Farmers Weekly PodcastShow Notes
This live Cereals 2026 episode tackles one big question: with high input costs and mediocre grain prices will planting cereals this autumn be financially worthwhile? The discussion starts with markets and margins, including break-even wheat prices, grain carryover, milling wheat premiums and the risks of holding out for higher prices. Part Two looks at how growers can reduce risk through variety choice, BYDV resistance, hybrid wheat, yellow rust resilience and AHDB decision-support tools. Finally, we asks whether the public and politicians really understand farming — and how Clarkson’s Farm has changed the conversation about food security and farm profitability. Guests Andrew Williamson – Shropshire farmer and NFU Combinable Crops Board vice-chair Andrew Dewing – Dewing Grain chief executive and grain trader Clare Leaman – NIAB cereal variety specialist Sacha White – AHDB crop protection scientist Patrick Galbraith – Daily Telegraph rural affairs writer Charlie Ireland – Ceres Rural and adviser to Clarksons Farm George Badger – Ceres Rural and adviser to Clarksons Farm Chapters 00:00 – Introduction Live from Cereals 2026 at Diddly Squat Farm. 01:15 – Are cereals still worth drilling? Andrew Williamson outlines the pressure on arable margins. 04:12 – Grain markets and break-even prices Andrew Dewing assesses wheat values, cost of production and selling opportunities. 05:30 – Feed prices and livestock links Hugh Broom looks at what low grain prices mean for livestock producers. 09:04 – Fertiliser costs and possible support The NFU’s call for help if fertiliser prices spike. 11:44 – Feed wheat, milling wheat and risk Louise Impey and the panel discuss whether milling wheat still stacks up. 16:37 – Grain marketing strategy When should growers lock in prices for harvest 2026 and 2027? 19:20 – Growing a cost-effective crop Claire Lehman and Sasha White join the discussion. 20:10 – BYDV-resistant varieties Why barley is moving faster than wheat on BYDV tolerance. 21:30 – Hybrid wheat Could new hybrid wheat varieties change the market? 23:13 – Yellow rust resistance How breeders are responding to resistance breakdowns. 24:24 – AHDB’s new BYDV tool Sasha White explains how the tool can help growers decide whether spraying is worthwhile. 28:28 – Decision support and SFI tools How AHDB is helping growers weigh up complex agronomic and business choices. 32:04 – Resilience over yield Why variety choice is increasingly about consistency and risk management. 34:45 – Does the public understand farming? Patrick Galbraith, Charlie Ireland and George Badger join the final panel. 35:52 – Telling farming stories in national media How farming issues are explained to non-farming audiences. 37:17 – Behind the scenes at Diddly Squat What Clarkson’s Farm gets right about farming life. 42:27 – Food security and public awareness Why the link between shoppers and producers remains fragile. 44:32 – Reasons for optimism Mixed farming, SFI, land opportunities and long-term business thinking. 49:09 – How farming is perceived Patrick Galbraith on public sympathy, politics and why farming should keep pushing its case. This episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast is co-hosted by Johann Tasker, Louise Impey and Hugh Broom. Edited and produced by Johann Tasker. We love to hear from you: - Contact or follow Johann: linkedin.com/in/johanntasker/ Contact or follow Louise: linkedin.com/in/louise-impey-95470b20b/ Contact or follow Hugh: linkedin.com/in/hugh-broom-9b11906a/ For Farmers Weekly, visit fwi.co.uk or follow linkedin.com/company/farmers-weekly To contact, sponsor or advertise on the Farmers Weekly Podcast, email [email protected]. In the UK, you can also text the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Farmers are ploughing up environmental features after thousands were shut out of the Sustainable Farming Incentive when funding ran out less than six hours after applications opened. In this episode of the Farmers Weekly Podcast, we hear from Lincolnshire farmer Charles Anyan as he returns buffer strips to wheat production following problems with his SFI application. NFU vice-president Robyn Munt sets out what the union wants Defra to do next – including urgent clarity for farmers left without agreements and an earlier opening for SFI 2027. Shadow farming minister Robbie Moore gives the Conservative response and argues that the government and Treasury must provide greater certainty over future funding. And we visit the Allerton Project in Leicestershire, where a planned SFI agreement worth about £85,000 a year failed to get through. Allerton head of sustainable farming Joe Stanley considers what the debacle means for environmental delivery – and whether private natural-capital markets can fill some of the funding gap. Chapters 00:00 – SFI fallout: farmers start ploughing up environmental features 09:27 – Autumn drilling update: grassweed control with Bayer Crop Science 12:19 – NFU demands answers from Defra 25:41 – Political fallout from the SFI closure 37:18 – Markets: beef and sheep strengthen 39:42 – Allerton Project: £85,000 SFI shortfall 45:20 – What now for farm environmental policy?
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In an exclusive interview with Farmers Weekly's Abi Kay, former farm minister Daniel Zeichner gives an extraordinary account of life inside Defra. Revelations include Mr Zeichner's claim that as a minister he knew nothing about government plans to impose inheritance tax on farmers until after they were announced in the 2024 Budget. He says he was then “dutifully dispatched to defend” the policy to furious farmers. Mr Zeichner also admits that Labour was not sufficiently prepared for government when it was elected in July 2024. He says he was unable to tell farmers the “full story” about problems with the government's flagship Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI), which ran out of money in March 2025. He also describes feeling “man-marked” by Treasury officials he had never met – and says the government should have foreseen the trouble its inheritance tax plans caused. Edited and produced by Johann Tasker. To get in touch with the Farmers Weekly Podcast: - Contact or follow Johann: linkedin.com/in/johanntasker/ Contact or follow Abi: uk.linkedin.com/in/abi-kay-38927130 For Farmers Weekly, visit fwi.co.uk or follow linkedin.com/company/farmers-weekly To contact, sponsor or advertise on the Farmers Weekly Podcast, email [email protected]. In the UK, you can also text the word FARM followed by your message to 88 44 0. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.