Stuart Minting

While jousting is recognised among the oldest equestrian sports in the world, with origins dating back to the 10th century, a number of its modern day aficionados are have made a bold move to shake off some of the heritage they say has been holding it back as a 21st century sporting event.

The chairman of Yorkshire Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs has said the organisation is “more relevant than ever” as those producing food become increasingly isolated while performing their daily tasks.

​Exactly a century ago today, nineteen year-old ‘Tut’ Sowray was walking his family’s stock twenty miles from Lamb Hill, between West Tanfield and Masham, to set up on their then newly-tenanted farm at Humberton, near Boroughbridge, where the fourth generation to farm here, David Sowray, farms today with his wife Rachael, albeit now with several other strings to their bow, and the fifth generation too.

Farming leaders are calling for the import licensing delays which left many farmers without access to the bluetongue serotype 3 (BTV-3) vaccine this summer to be urgently addressed.

While many nature recovery schemes have traditionally been sited on marginal farmland, a group of conventional farmers working some of the country’s most fertile soils have embarked on a two-year project to demonstrate enhanced nature recovery alongside modern farming practices.

Zebras grazing in a Yorkshire park might sound like a scene from an animated movie for children, but new University of Sheffield research has suggested introducing such African creatures could become vital in the fight against climate change and that the move would be likely to receive public backing.

A collaboration of six nature-friendly Yorkshire Dales farmers has reported a strong start to a certified Pasture for Life meat vending machine venture.

Two first generation farmers behind a 450-acre regenerative agriculture project have been selected for an initiative which will see their farm developed as a hub for agroecological learning for food and farm workers in the North.

Three farmers from the region have been heralded as exemplars after winning national accolades recognising their innovative practices.

Concerned about keeping their horses fed, equestrians found themselves searching far and wide earlier this year for hay suppliers and discovering rationing signs on haylage.