Farming forums — ask anything

News from FarmerKnowsNothing. Read-only — staff post here.

New here? Say hello and tell us what you keep, grow or dream of keeping.

Nobody is born knowing. Ask the basic question — no one will make you feel daft.

Bugs, ideas, how do I…

From a few acres and a dream to a first flock — what to do first, and what to avoid.

Finding land, farm business tenancies, rights of way and what to check before you sign.

Payments, environmental schemes and funding — what exists and how to apply.

Costings, gross margins, tax, record-keeping and making it pay.

Suckler herds, finishing, grazing systems and getting a fair price.

Milking, yields, parlours, mastitis and the daily routine.

Calving signs, colostrum, scours and rearing healthy calves.

Choosing a breed, bulls, AI and building a herd.

Preparing for lambing, difficult births, twins, orphans and getting through the season.

Lameness, worms, fly strike, scab and what to do about them (with your vet).

Shearing, wool prices, dagging and what to do with the fleece.

Dairy, meat and fibre goats — housing, fencing, feeding and kidding.

Rearing, farrowing, arks, feeding and the paperwork.

Coops, laying, moulting, red mite and keeping foxes out.

Christmas birds, pheasants, quail and everything else with feathers.

Incubators, candling, hatch rates and rearing chicks.

Grazing, feeding, fencing and care for horses and ponies.

Fibre, guarding, husbandry and the quirks of camelids.

Hives, swarms, varroa, honey and getting started.

Ponds, trout, tilapia and small-scale aquaculture.

Cereals, oilseeds, pulses, rotations and machinery timing.

Leys, reseeding, grazing rotation, hay and silage.

Growing for the table or the market — beds, tunnels, timing and selling.

Fruit trees, cider apples, soft fruit and orchard management.

Soil testing, lime, NPK, manures, cover crops and soil health.

Docks, thistles, slugs, blight and other things trying to ruin your year.

Buying, servicing, hydraulics, PTO and fixing the old ones.

Mowers, balers, spreaders, sprayers, loaders and what suits what.

Filters, oils, belts, electrics and keeping the kit running.

Workshop builds, gates, trailers and welding tips.

Fence types, energisers, gates, races and crushes.

Movements, tagging, records, inspections and staying on the right side of the rules.

Stewardship, nature recovery, rewilding and farming with wildlife.

Hedge laying, planting, coppicing, timber and woodland management.

Ditches, drains, boreholes, ponds and living with the weather.

Solar, wind, hydro, biomass and batteries for the farm.

Keeping disease out, spotting problems early and when to call the vet.

Talk about experience with treatments. Not veterinary advice — always ask your vet.

Machinery, livestock handling, chemicals, working alone and near-misses.

A kind, supportive space to talk when farming gets heavy.

Moderated classifieds. Read the pinned rules — no prescription medicines, and every listing must follow the law.

Tractors, implements, trailers and workshop kit.

Hay, haylage, straw and feed — for sale, wanted or swapped.

Farm work, contracting, apprenticeships and training courses.

Selling direct — box schemes, farm shops, markets and online.

Spotted a tractor, trailer or quad on eBay and not sure it is fair? Post it with the eBay button, say what you would pay and why, and let people who know that kit weigh in. Say when you looked: prices change.

How to read a listing properly, what to ask the seller before you bid, when to bid late and when to walk away, and how collection and payment usually work for big kit.

Fake listings, fake escrow, cloned adverts and payment traps. Warn each other and describe the pattern, then report it to the platform. Describe the listing, not the person: please do not name private individuals.

Barn finds and old Fergies, Dextas and Fords: what to check before you buy, which parts are still easy to get, and how to bring one back into work.

Getting a big machine home: hauliers, trailers and loading, collection manners, insurance in transit, and what to do when it arrives damaged.

Glamping, events, contracting, on-farm energy, farm shops and school visits: what worked, what did not, and what it really cost to start.

Websites, social media, your Google Business Profile and getting found. Add your farm to the Farmers Database, and share what has actually brought customers in.

Public liability, machinery and livestock cover, farm-shop and visitor insurance, and how to compare quotes. Shared experience, not financial advice.

Handing over the farm, partnerships, tenancies within families and the difficult conversations that go with them. Take legal and tax advice for your own situation.

Apps, spreadsheets and systems for herd, flock and field records, accounts and compliance: what saves you time and what only adds admin.

Forecasts, frost, drought and flooding, plus what needs doing on the farm in each month of the year.

Hedgehogs to barn owls: hedges, ponds, margins and field corners that help wildlife and still let you farm. For questions about protected species, check with the relevant agency.

Foxes, crows, rats and rabbits: lawful, humane ways to protect stock and crops. Keep it legal: no talk of illegal traps, poisons or harming protected species.

Sheepdogs, farm collies, terriers and the yard cat: training, health, feeding and keeping them safe around machinery and stock.

First job, first tenancy, first flock. Advice for people starting out, and news from young farmers clubs and networks.

What you have read, watched or listened to that actually taught you something. Recommendations welcome: say why it helped.

Agricultural colleges, short courses, machinery tickets and apprenticeships: what is worth the fee and what is not.

Highland and lowland farms, crofting, hill sheep, Scottish rules and schemes, shows and sales.

The dales, the fells and the northern plains: meet-ups, shows, contractors, markets and the weather up here.

Arable land, fenland, big skies and mixed farms: local groups, contractors, sales and know-how.

Dairy, beef, cider and coast: local shows, markets, contractors and the West Country weather.

Small farms close to big towns: farm shops, pick-your-own, vineyards, meet-ups and contractors.

Hill farms, upland grazing and Welsh rules and schemes: shows, sales, contractors and local groups.

Farming across Northern Ireland and the Republic: rules that differ from the rest of the UK, shows, marts and local groups.

Members-only — Farmer & Estate plans.

Estate-only.

Everything that is not farming.