''Farmers Guardian'' is a weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

aimed at the British

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled peopl ...

industry. It provides comprehensive and topical news with

Livestock Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...

, Arable and Machinery sections; as well as business information and latest market prices. It is sold nationally and is published each Friday. Based in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

, it was for many years owned by United Business Media but it, and sister title Pulse, were sold to UK business-to-business publisher AgriBriefing in February 2012 in a deal worth £10 million. Related products in include: ''Dairy Farmer'', ''Arable Farming'' and the website www.fginsight.com. The website was launched in February 2015, and includes sections on news, agronomy, arable, livestock, machinery, and machinery.

History

The newspaper started life on 10 February 1844, priced 4½d, as the ''Preston Guardian'',Guide to the Local Collections
(Preston Harris Library Collection - 16 Sep 2010). and was founded by Joseph Livesey, the "father" of the temperance movement, total abstinence movement in Britain to support the campaign for the repeal of the Corn Laws. He was assisted by his sons: William, as sub-editor and manager of the business department (until forced to retire by ill health); John, who came in as editor at the age of 21; and younger sons Franklin and Howard. Livesey Snr was, however, the overall superintendent and wrote the leaders for local news items. The success of the newspaper can be attested by a remark of Richard Cobden: The paper lasted for 15 years under the Livesey's management, until 1859. By then it had become a valuable commodity and was sold to local businessman and fellow teetotaller, Councillor George Toulmin Justice of the Peace, JP (father of the journalist, Publishing, newspaper proprietor and Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party politician George Toulmin (1857–1923)), who owned the paper until 1883. Thomas Wemyss Reid was an editor from 1864-1866. In 1872, a new office building was completed in Fishergate, Preston, and the paper moved into the ground floor. The building was later shared with the ''Lancashire Evening Post'' and was demolished in 1989. The paper lasted under its original name until May 1958 and then continued to the present day as the ''Farmers Guardian''. John Boyle O'Reilly, a future Irish poet, journalist and activist in the United States, worked as an apprentice at the ''Preston Guardian'' in the early 1860s.

References

External links

Farmers Guardian Official websitePulse
{{City of Preston culture Weekly newspapers published in the United Kingdom Agricultural magazines Publications established in 1844 Publications established in 1958 Mass media in Preston Newspapers published in Lancashire