''Farmers Guardian'' is a weekly

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written 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 politics, business, sports a ...

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 people to ...

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 animals ...

, Arable and

Machinery A machine is a physical system using power to apply forces and control movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to natural biological macromolecule ...

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 UBM plc was a British business-to-business (B2B) events organiser headquartered in London, England, before its acquisition by Informa in 2018. It had a long history as a multinational media company. Its main focus was on B2B events, but its p ...

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 News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

, arable,

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 animals ...

, 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 Joseph William Livesey (5 March 1794 – 2 September 1884) was an English temperance campaigner, social reformer, local politician, writer, publisher, newspaper proprietor and philanthropist. Early life Livesey was born on 5 March 1794 at Wal ...

, the "father" of the total abstinence movement in Britain to support the campaign for the

repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...

of the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. They were ...

. 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 Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty. As a young ...

: 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 JP (father of the

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, newspaper proprietor and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

politician

George Toulmin Sir George Toulmin (17 March 1857 – 21 January 1923) was an English journalist, newspaper proprietor and Liberal Party politician. Family and education George Toulmin was born in Bolton, Lancashire, the son of Councillor George Toulmin ...

(1857–1923)), who owned the paper until 1883.

Thomas Wemyss Reid Sir Thomas Wemyss Reid (29 March 1842 – 26 February 1905) was an English newspaper editor, novelist and biographer. Early life Reid was born at Newcastle upon Tyne in 1842, the son of a Congregational minister Career He became chief reporte ...

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 The ''Lancashire Evening Post'' is a daily newspaper based in Fulwood, a suburb of the city of Preston, Lancashire, England. According to the British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of th ...

'' 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 John Boyle O'Reilly (28 June 1844 – 10 August 1890) was an Irish poet, journalist, author and activist. As a youth in Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australia ...

, 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