Farmers Guardian articles from August 2005

Farmers Guardian archives from August 2005

Industry fury over OFT supermarket `whitewash'.
August 5, 2005... FARMERS, small businesses, green campaigners and politicians accused the Government of a `whitewash' after supermarkets were effectively cleared of any wrongdoing in their relations with suppliers. At the end of a protracted review process...

Tenants `exposed' by Single Payment delays.
August 5, 2005... RURAL Payment Agency delays in processing Single Farm Payments will leave tenants badly exposed as they try to meet autumn and spring rent deadlines, the Tenant Farmers' Association has warned. The agency's annual report has revealed it is...

Pressure for milk increase.
August 5, 2005... MASSIVE disruption of milk transport vehicles was being planned by Farmers For Action for yesterday in the same week that NFU Scotland claimed 90 per cent of the retail milk price increases had `gone missing'. The union bases its...

Beef price dip due to demand, imports and slaughterings.
August 5, 2005... BEEF prices have plummeted in recent weeks largely due to a drop in consumer demand at the same time as large influxes of beef from South America and domestic cattle being finished earlier. The overall GB price during the week ending July...

UK beef finishers to receive #4.5m in BSPS payout.
August 5, 2005... Beef finishers in the UK received a much-needed boost this week in the form of an unexpected payout from the European Commission. Farmers whose second 2004 Beef Special Premium Scheme (BSPS) was scaled back because the scheme was...

End to Over-Thirty-Month rule in sight as FSA plan next step.
August 5, 2005... THE Food Standards Agency board will meet on August 15 to formulate its advice to Ministers about the robustness of the BSE testing system that will replace the Over-Thirty-Months (OTM) rule. Confirmation of this date has raised hopes the...

Rising incomes - for some.
August 5, 2005... The EU is forecasting booming farm incomes through to 2012 - but only in the new member states which joined the EU in May 2004. According to the Commission's latest market forecasts the 10 new states will see farm incomes grow by more than 50...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Fly-tip ASBOs.
August 5, 2005... Fly-tippers leaving unwanted junk on farmland should be hit with Anti Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs), according to the Environment Agency. These would make it a criminal offence for the individual to go into an area and dump waste there. EA...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Guilty plea.
August 5, 2005... Roy Swinson, a beef farmer from Kingsmoor, Carlisle, appeared in front of magistrates and pleaded guilty to 16 charges brought against him by the Rural Payments Agency. The charges related to cattle passports and the movement and ear...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Isle of Man.
August 5, 2005... SAC farm business consultant Andy Macdonald has transferred to the Isle of Man to help provide advice for farmers and growers on business management and technical and environmental issues. SAC has signed a four-year agreement with the Isle of...

Scientists look at potential benefits from rapid diagnosis technology.
August 5, 2005... GOVERNMENT scientists are studying the potential benefits of using rapid diagnosis technology to detect bovine TB in badgers and cattle. In work funded by Defra, the Veterinary Laboratories Agency is carrying out a review of Polymerase...

New cases spiral 16pc in first six months of 2005.
August 5, 2005... THE bovine TB epidemic continues to grow at a startling rate. New figures from Defra show a rise of more than 16 per cent in new cases in the first half of this year. In the first six months of last year there were exactly 1,000 new...

One in seven badgers in road deaths infected with TB.
August 5, 2005... ONE in seven badgers is infected with TB in selected counties where the disease is also a problem in cattle, reveal figures published by Defra, on Wednesday. However, according to Animal Health Minister Ben Bradshaw, the data from the Road...

Electronic ID fails to deliver in Welsh evaluation project.
August 5, 2005... Final results of the two-year, Wales-wide electronic identification evaluation project - the first of the four UK countries to report - paint a far from glowing picture. BARRY ALSTON reports. POOR reliability, lack of robustness, limited...

`Valuable management tool - if reliable'.
August 5, 2005... EVERYONE involved had no doubt that EID could be a valuable management tool - providing it was reliable. But what all were more than happy to admit was that they had not `wasted' any money on installing their on- farm system. Host farmer...

More birds and plants on organic farms.
August 5, 2005... A SURVEY conducted by the British Trust for Ornithology has found that organic farms are supporting a far greater biodiversity than non- organically farms, including 32 per cent more birds and 109 per cent more wild plants within the cropped...

Government too slow on sheep dip alternatives - says former Minister.
August 5, 2005... THE Government has been criticised for its lack of urgency in finding alternatives to sheep dips by former Environment Minister Michael Meacher. The Environment Agency has identified sheep dips as a major factor behind an 11 per cent rise...

Countryside Alliance loses hunt ban challenge.
August 5, 2005... THE Countryside Alliance has lost its High Court challenge to the laws banning hunting with dogs. Judges rejected the view that individuals' human rights would be infringed by the ban. The Alliance argued that the ban robbed people of the...

Promotion of healthy eating failing as fruit and veg sales show decline.
August 5, 2005... THE annual report into the UK's food expenditure by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs shows a worrying drop in fruit and vegetable purchases. The report, Family Food - Expenditure and Food Survey 2003-04, shows the nation...

Potential of biomass fuel recognised.
August 5, 2005... THE Government's biomass task force, headed up by former NFU president Sir Ben Gill, believes biomass could eventually account for 5 per cent of the UK's electricity demand. In a report published on Thursday, the task force, set up in...

Research aims to study effects of hill farming.
August 5, 2005... Investigations have begun to see what benefits a change in upland agricultural land use might have for the environment. The research, conducted by the Environment Agency and the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Bangor, will study the...

VIEW FROM BRUSSELS: How to make a convincing argument for co-financing.
August 5, 2005... The Farmers Guardian had some interesting views in the last issue on where people see the future for the CAP. After 40 plus years there is a widespread view that successive makeovers have not achieved all that people want - and that it is...

OPINION: Survival by numbers.
August 5, 2005... SOME farmers are becoming an endangered species already in these early days of CAP reform coupled with low commodity prices. So what exactly are the odds of survival? Its a question many farmers up and down the land may be asking...

Going green also makes economic sense.
August 5, 2005... As the Entry Level Scheme (ELS) falls foul of RPA delays and the EU starts proceedings against the UK for its lack of progress on biofuels, farmers could be forgiven for being cynical about environmentally-sound enterprises. However going green...

Integrating the ELS agreement.
August 5, 2005... THE first agreements under Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) began this week with just over 5,000 farmers and landowners taking part. Although a large number of application packs were requested, only 5,747 farmers and landowners have managed to...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Flood money.
August 5, 2005... European Objective 1 areas at greatest risk of future flooding in Wales are being helped with a total #12.5m for flood defence schemes. Set to benefit are some of the areas worst hit by last year's floods. The Welsh Assembly will be providing...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Show venue.
August 5, 2005... Both the Aberdeen-Angus Cattle Society and the British Charollais Sheep Society have chosen Westmorland County Show as host for their respective national championships. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

NEWS IN BRIEF: Female chief.
August 5, 2005... Westmorland County Agricultural Society has appointed Christine Knipe as its chief executive. Mrs Knipe is the first female to have held the position but is no stranger to the society having been treasurer for the past three years and a member...

RPA to overcome difficulties.
August 5, 2005... THE NFU has welcomed the start of the ELS but urged the Rural Payments Agency to get on top of the difficulties that have plagued the application process. Speaking on Monday, NFU deputy president, Peter Kendall, said the NFU remained...

Brookfield Rhanne takes Belgian Blue and inter-breed.
August 5, 2005... THE senior Belgian Blue cow, Brookfield Rhanne, claimed the inter-breed title for Stephen and Gillian Potter, of Thirsk, North Yorkshire, at the Royal Lancashire Show. Female champion and reserve overall at the Great Yorkshire, she is part...

Pig championship winner to retire from showring.
August 5, 2005... The pig inter-breed championship was awarded to the Large White boar of Phillip Brown, Inskip, Lancashire. Shown by son, Richard, Calderbank Weiss was an October 2004 son of Bellaghy Weiss out of Calderbank Primrose. Richard oversees a...

Downpours fail to dampen sheep competition.
August 5, 2005... Accredited honours went to the home-bred four-crop Suffolk ewe from Alan Blair, Thornton, Lancashire. By Thornfleet Impression and out of a homebred dam she had claimed breed honours at Great Eccleston and Longridge shows. The reserve...

Ayrshire takes coveted North West award.
August 5, 2005... AN Ayrshire cow added to an already impressive tally of 2005 show awards by being selected by a judging panel for Nantwich and South Cheshire Show's coveted North West dairy championship. All but one of the five judges awarded the maximum...

Top beef honours for Simmental.
August 5, 2005... SIMMENTAL breeder Roger Birch carried off the inter-breed beef championship of the North West - and his son, exhibiting a Belgian Blue, came within a whisker of taking reserve honours. Mr Birch, of Weston, Stafford, paraded the Simmental...

A double for Josh on debut.
August 5, 2005... A 14-year-old schoolboy took the two main sheep awards on his showing debut. Josh Wall, of Harton, near Church Streton, Shropshire, won the inter-breed individual championship with a December-born Hampshire Down ram lamb which also formed part...

Supreme ticket for firm `passionate' about Stilton.
August 5, 2005... A company which says it is `passionate' about Stilton cheese, achieved a rare distinction at the international cheese event staged as part of the show. A mature blue Stilton produced in the centre of Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, by...

Rare and minority breeds proving increasingly popular.
August 5, 2005... ENTRIES for both cattle and sheep classes in the New Forest and Hampshire County Show were up over 10 per cent on last year, with particularly good support in the dairy section and the Holstein section. In addition, the variety of rare and...

TURIFF SHOW: Clean sweep in the dairy awards.
August 5, 2005... A DOUBLE for D. and A. Anderson in the Holstein ring was followed by a clean sweep of the inter-breed dairy awards while in the beef ring the Aberdeen Angus of Tom Rennie claimed breed honours and reserve inter- breed success. RESULTS ...

CARDIGAN COUNTY: Beef breeds dominate show as Sundial Lewis triumphs.
August 5, 2005... Boasting more than 200 cattle entries it was the beef breeds that dominated at Cardigan County Show. With their Simmental bull, the five-year-old Sundial Lewis, Meirion and Linda Jones took the beef supreme championship. It is the fourth...

NAIRN SHOW: Top award for Texel.
August 5, 2005... TEXEL exhibitor Duncan Gill claimed the top award in the sheep lines with a ewe when Nairn Show took place on Saturday near Inverness. The top prize in the beef section was awarded to the Charolais, Coolnaslee Rachael, from John Irvine. ...

HOLSWORTHY AND STRATTON SHOW: Hampshire Down win.
August 5, 2005... A PUREBRED Hampshire Down claimed top honours in the sheep section, at Holsworthy and Stratton Show, on Friday, at Trewyn, Devon. The top prize in the beef inter-breed competition was awarded to J.W.H. Neale with the Limousin, Nealford Una....

STRANRAER SHOW: Scottish breeds triumph.
August 5, 2005... A Scottish breed came out on top at Stranraer Show in Dumfries and Galloway. The supreme beef inter-breed championship went to J. and S. Ross for their Galloway entry. In the dairy section the overall winner was a Jersey from M. Haigh of...

ASHBY-DE-LA-ZOUCH SHOW: Storm Rachel clinches dairy title.
August 5, 2005... ASHBY-de-la-Zouch Show was held at Measham Lodge Farm, Measham. Lawf Ulreka, a Limousin from R. Platts, led the beef section and T. Smith's Holstein, Bressingham Storm Rachel, was named as the champion dairy animal. RESULTS CATTLE ...

BORDER UNION: Winning streak continues as duo celebrate another win.
August 5, 2005... GORDON and Lyn Brooks continued their successful show season by taking the Aberdeen-Angus title at the Border Union Show at Kelso. This accolade is the latest from a summer that has seen them take inter- breed honours at the Royal and the...

Pre-flail burn off reduces tuber rots.
August 5, 2005... DESICCATION before flailing could improve tuber quality by reducing the risk of vascular browning and stem end rot in vigorously-growing potato crops, according to Syngenta. The company is evaluating the use of a pre-flail treatment to...

Take-all tracking highlights disease development pattern.
August 5, 2005... TAKE-ALL reached damaging levels at nine out of the 10 HGCA Recommended List second cereal trial sites this season, according to the first-ever monitoring of the disease in these trials. What is more, the only site to show less than...

Care required when applying Fazor.
August 5, 2005... THE combination of a hot summer and extended planting of the potato crops means that growers should be extra careful when applying Fazor (maleic hydrazide) this season, says Dow AgroSciences. "Because of the hot weather we are experiencing...

Second wheat yields crucial for crops to remain viable.
August 5, 2005... SECOND wheat yields of eight tonnes per hectare or more are essential if the crop is to remain a viable proposition for most UK growers, according to UAP technical director Chris Bean. "Second wheat will definitely be a challenge for some,...

Variable reports throughout the harvesting regions.
August 5, 2005... WINTER barley grown on medium to heavy land is producing some `good samples with quite reasonable yields', according to Andrew Wells, Nottinghamshire-based senior consultant for TAG. "The heavy land is producing yields of over 3t/acre, but...

Widespread threat of powdery mildew.
August 5, 2005... THE changeable weather conditions mean that sugar beet growers need to be keeping a close eye on disease, agronomists are advising. The Broom's Barn forecast is for 32 per cent of the beet area to be infected by powdery mildew by the end of...

A mucky marathon.
August 5, 2005... YOUNG Farmers from Suffolk have been spreading muck all over the countryside and raised #3,700 for their organisation charity in the process. They dedicated a weekend to a `muck spreading marathon', which started at Lockett Farms at...

Junior Field Day is a big success.
August 5, 2005... Herefordshire Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs held a very successful Junior Field Day. The event, at Lower Hope, Ullingswick, by kind permission of Mr and Mrs Clive Richards, attracted members and supporters from almost event club in...

`Coast to coast' challenge.
August 5, 2005... TUXFORD Young Farmers' Club, Nottinghamshire have cycled over 470 miles and raised #3,000 for charity. The club took on the massive `Coast to Coast' cycle challenge travelling all the way from Tuxford on the east coast to Whitehaven,...

Helping the community.
August 5, 2005... MEMBERS of Yarcombe and District YFC in Devon have been busy helping out in their local community. First off was the entertainment of children at Upottery Fete. The club set up a timed assault course for youngsters, designed by Samuel...

Feeding time.
August 5, 2005... TARKA YFC in Devon held their rally with an impressive attendance from all clubs in the group. Bradworthy YFC hosted the event at Thuborough Farm, Sutcombe, by kind permission of Mr and Mrs Ley. Gaining the most points on the day,...

NFWI at the National eisteddfod of Wales.
August 5, 2005... This week the National Federation of Women's Institutes are at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, held at the Faenol Estate, Felinheli, Bangor. NFWI-Wales planned a jam-packed stand with the theme `Horizons'. To depict this theme Gwynedd...

Faultless York claims victory.
August 5, 2005... After winning the World Trial in early July, on Saturday Gordon Watt and his home-bred dog York became the English National champions. Held in the grounds of Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, wet weather did no justice to the picturesque...

New challenge cup is needed.
August 5, 2005... Thanks to the generosity of the Davies Family of Brenan Farm, New Cross, Ceredigion, the New Cross Trials have found a new home and one of the best courses in the area. But this year's very successful trials which resulted in 104 runs has...

Crystal tractors looking for UK importer.
August 5, 2005... THE likes of New Holland and John Deere might dominate the Belgian tractor market, but Polish tractor importer Polagri Du Chau reckons there is no shortage of interest for the Crystal range of tractors. Du Chau, the sole European...

Plenty to see at Belgian show.
August 5, 2005... THE Belgium tractor market might not be the biggest in Europe, but the 2,589 new tractors sold last year was an impressive 21 per cent increase when compared to 2003 figures. What is more, even without Case IH and Steyr, New Holland's...

Two-stage beet harvesting from CMG.
August 5, 2005... JUST as in the UK, the uncertain future facing the sugar beet sector means that farmers and contractors alike are delaying machine replacement until absolutely necessary. In the meantime, beet still needs to be lifted and Belgian-firm CMG...

New lifting system.
August 5, 2005... BEFORE a self-propelled sugar beet lifter can get to work, the beet first has to be lifted and CMG has developed a brand new system. With a minimum power requirement of 125hp, the front mechanically- driven topping and scalping part is...

Turnover is up.
August 5, 2005... Manitou turnover for the first six months of this year is up by 29.5 per cent when compared to the same period a year ago. The company recorded a turnover of E530.5 million for the first six months of this year. This compares to E409.6 during...

Manitou rings the telehandler changes.
August 5, 2005... MANITOU has made a number of changes to its MLT 526 T telehandler. The first is the model number - it is now the MLT 627 TMU. In addition to a new 101hp Perkins engine, the maximum lift height has been extended by 36cm to 5.51m. The company...

Small articulated loaders.
August 5, 2005... EVEN though Manitou has one of the smallest telehandlers on the market, the 1.8m-wide MLT 523 T is just too wide for some farming customers. With this in mind, Manitou Benelux has just signed a deal with German- firm Thaler, for Manitou to...

Twin boom.
August 5, 2005... THIS Italian-made Palazzani articulated wheeled loader was one of the big surprises of the show. Dubbed the Extended, a feature is the twin telescopic loader, which offers 4.6m of extension. There are three models - the PT 62 (85hp), PT 72...

Caruelle chassis suspension system.
August 5, 2005... FRENCH sprayer manufacturer Caruelle used the show to reveal what it describes as the very first chassis suspension system for mounted sprayers. Fitted to its Olympia models, the rubber damper system is designed to absorb shock loads....

New look for `baby' Deutz.
August 5, 2005... DEUTZ-FAHR has introduced a new range of baby Agrotrons known as the K Series ranging from 90hp to 120hp and available in either standard build or Profiline, which adds the bells and whistles. The K Series are produced at Lauingen in...

MDC launches latest farm improvement programme.
August 5, 2005... THE Milk Development Council has launched its latest farm improvement programme breeding+. Free to all levy payers, the programme aims to improve profits from breeding in British dairy herds, whether commercial, milk-recorded or fully...

GRAZING MONITOR 2005: Time to give your swards a health check.
August 5, 2005... Many pastures have taken a bit of a hammering this year due to the difficult season and understandingly many farmers are having to consider what to do with damaged grassland. But according to David Burns, at Promar International, reseeding is...

42 die at work in agriculture.
August 5, 2005... Forty two people died at work in agriculture between April 1, 2004 and March 31, 2005. The Health and Safety Executive's figure is down from the 2003/4 figure of 44, but that included the deaths of 21 Chinese cocklers in Morecambe Bay. Sixteen...

Texels dominate first of multi-breed ram sales.
August 5, 2005... BARRY ALSTON reports from the first of the season's big multi-breed ram sales. A high of 1,650gns and three other four-figure bids saw Texel entries dominate the prices at Monday's NSA Wales and Border early ram sale at Builth Wells. ...

27,000gns breed record for Holstein in-calf heifer.
August 5, 2005... Riverdane-bred Ghost tops Sterndale sale: #2,563 average THE Holstein breed record for an in-calf heifer was broken at the Sterndale sale at Buxton, Derbyshire, as Riverdane Terrason Ghost sold for 27,000gns. A January 2003 daughter of...

6,000gns Faith heads Kirkby Thore Holsteins.
August 5, 2005... IT was the catalogue cover-girl, Cramar Aeroline Faith EX93, that commanded the most attention during the Summer Consignment sale of Holsteins at Kirkby Thore, Cumbria, when she sold for 6,000gns. The principal consignments came from the...

9,000gns Raven sets the Cottwood trade alight.
August 5, 2005... A TOP bid of 9,000gns was followed by a string of high prices when the Cottwood Holstein herd was dispersed for the Gay family at Chulmleigh, North Devon. It was a newcomer to the herd that set trade alight. Marsbar SR Raven Ex90 had been...

Bumper prices at Ridge Dean Blue production sale.
August 5, 2005... IT was bumper Blue day at Carlisle, on Friday, as females led the way during the production sale of Michelle Wilde's Ridge Dean Belgian Blue herd, Soulbury, Bedfordshire. Two females realised 9,000gns. First was heifer Ridge Dean Wilful....

Western Holsteins peak of 1,650gns for Tara.
August 5, 2005... THE Western Holstein Club show and sale at Beeston Castle Auction, Cheshire, produced a top price of 1,650gns for first calved heifer, Absolute Journalist Tara. By Ridge-Star Journalist she was out of Bromstad Mason Trudy EX90 that gave...

Beeston coloureds led by 2,200gns Jersey heifer.
August 5, 2005... THERE was a colourful collection of dairy animals at Beeston Castle Auction, Cheshire, as Ayrshires, Jerseys and Brown Swiss went on sale in front of a packed ringside. Top lot was a Jersey heifer that led the trade at 2,200gns. Saxown...

Blonde bulls to 4,800gns.
August 5, 2005... A SMALL consignment of Blonde d'Aquitaine bulls and females produced a top price at Borderway Mart, Carlisle, on Friday, as Ivaniskey Vincent realised 4,800gns. A January 2004 son of Blackwater Jockey and out of Ivaniskey Suzanna he was...

Suffolks to 5,400gns at society's Worcester sale.
August 5, 2005... SUFFOLK sheep sold to 5,400gns at the society's sale at Worcester, on Saturday. Robbie Wilson's Strathisla flock took the top money with a Signet performance recorded ram lamb by Deveronside the Messiah out of a ewe by Glenisla Godfather and...

Dorset Horn and Poll event proves popular.
August 5, 2005... THE Dorset Horn and Poll Dorset sheep breeders' second show and sale at Worcester livestock market proved again to be a popular event. Blackhill Delight, an in-lamb shearling ewe from Jim Dufosee, Wiltshire, was placed breed champion by...

Cogent to continue solo.
August 5, 2005... COGENT UK will not be strategically collaborating with any other semen businesses, the company claims. It had been rumoured that the British cattle breeding company had been in talks with various potential `strategic alliance' partners...

Spanish supermarkets stock Welsh lamb.
August 5, 2005... LAMB from the Welsh hills will soon be back on the shelves in a big way at over 70 hypermarkets and 500 supermarkets all across Spain for the first time in five years. Eroski, one of the biggest hypermarket chains in Spain, has signed a...

DFB cranks up the profit margin.
August 5, 2005... WITH turnover up 36 per cent to #594.1 million and group operating profit up 74 per cent to #21.2 million in the year to March 31, 2005, Dairy Farmers of Britain maintains it is well on track to achieving its stated aim of being a major force...