Farmers Guardian articles from August 2006

Farmers Guardian archives from August 2006

Defra told to slash #200m from budget.
August 4, 2006... DEFRA'S spending plans are in disarray after it was told to cut its budget by nearly #200 million, due largely to the massive cost of managing the Single Payment crisis. It is being forced to slash the budgets of its public bodies, such as...

New move to raise awareness of sheep scab - and treat it.
August 4, 2006... BETTER communication and peer pressure are going to be the biggest tools in a new cross-industry initiative to completely eradicate sheep scab in the UK. A number of organisations have joined forces to raise awareness and encourage farmers...

Defra alert over drop-out in agri-environment schemes.
August 4, 2006... CONCERNS are emerging about lower than expected uptake of Defra's flagship agri-environment schemes. Defra Secretary of State David Miliband told the Royal Show last month that Defra was well on target for 60 per cent of farmland coverage...

Single Payments made now stand at over 96 per cent of the total.
August 4, 2006... THE RPA has made a further 104 partial payments to priority one customers, those with outstanding claims worth over E1,000 or #682. These payments were worth a total of nearly #1.3 million. As of July 31, 110,579 claimants had received full...

Water trading on the increase.
August 4, 2006... THERE is a growing interest in water rights trading as growers seek to alleviate the threat of water shortages in the short and longer term. In each region there is a maximum amount of water, determined by the Environment Agency, that is...

Livestock farmers warned of low feed supplies this autumn.
August 4, 2006... SOME animal feeds may be in short supply this autumn following what has been a less than ideal silage season so far this year, livestock farmers are being warned this week. "Forage supplies on some farms will be tight going into this...

British Wool Marketing Board welcomes Defra consultation.
August 4, 2006... THE British Wool Marketing Board faces an overhaul, after Defra announced a review of its function and structure. The department this week began consulting a wide range of organisations with interests in the board over whether changes need...

British Sugar and NFU still hammering out deal for growers.
August 4, 2006... BRITISH Sugar and the NFU are still yet to agree on the arrangements for compensation or alternative options for sugar beet growers affected by the proposed factory closures at Allscott and York. Despite promises of an announcement this...

New RASE chairman elected.
August 4, 2006... THE Royal Agricultural Society of England has elected Thomas Wheatley- Hubbard as its new chairman to succeed Ian MacNicol, who died in June, aged 62. Mr Wheatley-Hubbard began stewarding at the Royal Show in 1970, and in 1992 he was...

Defra defeated on EU Micotil ban opposition.
August 4, 2006... AN EU ban on farmers administering a veterinary drug used to treat respiratory diseases in cattle and sheep has gone ahead this week despite angry opposition within the UK. Defra has admitted defeat in its opposition to a decision by the...

#2.5m monthly cost of fly-tipping.
August 4, 2006... LOCAL councils are being urged to crack down on fly-tipping as latest figures revealed it was costing #2.5m a month to clean up. Farmers and landowners suffer from more than 600,000 tonnes of dumped waste every year and, in the majority of...

Tenancy law changes delayed.
August 4, 2006... THE Tenant Farmers Association has expressed disappointment that changes to tenancy legislation will not be in place by the traditional Michaelmas start date for autumn tenancies. TFA chief executive George Dunn said the association had...

Pesticide use is on the increase.
August 4, 2006... INDICATORS used to measure responsible pesticide use were maintained or showed improvement during 2004, despite the fact that farmers used more pesticides, according to the latest report from the Pesticides Forum. The increase in the amount of...

Drought still effects Europe.
August 4, 2006... WHILE this week brought some rain to the UK, agriculture in much of the rest of Europe is suffering the effects of drought. This is hitting cereal yields in particular, and should help maintain prices over the coming months. There are also...

TSE programme backed despite atypical scrapie uncertainty.
August 4, 2006... THE EU's food safety watchdog has given a firm endorsement to the European BSE and scrapie eradication programme, despite the complications thrown up by atypical scrapie. Following an evaluation of the programme, the European Food Safety...

Extension granted to WEGS AI scheme.
August 4, 2006... MORE than 100 extra, but mainly hill farmers, in Wales are set to benefit from an autumn extension to the highly successful Welsh Ewe Genotyping Scheme's artificial insemination service. The Welsh Assembly-funded WEGS II AI scheme - managed...

Lock up your fertilisers.
August 4, 2006... COUNTER terrorism officials have launched a new website urging farmers to `secure their fertiliser'. The website www.secureyourfertiliser.gov.uk reflects growing concern that terrorists are targeting fertilisers on farms to use as...

Clearer guidelines.
August 4, 2006... NFU Scotland has welcomed the new, clearer guidance for farmers issued by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department on the application of nitrogen to crops in Nitrate Vulnerable Zones. The revised guidance note...

T&G vows to keep Sunday overtime pay battle going.
August 4, 2006... THE Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU) has vowed to continue its fight against the removal of Sunday overtime pay, after its objections were dismissed last week. The TGWU is deeply unhappy at proposals agreed by the Agricultural...

Initiatives aimed at getting a better deal for farmers.
August 4, 2006... THE Country Land and Business Association launched two initiatives intended to bring about a fairer deal for farmers at this year's Game Fair (see page 65). It used the event, which took place at Romsey in Hampshire, to set in motion a...

`Neglect' is costing millions.
August 4, 2006... PROCESSORS' `pure neglect' of a major liquid milk market was costing the industry millions of pounds and further depleting farmers' pockets. The claim has come from pressure group Farmers for Action, whose chairman, David Handley, said...

McNeill still on full pay.
August 4, 2006... FORMER RPA chief executive Johnston McNeill is still being paid by Defra a full four months after being replaced. Defra also said this week that it could give no indication as to when his contract would be terminated. Copyright: CMP...

New CEO.
August 4, 2006... THE Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, has appointed Prof Richard Aspinall, who previously worked at the Institute from 1987-97 on a variety of land use topics, as its new chief executive. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

NEWS IN BRIEF: Rural economy.
August 4, 2006... MPs are to carry out an investigation into England's rural economy, looking at the barriers preventing it from fulfiling its potential. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry, the Potential of England's Rural Economy, will...

Rules on set-aside are relaxed over fire fears.
August 4, 2006... RULES governing set-aside in England have been relaxed to reduce the risk of fires in this summer's exceptionally hot weather. The Rural Payments Agency said farmers can delay cutting set-aside land up to August 31 where a fire risk exists....

NEWS IN BRIEF: Dynamic hills.
August 4, 2006... The NFU Scotland, Quality Meat Scotland and the Farm and Wildlife Advisory Group have joined forces to host a series of events across Scotland to plan a successful future for Scotland's hill farms by creating a `dynamic dialogue' between `real'...

Philip named top farmworker in Wales.
August 4, 2006... THE top farmworker in Wales is Philip Wooff, of Chepstow, Monmouthshire - winner of the 2006-2007 NFU Cymru-NatWest Welsh Farm Employee of the Year Award. A runner-up last year, he works at Green Farm, Rogiet, near Newport, and has done a...

NEWS IN BRIEF: GM protest.
August 4, 2006... The destruction of 18 acres of genetically modified corn by protesters near Toulouse, in south west France, on Sunday, has been condemned by France's Agriculture Minister Dominique Bussereau as `vandalism contrary to the rule of law and the...

`Freeze' plea on sign-up costs.
August 4, 2006... SIGNING-UP costs for new poultry regulations should be suspended for three years, say the NFU, British Poultry Council and the British Egg Industry Council. Disgruntled at Defra's refusal to support UK farmers' application for compensation...

Ben Boot, farmer-politician.
August 4, 2006... A FORMER chairman of the NFU's headquarters milk committee for seven years from 1982, Ben Boot, of Kynnersley House Farm, Kynnersley, near Telford, Shropshire, has died aged 69. He was well-known as a farmer politician and held a number of...

Hunt verdict expected today.
August 4, 2006... THE fate of a Exmoor huntsman accused of breaching the Hunting Act 2004 is expected to be decided today. Tony Wright, 52, of Exmoor Kennels, Simonsbath, Exmoor, is alleged to have hunted two foxes with hounds in April last year in...

OPINION: Animals in the news.
August 4, 2006... Animal health is one of the most emotive issues for the UK public. As the divide between urban and rural society deepens, so does the lack of understanding of food production. It's an old cliche, but the fact is worrying numbers of consumers...

To market, to market, to buy a fat . . . dream?
August 4, 2006... Marketing is a word we hear a lot about these days and we are told by the experts that as farmers, we are not very good at it. Someone asked me the other day if we had sold any lambs yet, I replied that I was waiting for the price to drop a...

Cardon Fiona takes Angus title for brothers.
August 4, 2006... BROTHERS Ian and Robbie Galloway of Scotbeef, Bridge of Allan, Stirling, led their heifer, Cardona Fiona D325 to the Aberdeen-Angus championship. By Tegnose Karboy, the heifer was reserve female champion in the breed lines at the Royal...

Thomsons flying high with Kelso crown joy.
August 4, 2006... THE North Country Cheviot champion, a two-crop ewe by Hownam Grange Mr Uppity, went on to take the supreme inter-breed sheep award at the Border Union Show, Kelso, on Saturday. Shown by father and son, Jim and Willie Thomson, Kelso, the ewe...

Reward after 40 years of Rainy days.
August 4, 2006... FORTY years as secretary of the Borders Aberdeen-Angus Breeders Club were recognised in a presentation in the breed lines on Saturday. The breed judge, Victor Wallis of Northern Ireland handed over a memento to retiring secretary, Rainy...

Penelope Pitstop's inter-breed victory.
August 4, 2006... THE trip from Woolston, Coventry, proved worthwhile for Ian and Sue Archer when they led their Blonde champion, Marstonmill Penelope Pitstop, to win the inter-breed beef trophy. Shown with her six-week-old fifth calf, a heifer, at foot, it...

Coldeaton warms up with perfect marks.
August 4, 2006... THE Nantwich and South Cheshire Show, which attracted more than 30,000 visitors, witnessed an unbroken line-up of maximum scores from the dairy judges as the Jersey champion, Coldeaton Advancers Josephine, from Coldeaton Jerseys of Ashbourne,...

Frank banks on a Texel triumph.
August 4, 2006... DERBYSHIRE Texel breeder, Frank Rushton of Pikehall, Matlock, took the breed and inter-breed sheep titles with a shearling tup bought at Chelford last year. The ram is by Knock Impulse and out of a Holehouse ewe. Mr Rushton also took breed...

An historic first as supreme award goes Dutch.
August 4, 2006... HISTORY was made when a Dutch hard pressed goats' milk cheese took the supreme award at a record-breaking Nantwich International Cheese Show. The Bettine Grand Cru cheese was entered by importers, Bradbury and Sons of Buxton, and made by...

Sixth successive win for Ryecraft's pedigree ewe.
August 4, 2006... THE supreme champion of the first day was the Suffolk shearling ewe from P.A. Ryecraft's Green Cross pedigree flock of 24 ewes at Churt, near Farnham, Surrey. This ewe has been undefeated in her class this year, and has been breed champion...

Normans take double victory.
August 4, 2006... CAPTURING the supreme dairy championship at the three-day New Forest and Hampshire Show confirmed the decision by Mr and Mrs David Norman 18 months ago to purchase the Holstein heifer Marsbar Jordan Marie because they liked her pedigree. ...

Limousin Veronica is on the championship money.
August 4, 2006... A LIMOUSIN heifer from Harry Emslie, Kinknockie, Mintlaw, Peterhead, won the overall cattle championship at Turriff Show, Aberdeenshire, at the weekend. Balleymoney Veronica had earlier been named as Limousin breed champion and beef...

Holstein is just the ticket in the cattle classes.
August 4, 2006... Any Other Breed (Accredited) champion and reserve at the Turriff Show was this pair of Rouge De L'Ouest, owned and shown by Roger and Pat Imlah, Kingseat, Newmachar, Aberdeenshire. The son was champion and father reserve. Copyright: CMP...

Ayrshire is the cream of the dairy.
August 4, 2006... THE overall cattle champion and red ticket holder in the dairy classes at Cockermouth Show, Cumbria, was a Holstein from M. and D. Wilson, Ormside, Lowfield, Appleby. The beef inter-breed championship went to the Commercial class champion...

Ayrshire is the cream of the dairy.
August 4, 2006... THE Ayrshire breed champion, Bowden Ice Cream, from Mr and Mrs R. Ashford, took the dairy inter-breed championship at Totnes and District Show, Devon. Miss J.E. Harvey took the any other pure breed title in the beef classes with her...

Commercial champion is the master.
August 4, 2006... THE commercial champion from Mrs J. Hyslop, Balluskie, Ballantrae, took the beef inter-breed title at Stranraer Show, with Wellhouse Jerseys being handed the red ticket in the dairy inter-breed classes. The Blackface breed leader from...

Shear class from Kiwi sets new record time.
August 4, 2006... THE 10th annual Lampeter Shears, held at Capeli Farm, Cribyn, Ceredigion, saw New Zealander David Fagan shear 20 lambs in 11 minutes 12 seconds - a record time for the event. The competition attracted 177 competitors, with the open title...

Home-bred bull's excellent debut.
August 4, 2006... THE three-year-old South Devon bull Sexton Conqueror 83, from Richard Harvey, Ivybridge, Devon, dominated the cattle championships at Yealmpton Show, Devon. On its first time out, the home-bred and fed animal won both the overall cattle...

Final day `clean sweep' for victorious Charollais trio.
August 4, 2006... This year's Royal Welsh Show drew a staggering four-day attendance of 240,140 - beating the previous 1995 all-time high by 7,326. BARRY ALSTON completes FG's coverage. THE final day's inter-breed judging sessions saw a trio of Charollais...

First for `fine farm' award.
August 4, 2006... A GROUP of eight National Trust tenants who farm on the Dolaucothi Estate, in Carmarthenshire - and featured in Farmers Guardian two weeks ago - has become the first producers to receive the brand new prestigious National Trust Fine Farm...

Wood for Wales.
August 4, 2006... THE National Trust's Court Wood, part of the Erddig Estate, near Wrexham, overcame tough competition from a record 89 sites throughout Wales to win the prestigious Wood for Wales award organised by Forestry Commission Wales. Copyright: CMP...

Long service is rewarded.
August 4, 2006... A TOTAL of 10 farm and estate employees from across Wales - who between them have worked for a total of 442 years - received long service medals at the Royal Welsh. The longest serving recipient, 64-year-old Albert Michael McLeod, of Mold,...

Beltex wins prime lamb competition.
August 4, 2006... LEADING the prime lamb competition - judged on a live and dead basis - was a Beltex entry from Liz Davies, of Lan Farm, Gwynfe, near Llangadog, Carmarthenshire. Weighing 19kg dead and classifying E2, it scored 50 out of 60 carcase points...

MACHINERY: Laser 3000: Sprayer to sit up and notice.
August 4, 2006... The Tecnoma self-propelled Laser sprayer has been doing a tour of the UK to build awareness of the French firm. MERVYN BAILEY takes a closer look to see what it has to offer and what plans they have for the future. THERE is no mistaking...

ABOUT TECNOMA.
August 4, 2006... BASED in the Champagne region of France, Tecnoma started out in 1952 with the production of a straddle tractor for working in vineyards and soon after the family-owned company started manufacturing sprayers. In 1986, owner Patrick Ballu...

ARABLE: Crops cope better with dry weather conditions.
August 4, 2006... MODERN sugar beet varieties and improved cultivation techniques have enabled crops to cope better than expected with this summer's drought, experts are suggesting. Rainfall amounts in June at the Broom's Barn sugar beet research station in...

ARABLE: Computers replace beet hand digging.
August 4, 2006... COMPUTER modelling has replaced hand-dug sampling as a means of obtaining early indicators of the likely performance of the UK sugar beet crop. For many years, hand-dug beet sampling has provided clues as to how the crop is likely to...

ARABLE: Concern over yield targets amid drought.
August 4, 2006... WITH sugar beet growers being urged to hit a 70 tonnes per hectare yield target, the impact of the mid-summer drought is causing concern. Everyone fears yields will have come off the boil, but the return of changeable conditions could help...

ARABLE: Drought could worsen take-all's effects.
August 4, 2006... TAKE-ALL disease levels at HGCA Recommended List second cereal trial sites have been noticeably lower than last year, but losses from the disease are expected to be considerably higher in the face of much increased levels of summer drought...

ARABLE: Water and nutrient supply on demand.
August 4, 2006... VEGETABLE and salad crop growers using `fertigation' - combined irrigation and fertiliser application - could soon have a system that only applies water when needed, and checks the weather forecast to make sure it isn't going to rain. The...

ARABLE: Greenpeace mark GM maize.
August 4, 2006... GREENPEACE activists entered a field of GM maize in the south of France last week and carved a giant crop circle with an `X' in the maize, marking the field as a contamination zone. Greenpeace says the action was in response to a ruling by...

ARABLE: A seed treatment to counter wheat infection.
August 4, 2006... USE of a clothianidin-based seed treatment on wheat could reduce the risk of barley yellow dwarf virus infection (BYDV) on autumn-drilled crops in addition to increased control of a variety of other pests. That is the advice of Pam...

Autumn vegetable crisis could be legacy of recent soaring temperatures.
August 4, 2006... THE hot weather in recent weeks has caused major problems for vining pea growers in Lincolnshire and the Fens, and could result in shortages of other vegetables later in the year. David Piccaver, chairman of the South Holland Horticultural...

ARABLE: Risks of not treating seed.
August 4, 2006... Opting not to use a seed treatment is a decision that can only be taken for a single year and has to be based on rigorous disease testing of seed. The following year a seed treatment is more likely to be needed as seed-borne diseases start to...

ARABLE: Bean crop wiped out by freak summer hailstorm.
August 4, 2006... A FREAK summer hailstorm has destroyed a Lincolnshire bean crop. The storm, which hit the neighbouring villages of Woodhall Spa and Stixwould saw disc-shaped hailstones up to 2cm wide and 1cm thick deliver up to 30mm of precipitation over a...

ARABLE: Treatment technology for better sowing.
August 4, 2006... A BRAND new seed treatment technology, claimed to offers benefits to both farmers and treaters in terms of less dust, better flowability, and potentially improved efficacy, is being launched by Syngenta across a number of its seed treatment...

ARABLE: Tough times for potato harvest.
August 4, 2006... SLOW progress is being made with potato harvesting in comparison with recent seasons, says the British Potato council. With conditions dry and difficult, some growers are irrigating in front of harvesters to reduce the risk of bruising. ...

ARABLE: Most wheats for UK's millers `legally compliant'.
August 4, 2006... RESULTS from an HGCA project to monitor the safety and quality of milling wheat indicate that most of the wheat accepted by UK millers was legally compliant and safe for use. The project involved collection of representative sample sets of...

ARABLE: Black-grass spreads into new regions.
August 4, 2006... BLACK-GRASS is spreading steadily into areas of the country where there were previously no problems, according to a recent BASF survey of UK agronomists. The 30 advisers surveyed, representing 74,090 hectares of winter wheat, stated that...

ARABLE: How weed mapping can improve your control programmes.
August 4, 2006... WEED control strategies can be greatly improved by methodically mapping the position of weed populations, according to East Anglian agronomist Brian Ross of Frontier Agriculture. "The predominance of different weed populations can change,...

ARABLE: Don't overlook soil management.
August 4, 2006... EVEN though combines are rolling, do not forget soil management to protect your full Single Payment, growers are being advised. Cross-compliance adviser Dave Gardner warns that the seasonal workload may see completion of the mandatory Soil...

Farm feature: Energy and environment to lead the way for the future.
August 4, 2006... Russell Toothill is well known in farming circles for his work with renewable energy crops, but has recently made a name for himself as an environmental guardian as well. ANGELA CALVERT went to find out more. By winning the environment...

Youngstock: Growing organic dairy production.
August 4, 2006... William Willis inherited his father's organic dairy farm while he was still a teenager and proceeded to run it while studying for a degree in agriculture - a feat which earned him the title `RABDF/Barclays Bank student of the year'. Eddie...

Youngstock: Search for countryside champion.
August 4, 2006... ARE you the UK's young champion of the countryside? A new competition has been established to find `outstanding' individuals who are actively involved in rural enterprises. The awards have two categories - 17-20 year olds and 21-30 year...

COUNTRY VIEW: The CLA Game Fair.
August 4, 2006... The CLA Game Fair is renowned for being one of the ultimate rural events for country sports enthusiasts and rural devotees, offering something for everyone with an interest in the countryside. This year's fair, at Broadlands, Romsey,...

COUNTRY VIEW: An hour in the August garden.
August 4, 2006... August is the only month when sitting around and enjoying is sometimes hard work. But if you can manage the heat, there are some jobs to do in the garden, writes PAUL PEACOCK. AUGUST is one of those months where an hour is just not long...

COUNTRY VIEW: Ceredigion claims Challenge Trophy at Royal Welsh.
August 4, 2006... THE overall champions from the 12 YFC Federations competing for the NFU Challenge Trophy at the Royal Welsh Show were Ceredigion, who clinched victory on the last night. They had 93 points, seven ahead of second placed Pembrokeshire, with...

Lackham looks to a pedigree learning curve with enterprise.
August 4, 2006... THERE is a feeling of optimism about the future of the farming industry at Lackham College, Wiltshire. So much so, that the college is expanding its farming enterprise by taking on more land and a new breed of cattle. The college farm has...

Huge plans afoot for the Welsh agricultural scene.
August 4, 2006... Big changes are on the way for the United Counties Show - and its chairman. BARRY ALSTON reports. TWO multi-million pound developments are in the offing that could have major implications for a key player on the West Wales agricultural...

Traditional methods work.
August 4, 2006... CUMBRIA'S CLA chairman, Pauline Blair, hosted a walk on her land at Miller Place, Lorton, Cumbria, as one of a series of events organised by the Cumbria Farmer Network for the Flora of the Fells project. Farming in a traditional way,...

Victory on hole filling.
August 4, 2006... NFU Cymru is claiming a victory for common sense following Environment Agency agreement to let farmers use discarded road tarmac to fill holes on tracks and farm roads without facing extra costs. The tried and tested road repair method was...

Action group to tackle burden of industry's `unnecessary' red tape.
August 4, 2006... A NEW action group has been formed in Scotland to address the huge concerns of the farming industry over unnecessary red tape. The Regulation Action Group comprises industry specialists brought together by NFU Scotland as part of its...

Welsh National Parks get #100,000.
August 4, 2006... THE three National Park authorities in Wales are to benefit from #100,000 extra funding each. The additional Welsh Assembly money is to improve information facilities designed to provide the public with easier and speedier access to park...