Farmers Guardian articles from January 2007

Farmers Guardian archives from January 2007

UK will push for the abolition of Single Payments.
January 5, 2007... THE United Kingdom will push for the abolition of Single Payments over the next few years, whichever political party is in power, it emerged at the Oxford Farming Conference. David Cameron and David Miliband both made it clear their parties...

Supermarket bad practice to be named and shamed by NFU.
January 5, 2007... SUPERMARKET bad practice will be highlighted by a name and shame campaign being planned by the National Farmers' Union. The union's `responsibility index' will rank the UK's major retailers performance on labelling, relationships with...

Reform key to future of farming, says Miliband.
January 5, 2007... There was an air of optimism on the first day of the Oxford Farming Conference as two potential future Prime Ministers outlined what they saw as the opportunities and challenges for farmers in the years ahead. ALISTAIR DRIVER and TOM LEVITT...

`Shocked at science stance'.
January 5, 2007... NATIONAL Farmers' Union president Peter Kendall spoke out against recent public stances taken by the British Potato Council (BPC) on genetically modified trials and the Soil Association on pesticides. Firstly, Mr Kendall said he was shocked...

Climate change.
January 5, 2007... INDUSTRY bodies are to unite to deliver a PR campaign to make farmers more aware of how climate change will affect them and their farm. The NFU, CLA, the Applied Research Forum and Forum for the Future, have been jointly awarded #170,000...

Cameron criticised for his party's policy on tackling bovine TB issue.
January 5, 2007... CONSERVATIVE leader David Cameron was criticised this week after appearing to sidestep questions on his party's policy on tackling bovine TB. Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference, Mr Cameron had criticised the Government for what he...

Morrisons imports Dutch free-range eggs for cheap line.
January 5, 2007... MORRISONS is stocking free-range eggs from Holland under its `Bettabuy' discount label. The supermarket follows Somerfield in importing free range eggs from the continent. However, it is the first major retailer to offer imported free...

Farming awards in New Year Honours.
January 5, 2007... FARMERS and industry heads across the country were recognised for their achievements in the New Year Honours List. Terrig Morgan, former chairman of the NFU Milk Committee, received an MBE as did George Hughes, founder and chairman of the...

RPA in `better shape' and on the right track says its chief.
January 5, 2007... THE Rural Payments Agency begins 2007 in `better shape' to deliver Single Payments than it was last year, its chief executive has told farmers. But in his New Year message, Tony Cooper admitted there was still a long way to go and...

Hill farmers must return HFA letters on time, urges NFU.
January 5, 2007... THE NFU has set up two meetings to urge Cumbrian and Lancastrian farmers to return their HFA declaration letters in time for the January 19 deadline. Hill farmers wishing to claim the HFA were asked to tell the Rural Payments Agency in...

West Devon Meat plant could reopen within days.
January 5, 2007... THERE were hints from Defra this week that interim measures may soon be in place to allow West Devon Meat to start killing Over-Thirty Month cattle again. The abattoir's licence to kill such cattle has been suspended since December 1,...

Reminder: Animal welfare is now a part of cross-compliance.
January 5, 2007... WYE College alumni are being asked to help save the college farm now land-based studies have finished at the Kent campus. Imperial College London, which administers the campus at Wye, has hinted it may offer a tenancy on the farm during...

Wye College alumni asked to back college farm trust.
January 5, 2007... DEFRA has reminded farmers that cross-compliance inspections now include checks on animal welfare. Three new requirements applying across the UK came into force from January 1. All are based on existing legislation so they should not be an...

Migrant workers' skills will be revealed in major survey.
January 5, 2007... A MAJOR skills survey of the estimated 300,000 migrant workers in the land-based sector is under way this month. The employment skills body, Lantra, is contacting farm owners who employ overseas labour in a bid to find out if they need more...

Nestle boss is IGD president.
January 5, 2007... NESTLE UK's chairman and chief executive Alastair Sykes has taken over as president of the grocery think-tank, the IGD. Mr Sykes, who succeeds Tesco chairman David Reid in the two-year post, said he was expecting health, nutrition and diet...

Quality is paramount to dairy co-op's long-running success.
January 5, 2007... The only farmer-owned dairy processor co-operative based in Wales is celebrating a string of award-winning successes. BARRY ALSTON reports. TALKING about co-operation is one thing, doing something about it and then sticking with it is...

Meeting the challenges the new year presents.
January 5, 2007... Welcome to 2007 and the first issue of Farmers Guardian for the New Year. I hope you had a good Christmas and the opportunity to enjoy the festivities in the way of your choosing. I say this as - no doubt a sign of getting older - I found...

OPINION: Changing times.
January 5, 2007... There was no questioning the calibre of the speakers on the first morning of the Oxford Farming Conference. The presence of two politicians touted as future Prime Ministers, including the first party leader to address the conference since...

Letter: Action must come from milk producers.(Letter to the editor)
January 5, 2007... The future of milk production in this country is entirely in the hands of producers, and until they recognise this, the industry will surely collapse around them. Milk production in this country is fast becoming a dying industry, with...

Letter: New Year honours?(Letter to the editor)
January 5, 2007... AS reported (FG, December 22), the Leicestershire Police do not wish to investigate the organophosphate poisoning document sent to them by the Crown Prosecution Service. I must have been living under a misapprehension, as I thought that...

Letter: Knowing our food's origins won't damage `free trade'.(Letter to the editor)
January 5, 2007... MARKET fanatics are more dangerous than religious ones - on a par with the materialist thugs of scientism. Sean Rickard suggests that the beautiful model of free trade will be damaged if we know where our food comes from. What about all...

Arable: Keeping abreast of new developments.
January 5, 2007... REALISING the promise offered by finding new uses for traditional crops and discovering profitable opportunities for growing alternative crops, have been on arable farmers' wish lists for years. The good news is the potential for taking...

Arable: Wheat growth advanced but no cause for concern.
January 5, 2007... GROWTH stages of wheat crops are well ahead of normal for this time of year, but there is no cause for concern. Although crops are forward they are not over-lush or full of disease, according to agronomists. In the south of England,...

Arable: Sugar yields are unusually holding up.
January 5, 2007... THE end of the 2006/07 sugar beet processing campaign is in sight and the first of British Sugar's six existing factories is due to close its weighbridges in the third week of January. Newark will be the first to shut up shop, with most of...

Arable: Use genetic resistance with fungicides.
January 5, 2007... NOT enough has been done in the past to incorporate septoria resistance into winter wheat varieties. Now the only route forward is to utilise the genetic resistance that is available in conjunction with fungicides. That is what Nickerson...

Arable: Help is available to identify and control diseases.
January 5, 2007... A NEW HGCA wheat disease encyclopaedia has been launched to help growers identify and control wheat diseases. "This new web-based tool will provide growers with information on all the major diseases of wheat - foliar, seed-borne, root and...

Arable: Passion for parsnips.
January 5, 2007... STAFFORDSHIRE farming, packing and produce marketing company R&RW Bartlett appeared on the BBC's Gardeners World Christmas special to talk about the nation's favourite Christmas vegetable, the parsnip. During the programme, filmed at the...

Arable: Triazole reliance is a concern.
January 5, 2007... CONTINUING reliance on triazole fungicide chemistry is a cause for concern, says leading plant pathologist Bill Clark. Earlier drilling and lower fungicide rates are `an abuse' of fungicide chemistry and the genetic resistance to disease...

Farm feature: `Partnership way forward if dairy industry is to survive'.
January 5, 2007... There is a margin in the milk chain but it needs to be shared more fairly than is currently the case, with a greater proportion reaching the producer, Mike Taylor, chairman of the NFU's North West Regional Milk Board, told NEIL RYDER. ...

COUNTRY VIEW: An hour in the January garden.
January 5, 2007... Christmas is just a passing memory and resolutions for the following year are probably already waxing away, but the reality is that there is plenty to do in the January garden, so PAUL PEACOCK says `get your boots on'. Water, water...

COUNTRY VIEW: Club hits all the right notes - again.
January 5, 2007... FOR the second year in succession, Llanfair Caereinion YFC was overall winner of Montgomeryshire Young Farmers' eisteddfod. The club also received the award for highest points with a membership of 40 or under. More than 400 members took...

COUNTRY VIEW: Packing their bags - for a good cause.
January 5, 2007... A BAG-PACKING service offered by two Young Farmers Clubs has raised #564 for a Worcestershire hospice. Members of Inkberrow and Bromsgrove clubs helped ease the load of festive shoppers at Morrisons, Droitwich, and boosted funds for St...

COUNTRY VIEW: Selling Christmas trees.
January 5, 2007... A YOUNG Farmers Club in Essex has raised #3,500 for the county Air Ambulance by selling Christmas trees. Members of Maldon YFC cut trees provided by Tim Thoroughgood and Robert Blyth and sold them in the Tesco Maldon car park. Copyright:...

COUNTRY VIEW: Festive sleigh-pull.
January 5, 2007... A SACK-LOAD of Santas, alias 25 members of Wragby and District YFC members, staged a festive sleigh-pull and raised #700 for the `Wish upon a star' charity. They hauled the vintage tractor and trailer transformed into a sleigh with...

COUNTRY VIEW: Brecknock Young Farmers raised funds.
January 5, 2007... TWO evenings of entertainment hosted and performed by Brecknock Young Farmers raised funds for the federation and #504 for the County Air Ambulance. The events were staged at the Guild Hall, Brecon, and the Strand Hall, Builth Wells. ...

COUNTRY VIEW: Caldbeck and Raughton Head are top of form.
January 5, 2007... A COUNTY-WIDE quiz involving more than 400 competitors culminated in victory for teams from Caldbeck YFC and Raughton Head YFC, Cumbria. After five rounds and 880 questions, the last 32 entrants in Cumbria Young Farmers' `big quiz' staged...

COUNTRY VIEW: Making new friends abroad.
January 5, 2007... EIGHTEEN YFC members in Wales have been awarded places on the Wales YFC international travel programme. The project, supported by Barclays, promotes multi-cultural awareness and gives individuals the chance to become part of a family in a...

Autos & 4x4: Rugged meets fashion in the pick-up stakes.
January 5, 2007... Road test: Mazda BT-50 Mazda is the latest firm to bring its double cab pick-up truck to the party, and the BT-50, as it is to be known, bears more than just a passing resemblance to Ford's Ranger. It is hardly surprising really, as...

Autos & 4x4: A range of improved models to suit all needs.
January 5, 2007... Road test: Nissan cabstar Nissan's latest Cabstar comes to market with a roomier, much brighter and better designed cab and a range of more powerful engines that look set to gain the Spanish-built light truck many more new friends in the...

Autos & 4x4: `Quick, economical, but not as fun as petrol model'.
January 5, 2007... Road Test: VW Golf GT If you prefer your GTi to be diesel powered, then Golf's new 170hp GT might prove to be something of a disappointment. It is not slow or uninviting - far from it - and with 170hp under the bonnet, this is the most...

Autos & 4x4: Toyota Hilux.
January 5, 2007... Toyota has completed its Hilux pick-up truck range with the introduction of the Extra cab model, while confirming engine options across the range for 2007. The four-wheel drive Extra cab is a two-door model, but with an elongated cabin...

Autos & 4x4: SSangyong Rexton II.
January 5, 2007... SsangYong's second generation Rexton, imaginatively titled the Rexton II, gets a new front end, bumpers and lights, along with improved rear cabin ventilation with individual air-conditioning vents. The 163hp five-cylinder 2.7 turbo-diesel...

WORKING DOGS: Fog fails to stop Clough Head charity nursery.
January 5, 2007... DESPITE fog, competitors turned out in force for the Boxing Day charity nursery trial at Clough Head, Haslingden, Lancashire, where together an auction, raffle, entry fees, catering and donations raised #760 for Christie Hospital, Manchester....

LIVESTOCK: Cattle manager passes on reigns.
January 5, 2007... Aberdeen and Northern Mart's store and breeding cattle manager Allan Taylor has handed over the reigns to colleague John Angus. Mr Taylor joined in 1962 and conducted his first sale in 1968. Based at Aboyne, he was involved in regular sales...

LIVESTOCK: Boost in prime cattle sales.
January 5, 2007... AN increase in the number of prime cattle sold by auctioneers McCartneys in 2006 lifted throughput to 41,150 head - a rise of over 7,000 animals compared with the previous year. Sheep numbers sold through McCartneys' five sale centres in...

LIVESTOCK: Limousin herd double win.
January 5, 2007... BEST overall herd in the East Midlands Limousin Cattle Breeders Club herds competition 2006 was the Fieldson herd of J. Fieldson and Sons, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. It also claimed top honours in the large herd category. The winner of...

LIVESTOCK: `Off beet' auctions.
January 5, 2007... FARMERS and contractors in Shropshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire are being offered a chance to sell unwanted sugar beet machinery and other farm equipment. Auctioneers Halls are organising two auctions on consecutive days in...

LIVESTOCK: Free flock guide.
January 5, 2007... THE English Beef and Lamb Executive `breed a better flock' manual explains why sheep breeders should record their flocks and covers how to plan a breeding strategy and use the Estimated Breeding Values. Free copies from 0870 241 8829 or...

LIVESTOCK: Cogent marketing.
January 5, 2007... GENETICS company Cogent has appointed Alison Millar marketing manager. Alison, of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, worked for Harrison and Hetherington for four years. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

FGBusiness: Dividend for farmer members of Centaur.
January 5, 2007... CENTAUR Grain has made a major dividend payout to its farmer members. The marketing co-op is returning dividends totalling #123,000 as it continues to develop long-term business relationships and long-term contracts with a number of key players...

FGBusiness: Milk Link buys out Glanbia share of The Cheese Company.
January 5, 2007... MILK LINK has bought out Glanbia's share of the The Cheese Company in a #47.2 million deal that gives the co-op full ownership the UK's biggest cheese manufacturer. The deal, says Milk Link, is a further move towards increased returns to...

FGBusiness: Beef finishers look at using one slaughterer.
January 5, 2007... BEEF finishers in the south are to investigate the benefits of teaming up with just one slaughterer in a bid to boost producer returns. All National Beef Association members, they are disillusioned with what they perceive as unrelenting...

FGBusiness: Auction mart amalgamation when centre opens in 12 months.
January 5, 2007... SOUTH West auction marts Taunton and Highbridge markets will close on completion of the new multi-million pound market centre at Junction 24 of the M5 in about 12 months time. Negotiations have been going on for years, but now an agreement...

FGBusiness: Moves for EU organic label.
January 5, 2007... The European Commission has made further moves towards the introduction on an EU-wide organic label. The legislation will not come into place before March at the earliest however, as no opinion has yet been given by the European...

Milk production for 2006/7 quota year.
January 5, 2007... Milk production in November was estimated to be 1,022.0 million litres. This compares to 1,071.7.0 million litres in October 2006 and 1,030.0 million litres in November 2005. Butterfat levels were estimated to be 4.17 per cent, compared to 4.13...

MILK QUOTA BULLETIN.
January 5, 2007... * SALES COMMENT: Interest in the market dropped significantly in the lead up to Christmas. There was little activity, resulting in a slight drop in price for about the fourth week in a row. The few purchasers considering acquiring quota this...

FSA asks EC for ruling on `clone farming'.
January 12, 2007... Legality of selling milk and meat is questioned THE Food Standards Agency is seeking clarification from Brussels on the legality of selling milk and meat from cloned animals and their offspring, after it emerged that the calf of a cloned...

Miliband plays down the importance of organic food.
January 12, 2007... DEFRA secretary David Miliband has waded into the organic food debate by describing it as a `lifestyle choice' and admitting its health benefits were inconclusive. He attacked those who regard food grown with the use of pesticides as...

New cheese plant a step closer.
January 12, 2007... THE due diligence process to examine plans for a new commodity cheese plant in West Cumbria is to go ahead. Facilitator Cumbria Vision's partnership manager Martyn Staveley confirmed on Wednesday - the deadline set for firm expressions of...

Boel: GM labelling system needed in EU.
January 12, 2007... THE EU needs to give consumers a clearer labelling system for genetically modified food, EU Agricultural Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has said. Speaking at the Oxford Farming Conference last week, Mrs Boel said the appearance of GM...

Defra placed in a sticky situation.
January 12, 2007... EU AGRICULTURE Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has voiced her concerns at a request by Defra to allow the four UK regions to set their own modulation rates. Under the current system, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland levy...

CAP Health Check summary.
January 12, 2007... Mrs Fischer Boel gave further insights into her aims for the 2008 `Health Check' of the CAP and discussion on the future of the CAP budget. She made it clear the Commission has decided not to renew milk quotas after the current regime ends...

Abattoir reopens to OTM once `action plan' gets go-ahead.
January 12, 2007... WEST Devon Meat, the abattoir that has remained closed to over-thirty- month (OTM) cattle since early December, could be open by today. As Farmers Guardian went to press, sources at Defra said Ben Bradshaw, the Minister for Animal Health...

Most Scots have Single Payment.
January 12, 2007... MORE than 90 per cent of Scottish farmers received their Single Payments before the end of 2006. In late November last year, Scottish rural development minister Ross Finnie pledged that 70 per cent of payments would be made by the year...

Cornish confusion after HFA mix-up.
January 12, 2007... THERE was confusion in Cornwall this week after a mix-up with some farmers' Hill Farm Allowance declarations. Farmers Guardian has been made aware that around half a dozen farmers in North Cornwall had received letters with the wrong name...

RPA's software problems.
January 12, 2007... THE RPA admitted this week that as many as 19,000 farmers have been left in limbo over incorrect payments. Blaming software problems, the Agency said it was still trying to resolve the cases of farmers who had either been over or underpaid...

Haskins is challenged to eat his own words.
January 12, 2007... GOVERNMENT adviser Lord Haskins will be challenged to eat his own words next week after suggesting consumers would be more environmentally friendly eating New Zealand lamb instead of Welsh lamb. Farmers Union of Wales president Gareth...

New animal transport rules.
January 12, 2007... THE new EU Regulation on animal welfare in transport came into effect on Friday with the aim of reducing stress experienced by animals during land and sea journeys. Among the new safeguards being introduced are higher standards for...

NFUS launch manifesto ahead of May elections.
January 12, 2007... NFU Scotland has launched a Farming Manifesto ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections in May. The manifesto sets out the union's vision for Scotland's agricultural sector, as well as its food industry and countryside. It...

Poultry workers to get flu jabs.
January 12, 2007... POULTRY workers in England are to be given flu vaccines as a precautionary measure to protect against any possible flu pandemic. An estimated 60,000 workers who work with poultry or in slaughterhouses flocks will be given free access to a...

Challenge to migrant restrictions.
January 12, 2007... FARMING groups are launching a legal challenge to a decision to restrict the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS), calling it a `sop to anti-immigrants'. Under a Home Office ruling workers from Bulgaria and Romania will have to be...

Look to the French for tips on climate.
January 12, 2007... BRITISH farmers have been told to look to their French counterparts to learn more about the likely effects of climate change. With the Met Office predicting that 2007 is likely to be the warmest year on record, scientists have said much of...

Allscott and York to close shortly.
January 12, 2007... SUGAR beet processing at British Sugar's Allscott and York factories will end in a matter of weeks following the company's decision last year to consolidate its activity in the eastern region. Robin Limb, agricultural business manager for...

Just Ask campaign aims to get more British food on our plates.
January 12, 2007... TONY Blair has given his backing to a campaign by the Country Land and Business Association to encourage the public to ask where the food on their plate comes from when they are eating out. The Just Ask campaign, launched at Downing Street...

Clean bill of health after foot-and-mouth scare.
January 12, 2007... TESTS for foot-and-mouth disease at an abattoir in Northern Ireland have been confirmed as negative. The tests were carried out following the discovery of foot lesions on a number pigs at the facility in County Antrim on Monday. ...

A guide to Single Farm Payment for Welsh farmers.
January 12, 2007... NFU Cymru has put together a guide outlining the key dates of the Single Farm Payment year. The laminated A5 bilingual guide sets out what needs to be undertaken by farmers on certain dates of the year, as part of their SFP agreement. ...

Wind of change on `flatulence tax'?
January 12, 2007... DEFRA has played down the prospects of a `flatulence tax' on livestock, after David Miliband suggested last week that farmers could face penalties in future if they failed to control methane emissions. A spokesman said the department...

The methane problem - and possible solutions.
January 12, 2007... METHANE accounts for 9 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions - second only to carbon dioxide (CO2). Although there is less of it, it is more potent than CO2 as a cause of global warming as it is 10 to 20 times more effective at preventing...

CLA's `red tape' blast.
January 12, 2007... THE Country Land and Business Association has hit back at David Miliband's suggestion that UK livestock farmers were not doing enough to reduce damaging methane gas emissions. In his speech to the Oxford Farming Conference, Mr Miliband...

Set-aside: It could be our rose in a garden of weeds.
January 12, 2007... I'M keeping again. I used to keep bees, years ago, but gave up when we moved to our current windy hilltop. I thought I would have a hive full of furious, hungry inmates who would have to give up flying and trudge out into the gale. Since...

OPINION: Food for thought.
January 12, 2007... Much teeth grinding and tearing of hair (or should that be beards?) this week in the organic camp as right-on Minister David Miliband fell off the PC bandwagon and dared to suggest organic food wasn't veritable manna from heaven. Standing...

Letter: Stop the organic vs conventional fight.(Letter to the editor)
January 12, 2007... There must be a catch - one hates to sound cynical and all, but was that really a Government Minister standing up for conventional farming? Really, I could hardly believe my eyes, reading the Daily Telegraph this week, to see that David...

Letter: Time for Beckett to be held to account?(Letter to the editor)
January 12, 2007... Our new Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, has rightly stated that Saddam Hussein has finally been held to account for his crimes against humanity. This begs the question of when and whether the Right Honourable lady in her former...

Letter: Suicides linked to sheep dip use.(Letter to the editor)
January 12, 2007... IT was no surprise to read in FG (January 5) that the Crown Prosecution Service and police refuse to investigate the suicides linked to sheep dip use. Perhaps we should all ask why? In my own case, poisoning by illegally mixed and stored...