Farmers Guardian articles from July 2003

Farmers Guardian archives from July 2003

Beckett defends reform deal `fudge'.
July 4, 2003... THE historic Common Agricultural Policy reform agreement has been defended by DEFRA Secretary of State Margaret Beckett against widespread criticism that it is nothing more than a `fudged compromise'. Mrs Beckett has insisted the reform...

Big stores increase milk by 2p/litre.
July 4, 2003... MAJOR supermarket groups increased their retail milk price by 2p a litre this week - and insisted the extra money is passed on to milk producers by the processors. The move was welcomed by the National Farmers' Union's chief dairy adviser...

June Census initial response good.
July 4, 2003... FOR the first time this year, all farmers and growers in England who are selected to take part in the June Census have the option to complete it electronically. The `e-form' has been rated as `easy' or `reasonable' to complete by 98 per...

Breeding animals exempt from 6-day rule during autumn.
July 4, 2003... BREEDING rams, bulls and goats will be exempt from the six-day rule during the busy autumn breeding season, DEFRA has announced. Unveiling details of a new `standing' animal movement regime and changes to biosecurity rules, Food and Farming...

`Mountains of dead cattle' fears as fallen stock disposal stalls.
July 4, 2003... Farmers with large holdings could have to pay more than the #150 originally proposed to have their fallen stock removed if the national carcase collection scheme is to go ahead. With the ban on burying fallen stock coming into force in...

Carry on call to MDC from stakeholders.
July 4, 2003... The Milk Development Council (MDC) is to continue its work for Britain's dairy farmers following its quinquennial review. The MDC received an almost unanimous decision from industry stakeholders for its continuation. The review states that...

Stricter labelling move on GM foods as EU lifts ban.
July 4, 2003... THE European Parliament has lifted the ban on genetically modified foods but, in a move to avoid a possible trade war with the United States, has voted to impose a strict labelling regime. MEPs, meeting in Strasbourg on Wednesday, agreed...

New cases of potato blight confirmed.
July 4, 2003... FURTHER cases of potato blight have been confirmed across the UK, bringing the total to 36 confirmed cases in the last 30 days. Fresh outbreaks of the disease have occurred in Cornwall, West Sussex, Norfolk, the West Midlands, Yorkshire, and...

Decoupling welcomed in reform `fudge'.
July 4, 2003... EUROPEAN Agriculture Ministers have been widely accused of fudging the reform of the CAP by watering down Franz Fischler's original proposals. Although the broad direction of the reforms, notably the move towards decoupling, has been...

Warning of potential pitfalls.
July 4, 2003... THE UK's leading farming unions welcomed the broad thrust of last week's agreement on CAP reform, but have warned of numerous potential pitfalls that lie within it. Speaking at the Royal Show, National Farmers' Union president Sir Ben Gill...

UK farmers must not be placed at a disadvantage.
July 4, 2003... THE UK Government has been warned that its efforts to fund the proposed broad and shallow agri-environment scheme must not be allowed to disadvantage UK farmers. The CAP reform agreement sets modulation rates across the EU at 3 per cent in...

Mixed reaction to reforms by leading farm organisations.
July 4, 2003... Leading organic body the Soil Association has asked the Government to give organic farmers the option of using 1997-1999 as the reference period on which the single payment entitlement is based. The single payment may disadvantage existing...

New PIC general manager.
July 4, 2003... A former ADAS pig expert, Sue Corning, has taken over as general manager of the pig breeding giant, PIC UK, the company announced this week. Her appointment follows the resignation of Stephen Dunstan, who has left after nearly 20 years to...

Scottish producers switch to Wiseman.
July 4, 2003... THIS week saw a significant change in the pattern of milk marketing in Fife and Angus with almost 40 producers switching from selling their output from First Milk to Robert Wiseman Dairies. The decision to move away from First Milk was one that...

Bull line-up.
July 4, 2003... Cattle breeding company, Semex UK, has launched `UK Farm Assured' bulls, a new concept in dairy genetics. It is aimed at providing UK dairy producers with a line-up of eight selected bulls, each of which has over 1,000 UK daughters ensuring...

New microsite.
July 4, 2003... Farm Stay Yorkshire members will be promoting their new microsite www.farmstayyorkshire.co.uk during the Great Yorkshire Show. In addition to detailing facilities offered by members it provides information about places to visit and activities...

Talented `calendar' girls and boys.
July 4, 2003... TWELVE budding young artists from around the country were at this week's Royal Show, in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, to receive certificates from Lord Plumb to mark their successful entries in the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution's...

No to burials.
July 4, 2003... DEFRA has confirmed, following recommendations from consultants Det Norske Veritas, it will not use the existing foot-and-mouth burial site at Throckmorton, Worcestershire, for any future animal disposal purposes. Copyright: CMP...

Ryeland ram.
July 4, 2003... The reserve supreme placing in the sheep section's Other Pure Native Breed class at the Lincolnshire Show was taken by Mr and Mrs J. Popham, Pickering, North Yorkshire, with a Ryeland ram. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Great cooking.
July 4, 2003... Countryside and farming campaigner, Clarissa Dickson Wright will be giving cooking demonstrations at the Great Eccleston Show, Lancashire, on July 12 and 13. Well known through the `Two Fat Ladies' TV programme, she is a tireless champion of...

Self-employed deaths go against the falling trend.
July 4, 2003... THE farm accident death rate is falling, but do not get complacent - that was the message from the HSE at this year's Royal Show. Ironically, the apparent trend in fatal accidents in England, Scotland and Wales in 2002/2003 as a whole was...

Union urges right of farmworkers to attend HSE Safety Awareness Days.
July 4, 2003... THE rate of deaths and injuries on farms was still too high, according to the Transport and General Workers' Union, the UK's trade union for farmworkers. Thirty eight people died in accidents on farms last year including one child,...

World champ David takes Scottish shearing title for fifth time.
July 4, 2003... A week after winning the World Shearing title, David Fagan, from New Zealand, won the Scottish Blackface Shearing Championships, at Lochearnhead, for the fifth time. Runner-up was local competitor Hamish Mitchell, with Doug Lambie, Corwen,...

`Fresh' food could hold key to promote more local sourcing.
July 4, 2003... ALL public bodies in Wales are being urged to give Welsh farming a boost by specifying fresh local produce for institutions such as schools and hospitals. The drive has been launched by the Farmers Union of Wales in the light of...

Fibre has a crucial `scratchy' role in diet of dairy cows.
July 4, 2003... DIETARY fibre will be a much higher priority for many dairy farmers this coming winter, according to a survey by HST Feeds at meetings in Lancashire and Shropshire last week. While 25 per cent of them said they were confident already about...

CLA to fight for aid to be linked to the land.
July 4, 2003... WHILE proposed agricultural reforms were generally welcomed, the Country Land and Business Association would continue to fight moves for subsidy payments being made to individuals rather than be linked to the land. That was the message...

NUTHALL'S VIEW: Emerging wealth is good news for farm sectors.
July 4, 2003... AGRICULTURAL economists may disagree, but predicting trends in world food markets is not necessarily rocket science. A dose of healthy common sense can be as good a guide for the future demand for commodities as any amount of slide rules and...

OPINION: Calling off the hounds.
July 4, 2003... TONY Blair's decision to bow to his Backbenchers' demands to ditch the Government's compromise bill in favour of an outright ban on hunting is revealing. This week the Prime Minister had to make a straight choice between his Backbenchers...

Media: your chance to make a difference.
July 4, 2003... By Mike Ashton, Regional PR and Communications Adviser, Country Land and Business Association and chairman of the BBC Radio Cumbria Local Advisory Council. Mike Keeble's view `We all have a big story to tell - so has the BBC' certainly...

Letter: Torture on the telephone.(Letter to the Editor)
July 4, 2003... AM I the only one, or are there others, who speak to the Rural Payments Agency and come off the phone feeling even worse than before making what hopefully would turn out to be a useful phone call? I have, since May 22, been trying to...

Letter: Health scare.(Letter to the Editor)
July 4, 2003... NOBODY connected with the A2 Milk Corporation is suggesting that there is a "general health scare" about milk produced by Holstein Friesians, or indeed any other dairy cows (FG, June 13) However, statistical data from 16 countries clearly...

Letter: Swing to spring production.(Letter to the Editor)
July 4, 2003... THE trade's requirement for milk is not 38 million litres per day, as stated in last week's Stephen Yates' Point of View, 38 million litres per day is simply the milk quota divided by 365, and this is not the market requirement. The market...

Letter: More bureaucracy and red tape.(Letter to the Editor)
July 4, 2003... AFTER reading the headlines on the Mid-Term Review of CAP `Good news for consumers and farmers alike', one would assume that it would mean farmers were once again able to cover the cost of production of their commodities instead of subsidising...

Letter: Detrimental to small birds.(Letter to the Editor)
July 4, 2003... IN recent years rooks have increased in great numbers and have been detrimental to the small birds which we feed. Farmers used to keep their numbers down but with farms being sold up for other purposes there seems little attention to this...

Letter: Bird leaves at critical stage.(Letter to the Editor)
July 4, 2003... CHRIS Bird has decided to leave Dairy Farmers of Britain early at probably the most critical stage in DFB's development. While we have to pay the right money to attract the right people DFB only made a very small profit on acual day-to-day...

Dairy Shorthorns in demand.
July 4, 2003... MEMBERSHIP up by 10 per cent, registrations up by 23 per cent plus and operating surplus of #1,471 gave an optimistic note to the annual meeting of the Shorthorn Society. Furthermore the secretary, Frank Milnes, said the society was...

Society's new president.
July 4, 2003... THE new president of the Shorthorn Society is John Teasdale, of Brick House, Kirkbean, Dumfries, who takes over from David Baynes of Marley Cote Walls, Slaley, Hexham. Born near Caldbeck in the Lake District, Mr Teasdale farmed in Cumbria...

Ease of management on low inputs keeps family loyal to Shorthorn breed.
July 4, 2003... THE ease of management of the Dairy Shorthorn breed on a relatively low input dairy system has, and is, keeping the Baynes family of Marley Cote Walls, Hexham, Northumberland, loyal to the breed. The farm, which hosted the Shorthorn...

CAP reform - what it means for the UK.
July 4, 2003... THE radical changes to the Common Agricultural Policy agreed last week are going to have a fundamental impact on the way farmers operate their businesses. There are, of course, areas of concern within the historic reform package. But the...

CAP: How the deal was won.
July 4, 2003... DESPITE the three weeks of political manoeuvring in the Farm Council the final deal that emerged at 7.30am in Luxembourg on June 26 was, in many ways, a foregone conclusion. From the first compromise paper the deal was always going to be...

CAP: THE DEAL.
July 4, 2003... * DECOUPLING: The basic commitment is for full decoupling from 2005. Under full decoupling arable area aid, plus all current beef and sheep schemes would be replaced by a single farm payment. However, states have the option of delaying...

Payment entitlement discord in tenant landlord relations?
July 4, 2003... THE decision to allow the new decoupled payment to be transferred without land is good news for tenant farmers, according to the Tenant Farmers' Association. Speaking at the Royal Show, TFA chairman Reg Haydon said the initial Commission...

Challenge is now to turn political agreement into workable regulations.
July 4, 2003... WITH the deal done Agriculture Ministers are enjoying a warm glow of self satisfaction. Like warriors after battle they are happy to swap stories about how they won they day in Luxembourg. But for officials the real challenge now begins to...

Worried by impact on size of beef herd.
July 4, 2003... BEEF farmers will be working with environmentalists to ensure the Government introduces proper measures to prevent them being driven off the land as a result of the CAP reforms. National Beef Association chief executive Robert Forster said...

Distortion test.
July 4, 2003... THE trade distortion potential of the CAP reform will face its biggest test in Northern Ireland, where full decoupling in the UK will be across a land border from a state likely to opt for one of the partial decoupling models. The...

Hopes high for major export deals for UK pig industry.
July 4, 2003... SEVERAL British pig breeders and UK companies supplying the latest in pigs, genetics and technology were hoping to sign major export deals following high-powered meetings with international delegations at the Royal Show. British Pig...

`Work together to correct global food chain imbalance'.
July 4, 2003... BRITAIN'S farmers were urged at the Royal Show to sink their individualistic attitudes and join co-operatives or other farmer- controlled businesses - putting themselves in a far better position to forge international alliances and overcome the...

Society's new club for sheep crazy youngsters.
July 4, 2003... A new club was launched at the Royal Show by the Suffolk Sheep Society to cater for sheep crazy youngsters. "We have a significant number of young followers, some are children of members but other have found the breed on their own. They...

Sheep trading `triumph'.
July 4, 2003... THE go-ahead for the first ever export sale of breeding sheep from Great Britain has been welcomed by the Suffolk Sheep Society. It has been given the green light to proceed with its Edinburgh sale on July 25 and export directly from the...

Virtual marketplace for local produce.
July 4, 2003... THE NFU launched a `virtual marketplace' venture at the Royal Show aimed at helping food buyers locate and contact local and regional producers. The NFU SourceDirect website allows retailers and caterers to source wholesale produce from local...

`Superb' Jersey milker revels in sunlight to take top dairy accolade.
July 4, 2003... PERSISTENT rain and muddy conditions looked like putting a damper on the Royal Show's new-look Tuesday dairy cattle judging day - until just as the inter-breed sessions were reaching a climax. Then for only a few minutes the sun shone...

Simmental stars.
July 4, 2003... THE undoubted star of the show was the Simmental cow Atlow Rhians Valentine belonging to David and Susan Donnelly, of Derbyshire. Having scooped the Simmental breed award and the beef inter-breed championship, she went on part of the Simmental...

Valentine heads beef inter-breed.
July 4, 2003... A five-year-old Simmental cow from David and Susan Donnelly, of Hulland Ward, Derbyshire, beat the Aberdeen-Angus champion, a six-year-old cow from the Carter Family, of Kings Lynn, Norfolk, to top place in the beef inter-breed championship....

Hampshire Downs on top.
July 4, 2003... HAMPSHIRE Downs took the inter-breed and the pairs championships. A ram lamb from Samuel Robinson and an ewe lamb from Kevin and Anna McCarthy won the pairs competition on the Tuesday and then Mr Robinson went on to take the inter-breed...

Welsh sow takes supreme.
July 4, 2003... CHRISTINE Vaughan's 12-month-old Welsh sow won the overall championship in the pig classes. Mrs Vaughan, Upton, Nuneaton, Warwickshire, has been breeding pigs for over 20 years and bred the champion. She also had success with her 2001-born...

New equipment award winners.
July 4, 2003... THE overall winner in the Royal Show's New Equipment Awards competition was JCB with its smallest rough terrain telehandler, the 520-40. Engine and transmission developments have enabled the company to provide increased work capacity...

Look what's in Manitou's pocket.
July 4, 2003... Turning heads as sharply as its own single rear steered wheel was the latest in compact telehandlers from Manitou. The appropriately named `pocket Maniscopic' is an easy access three wheeler with a turning radius of 2.22 m which could quite...

Excellence.
July 4, 2003... Cumbrian farmers, John and Rachel Geldard, from Levens, and Roger and Karen Mercer, of Barton under Needwood, Staffordshire, were presented with Royal Agricultural Society of England Excellence in Farming Awards. Copyright: CMP Information...

Achievers.
July 4, 2003... The NFU launched its annual search to find Britain's highest achievers in agriculture and horticulture - the 2004 NFU Farming Excellence Awards - with greater cash prizes and an increased category range. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Side shift from Teagle.
July 4, 2003... Designed for use in much the same way as a mower grouper, Teagle's Super-ted Conveyor can also throw tedded crop up to 3m. The attachment can simply move the swath sideways onto dry ground next to the tedder or with an increase in belt...

Last bid to save horticultural research centre from privatisation.
July 4, 2003... SCIENTISTS were lobbying hard at this week's Royal Show in a last minute bid to save Britain's leading horticultural research centre from privatisation. A delegation from Horticulture Research International will now be meeting DEFRA...

Blueprint gains award.
July 4, 2003... PHILIP Hughes, estate manager at the 14,500-acre Rhug Estate, Corwen, North Wales, has won a prestigious award for the report he compiled for his Nuffield Farming Scholarship. His `Farm Diversification - A Blueprint for Success' document...

Jersey sires.
July 4, 2003... THE Jersey Cattle Society launched its new 2003 Jersey Sires catalogue. On offer is semen from eight proven bulls and seven young test bulls sourced from the USA, Canada and Australia. "This selection of semen has been put together to meet...

Chicken and egg mystery.
July 4, 2003... CURIOUS kids are being invited to become super sleuths and solve the chicken and egg mystery by visiting a lively learning centre on the internet. The interactive chicken-hen-egg website - the brainchild of the NFU's South West region -...

Oh brother!
July 4, 2003... SCOTTISH border farming brothers, Robin and Andrew Dunlop, were both in action in the cattle judging rings. Andrew, from Castle Douglas, and Robin, from Kirkcudbright, have over 80 years' experience between them as top level exhibitors and...

Pollula storms to a well balanced victory.
July 4, 2003... IT was a first in more ways than one for Fran and Louis Baugh when they won the top dairy and dual-purpose cattle inter-breed titles with their Holstein, Neatishall Storm Pollula, at the Royal Norfolk Show last week. "We have never won a...

Charollais founder takes supreme inter-breed sheep championship.
July 4, 2003... THE man who introduced Charollais sheep into the country in 1976, Jonathan Barber, of Wymondham, Norfolk, took the sheep supreme inter- breed title at the Royal Norfolk Show, near Norwich, last week. Mr Barber, who helped set up a...

Praise for White Faced Woodland.
July 4, 2003... THE `superb qualities' of the White Faced Woodland sheep won high praise from owners of this rare breed from all over the country who travelled to show their animals at the Royal Norfolk Show last week. Although it is classed as a rare...

No Ministers.
July 4, 2003... THE non-attendance of any Government Ministers at the Norfolk and Suffolk Shows during the most crucial time for farming and the environment has been heavily criticised by members of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA). "These shows...

Assembly's extension bid on pay appals union chief.
July 4, 2003... NFU Cymru president, Peredur Hughes, launched a stinging attack on the Welsh Assembly this week over moves that could see farmers losing interest on the late payment of their agricultural support dues. He reacted strongly to Assembly...

Standards still high after two year gap.
July 4, 2003... THE sheep entries in the 49th Roman Wall Show, held at Twice Brewed, Northumberland, maintained the usual high standard despite an absence of two years due to the foot-and-mouth epidemic. The overall championship went to D. Charlton, of...

Bob is rare breeds champion.
July 4, 2003... THE overall cattle champion in the Rare Breeds section at Cheshire County Show was the Longhorn bull Bollin Bob from Bollin Valley Project. Reserve overall was a Gloucester cow, Peglars Doodah, shown by J. Todhunter. Results: CATTLE...

Briggs bags a Longhorn `hat-trick'.
July 4, 2003... The Longhorn cattle results at the Shropshire and West Midlands Show were: Supreme and female, J. and J. Briggs, Gorse Japonica; res. sup. and res. fem., P.J. Guest, Riffhams Mary. Male, J. and G. Stanier, Blackbrook Lionheart. (No reserve male...

Quality food delivered to your door.
July 4, 2003... Reaching out to customers with a real interest in quality food is the vision behind Northern Harvest, an award winning Warrington-based company set up and run by farming couple, Tod and Barbara Bulmer. LIZ FALKINGHAM reports. When the...

RURAL LIFE: Frying tonight - and the chips are home-grown.
July 4, 2003... "I know it sounds mad, but I've always wanted to open a chip shop!" said farmer's wife Jackie Perkins. This unlikely dream came to fruition for the energetic Jackie in November 2002 when `The Chip Shop' began a thriving business in her...

Student wins trip to NZ.
July 4, 2003... MYERSCOUGH College agriculture student James Dugdale has won an Association of Colleges practical work experience overseas award that will take him to New Zealand for a year. James, 18, whose parents farm at Settle, North Yorkshire, will work...

Cumbria triumph.
July 4, 2003... CUMBRIA Young Farmers triumphed at the Northern Area YFC field day at Craven Auction Mart, Skipton. The host's A and B teams took second and third places overall and the B team won the stockjudging trophy ahead of Cumbria A and Yorkshire A...

Help for hospice.
July 4, 2003... A cheque for #400 has been presented to Hope House Children's Hospice, Oswestry, by Sainsbury's, following a charity auction at the National Sheep Association's Welsh sheep day. The auction of the champion carcase raised #200 with a winning bid...

Sticking to what he does best.
July 4, 2003... RETIRED farmer Gordon Flintoft, from Glaisdale, North Yorkshire, claimed the stick making honours in the Royal Highland Show handcrafts competition. Mr Flintoft's fancy horn head traditional walking stick earned him both the prize for the...

Highland `fling' for SAYFC.
July 4, 2003... SCOTTISH Young farmers packed a stockmanship programme, a farm skills pentathlon, seven other major competitions and three dances into the Royal Highland Show. West Region clubs squashed 17 girls into a Robin Reliant to win the `Squeezathon'...

More than baking a cake.
July 4, 2003... DEMONSTRATIONS, healthy living projects and sports, plus an initiative which took craft skills and materials to Romania were highlighted by SWRI (Scottish Women's Rural Institutes) members at the Royal Highland Show. "We want people to see the...

Union's boost for RABI.
July 4, 2003... THE best of Cheshire farm produce was enjoyed and more than #700 raised for RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution) at an event hosted by the Cheshire branch of the Women's Food and Farming Union. Held at Willington Hall,...

Winning dozen.
July 4, 2003... TOWCESTER's tally of a dozen trophies helped secure the overall winner's title at Northampton Town and Country Federation of Young Farmers Clubs' county rally. The club's triumphs in competitions including stockjudging, tug of war and...

Diversification.
July 4, 2003... PUPILS from Garstang High School, Lancashire, spent a day at David and Edwina Miller's Cobble Hey Farm, Claughton-on-Brock, to see how local farmers have diversified their businesses. The Millers have opened the farm gardens to the public and...