Farmers Guardian articles from July 2007

Farmers Guardian archives from July 2007

The show will go on, vow RASE organisers.
July 6, 2007... THE torrential rain that is creating havoc for farmers around the country claimed its biggest victim this week when the Royal Show was forced to close a day early. Record rainfall levels turned the vast car parks at the Stoneleigh...

Viable industry essential to national food security.
July 6, 2007... POLICIES that support a viable farming industry are essential to the well-being of the nation as the risks of global food shortages increase, a farming think-tank is warning. In a discussion paper to be presented to Hilary Benn and his new...

Cereal shortage fears prompt call to abolish EU set-aside.
July 6, 2007... THE European Union farming industry has asked the European Commission to scrap set-aside next year, as floods in the UK and serious droughts in Europe raise fear of a poor harvest and grain shortages. World stocks are already at their...

Half of direct deals signed.
July 6, 2007... TESCO announced at the show that almost half of its `direct deal' contracts with milk farmers have now been completed. Over 400 dedicated farmers are now supplying milk to the supermarket for a price of around 22ppl. They will be joined by...

Further studies show benefits of farmer collaboration.
July 6, 2007... THE English Farming and Food Partnerships launched two new modules of its Share to Farm project at the Royal Show - and welcomed HSBC Agriculture as the official sponsor of Share to Farm. Share to Rear highlights the benefits of...

Big changes in PLI could bring big rewards.
July 6, 2007... A DRAMATIC change to the calculation of the UK's Profitable Lifetime Index with more than half the focus now on `fitness' traits, has been welcomed by breeders, breeding companies, major retailers and the RSPCA, says MDCbreeding+. The...

Controversial cost sharing plans look like being shelved.
July 6, 2007... DEFRA Minister Jeff Rooker all but ruled out controversial plans for Defra to push ahead with an England only disease cost-sharing Bill in November. UK industry stakeholders were shocked to learn last week that Defra had set aside a...

Organic milk demand is outstripping supply.
July 6, 2007... BETTER prices for `conventional' milk, plus increasing grain prices, have seen a reduction in milk producers looking at organic production. In the year to April 2006 some 15 million litres converted but just eight million litres have done...

`Judge me on what I do, not what I eat'.
July 6, 2007... HILARY Benn brushed aside controversy over the revelation that he is a vegetarian with a plea to the industry to judge him on what he does, not what he eats. Mr Benn gave an assured performance in his first public address as Defra...

Industry leaders not concerned by new Minister's lifestyle.
July 6, 2007... MEAT industry leaders were united in insisting Hilary Benn's choice to be a vegetarian was `irrelevant' as far as his ability to be an effective Minister was concerned. Mr Benn joked that he was unsure what he would eat at this month's...

Who's who in the new-look Defra department.
July 6, 2007... HILARY Benn, who was Secretary of State for International Development since October 2003, heads up the new team at Defra. The son of former Cabinet Minister Tony Benn, he became an MP in 1999 after winning a by-election in Leeds Central....

THE OLD DEFRA TEAM.
July 6, 2007... FORMER Defra Secretary David Miliband, after only 12 months in the post, has been promoted to Foreign Secretary, becoming, at the age of 41, the youngest person to hold the post since David Owen in 1977. Ironically, he replaces Margaret...

Kendall calls for an `early warning' system.
July 6, 2007... THE NFU is calling for an `early warning' system that would be triggered when production in a particular sector falls to unsustainably low levels. The concept is the NFU's response to the debate over the falling self- sufficiency levels in...

Conservative effort to `strengthen' farmland.
July 6, 2007... THE Conservatives would introduce polices to `strengthen' farmland to make it more able to deal with heavy rain, under policies recommended by its Quality of Life Group. Tory MP and former Agriculture Minister John Gummer unveiled...

Liberal Democrats unveil a tough stance on bTB.
July 6, 2007... THE Liberal Democrats would take `immediate and decisive' action to control disease in badgers in bovine TB hotspot areas, the party reveals in a document outlining its vision for rural England. Party leader Sir Menzies Campbell unveiled...

Benn gets off on wrong foot.
July 6, 2007... HILARY Benn certainly got off on the wrong foot as far as the Tenant Farmers' Association was concerned, after he had to cancel an appearance at the organisation's reception on Monday. The TFA had booked David Miliband for the spot but when...

Extra funds won't help flooded farmers.
July 6, 2007... DEFRA Minister Hilary Benn has committed his support to those affected by severe weather conditions, signalling a U-turn in the Government's proposed cuts in flood defences. In a statement to Parliament, the newly appointed Environment...

RPA reminds farmers about cross-compliance exemptions.
July 6, 2007... THE Rural Payments Agency is reminding farmers of the exemptions that exist within cross-compliance rules that could help them during this spate of wet weather. The RPA said it recognised that some scheme claimants may want to salvage...

Interest will be paid on owed Single Payments.
July 6, 2007... DEFRA Secretary Hilary Benn has announced that farmers still owed Single Payments after the June 30 EU deadline will be paid interest. In a Parliamentary statement on Monday, he confirmed that #1.49 billion - 98 per cent of the Single...

Defra issues paper on Commons Registers.
July 6, 2007... DEFRA has unveiled plans to update the Commons Registers, following complaints by farmers who face losing parts of their Single Payments because the register is 40 years out of date. Earlier this year, Defra and the Rural Payments Agency...

End of the line for `sacred bullock'.
July 6, 2007... THE Welsh Assembly has called time on Shambo, the `sacred' Friesian bullock that has tested bovine TB positive at the Skanda Vale Community religious retreat near Carmarthen. In a Welsh Assembly Government statement on Tuesday, Rural...

NBA's new head aims to reunite beef producers.
July 6, 2007... THE National Beef Association's former policy adviser Kim Haywood will replace Robert Forster as chief executive when he retires in August. A successor to Mr Forster had been found in Defra man Stuart Roberts but he recently decided to...

Charlotte wins training award.
July 6, 2007... HARPER Adams University College student Charlotte Johnston, aged 20, has won the annual Guild of Agricultural Journalists' Training Award, sponsored by John Deere. This year's runner-up is another 20-year-old student, William Wilson, who...

Yorkshire Show will go on - YAS.
July 6, 2007... GREAT Yorkshire Show organisers have denied rumours that next week's show will be cancelled due to bad weather. Show director Bill Cowling said: "We are looking forward to an excellent three days next week. So far we have been fortunate in...

Employee of the year finalists are revealed.
July 6, 2007... THREE finalists from across Wales have been shortlisted for this year's NFU Cymru-NatWest Welsh Farm Employee of the Year Award, with the winner being announced at the Royal Welsh Show at the end of the month. The competition recognises...

Lady Byford named RABDF president.
July 6, 2007... CONSERVATIVE peer Lady Hazel Byford has been elected as the new president of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF). Shadow Spokesman for Food, Farming and Rural Affairs in the House of Lords, Lady Byford comes from a...

Local show is forced to cancel livestock classes.
July 6, 2007... THE continuing bad weather has forced the organisers of the Goosnargh and Longridge Show in Lancashire, due to be held tomorrow (Saturday), to cancel all livestock classes. The show, with limited classes, is now being held at the Civic Hall...

Award for IGER Plant Breeding.
July 6, 2007... IGER Plant Breeding, Aberystwyth, is the recipient of the Royal Agricultural Society of England Technology Award 2007. It goes to `an individual or team that has applied a scientific advance to develop a technology through the creation or...

`A bit agricultural' is the way we always do things.
July 6, 2007... Earlier in the afternoon I got one of those phone calls from the editorial people at Farmers Guardian. Basically a very polite hint that time and deadlines were coming up and it was about time I sent the copy in. So I put the phone...

OPINION: Apres le deluge?
July 6, 2007... Criticising the Royal Show has become a kind of sport. And with several years of falling visitor, exhibitor and trade stand numbers, it appears to be fair game. But as the persistent rain turned this year's event into a quagmire, and the...

LETTER: Want to make a difference? Get involved.(Letter to the editor)
July 6, 2007... While we all share Paul Gentry's frustrations I cannot allow his ill- informed comments in the recent Newark market report suggesting NFU inactivity over the livestock situation to pass unchallenged. The price that farmers are receiving for...

LETTER: Help us to help you.(Letter to the editor)
July 6, 2007... I HAVE read with interest the letters on your website. I am just a housewife and know nothing about farming, but I care deeply about animal welfare, which I believe is better in the UK than abroad, and maintaining our British countryside....

LETTER: Little Red Tractor.(Letter to the editor)
July 6, 2007... IF the NFU really want to push the Little Red Tractor logo to be the sole symbol of farm assurance (FG, June 29) it must take a look around and rethink who it is trying to assure. Currently the scheme gives the green light to aspects of...

LETTER: Small scale goatkeeper.(Letter to the editor)
July 6, 2007... As a small scale goatkeeper, I have recently become aware of the amount of damage being done to goats' ears as a direct result of tagging. One of my own animals had a tag ripped out after only six days from insertion and I don't believe...

LETTER: Veterinary Association of Wildlife Management.(Letter to the editor)
July 6, 2007... I REFER to the Veterinary Association of Wildlife Management, which met on June 19 when the Independent Scientific Group told an audience of people interested in the TB/badger debate that the Randomised Culling Trials proved to be ineffective...

TB CRISIS: Controlling bovine TB.
July 6, 2007... What can lessons can be learned from across the Irish Sea? Across the Irish Sea, a strategy aimed at controlling bovine TB spread in cattle and badgers appears to be working. Yet this did not stop the UK's bTB advisers concluding that...

Belgian Blue bull reigns supreme.
July 6, 2007... CONTINENTAL males reigned supreme at the Royal Norfolk Show with a Belgian Blue taking top honours and a Limousin in reserve. Henry Harvey bought three-year-old Belgian Blue bull Headlind Winter Flash at the Carlisle sales in May 2006 for...

Dairy honours on cow's first outing.
July 6, 2007... A HOLSTEIN cow on her first outing took dairy inter-breed honours. Lyngate Ford Babs, from Gavin Paterson's Lyngate herd, was handled by Mr Paterson's herdsman of nine years Shaun Clarke. The third calver was home-bred and one of 200 cows...

Jersey triumphs as show beats torrential rain.
July 6, 2007... TORRENTIAL rain, overnight and throughout the morning, came much too late to cancel St Clears Show, West Wales, and proceedings went ahead as planned. Taking supreme overall from the cattle entries were Helen and Nicola Evans with their...

Wensleydale ewe heads sheep lines.
July 6, 2007... Charollais and Texel tie for reserve TOP honours in the sheep rings went to a Wensleydale shearling ewe which took the inter-breed and was one of the championship-winning pair. A panel of judges chose the white shearling ewe from Sue...

Saddleback sow is top pig.
July 6, 2007... A BRITISH Saddleback sow from Andrew Burwell led the way in the pig ring. Mr Burwell, whose Stoke Doyle herd is based near Oundle, Northamptonshire, bought the three-year-old sow as a six-month-old gilt from Dennis Holston. Mr Burrell has been...

ARABLE: Severe crop losses puts price pressure on pea growers.
July 6, 2007... VINING pea production has been badly hit following further heavy downpours of rain this week, in what continues to be one of the most challenging pea harvests growers have seen for many years. Large parts of the UK pea growing area have...

ARABLE: Bringing new milling wheat varieties to the market.
July 6, 2007... Nickerson's plant breeding centre at Docking, Norfolk, is home to one of the company's winter wheat breeding programmes, the other being based at Woolpit, Suffolk. CLEMMIE GLEESON met some of the team. DEVELOPING new milling wheat varieties...

ARABLE: New markets continue to open for UK wheat.
July 6, 2007... THE wheat market continues to race forward, with commodity prices and futures persistently increasing and some new markets for the crop getting closer on the horizon. "Markets are always changing, but we are in a particularly interesting...

ARABLE: Biobeds and sprayer washings disposal.
July 6, 2007... BIOBEDS are not the only means of disposing of sprayer washings containing pesticides, but are probably one of the best ways of dealing with this waste liquid, NFU pesticides specialist Paul Chambers told a North East NFU arable meeting at...

ARABLE: Brown rust flourishes in winter wheat crops.
July 6, 2007... WITH no cold spell to check it over, winter brown rust has flourished in winter wheat crops this season, Stuart Knight of TAG told visitors to the agronomy group's open day at Morley in Norfolk. Many of the growers attending the event were...

ARABLE: Think about pest control after `mid-season crash'.
July 6, 2007... VEGETABLE growers in the south east of England are experiencing a `mid- season crash' in the number of aphids appearing in their crops, due to high numbers of beneficial insects present this year. But, warns one expert, growers need to...

ARABLE: Incentive for herbage seed.
July 6, 2007... BRITISH Seed Houses is hoping a new `wheat tracker' contract for the major IGER-bred agricultural perennial ryegrasses will provide an added incentive for farmers to grow herbage seed this autumn. BSH's Alex Burgon of British Seed Houses...

ARABLE: Growers urged to make use of older active ingredients.
July 6, 2007... MAKE the most of isoproturon and trifluralin while they are still available, growers attending the Arable Group's (TAG) open day at Morley, Norfolk, were advised. TAG technical director Jim Orson told farmers attending the event that, if...

ARABLE: Seasonal root lodging.
July 6, 2007... ROOT lodging has been a fairly widespread problem this season, with Einstein in particular appearing to be affected. Agronomists believe that it is a seasonal effect, perhaps linked to Einstein's rapid development in the early part of the...

ARABLE: Maximising OSR potential with optimum establishment rates.
July 6, 2007... GROWERS looking for higher yields from their rape need to be establishing no more than 50 plants sq m. That is the conclusion from joint Grainfarmers/UAP Project Energise trials last year. However, if you are growing hybrids then even lower...

ARABLE: Threat from potato blight at its highest level in five years.
July 6, 2007... Blight spray programmes are being stretched to a 'worrying degree', says the BPC's Dr Rob Clayton. BLIGHT in potato crops is becoming an increasing threat in what has been a wet and mild growing season so far this year. "As a result of...

ARABLE: Wider spraying intervals mean robust doses are now required.
July 6, 2007... SPRAY intervals for blight control in potato crops have been extended `quite considerably' due to the wet weather this year, according to SAC potato agronomist, John Sarup, who covers crops in northern England. "It is especially worrying...

ARABLE: Virus yellows symptoms appearing in beet crops.
July 6, 2007... CLEMMIE GLEESON and TERESA RUSH report on some unusual developments in sugar beet diseases according to the latest findings from Broom's Barn scientists. THERE have been some unusual developments in sugar beet diseases this season as a...

ARABLE: Use a rainfast fungicide in wet conditions.
July 6, 2007... POTATO crops are coming under unprecedented blight pressure this season, disease experts are warning. Hot and humid conditions have repeatedly triggered blight warnings across the country. Blight Watch monitoring by the BPC identified 10...

ARABLE: Getting the better of blight and slugs.
July 6, 2007... POTATO growers are reporting very high levels of slug damage this season, with the current wet and warm soil environment proving ideal for pest activity in the root zone. However with conditions also highly conducive to blight and...

FARM FEATURE: Thriving Northumberland diary.
July 6, 2007... A thriving Northumberland dairy trusting to natural instincts to make the most out of its milk Dairy farming in a remote area of north Northumberland with low rainfall and sandy soil was unusual when the herd was established at North...

Backers wanted for tenancy.
July 6, 2007... The farming industry is being urged to give its backing to a community- led bid for the tenancy of the Wye College Farm. With agricultural teaching at Wye soon to draw to a close, Imperial College London is offering a 10-year farm business...

Business plan projects.
July 6, 2007... After months of rigorous planning, agriculture students at Myerscough College, Lancashire, presented their business plan projects to a professional panel of industry representatives The annual Business Planning project is an essential...

New principal.
July 6, 2007... LIZ Philip has been appointed the new principal of Askham Bryan College. As the current deputy principal of Selby College, Mrs Philip succeeds Prof Gareth Rees who retires after five years in the post. As a farmer's daughter, Mrs Philips...

Harper doubles pig unit for research.
July 6, 2007... Harper Adams University College is doubling the size of its pig unit to strengthen its research development for the commercial industry. The Shropshire-based college is joining forces with JSR Genepacker 90s and will invest over #500,000 to...

COUNTRY VIEW: Farmers urged to safeguard farmland birds.
July 6, 2007... SEVERAL bird species, including corn buntings, yellow wagtails and tree sparrows, are having a hard time in many parts of the country - but they have been discovered in important numbers in the Humberhead Levels. Following the discovery,...

COUNTRY VIEW: Taking local rural control.
July 6, 2007... A report, which calls for more rural communities to take control of their own local assets and services, criticises politicians, traditional funding streams and planning laws being too urban-focused and failing to understand the differing needs...

COUNTRY VIEW: Toasting cider success.
July 6, 2007... CIDER makers are toasting their success after a record number of entries in this year's Welsh Perry and Cider Championships and signs of renewed consumer interest in the traditional beverage. The awards come as cider enjoys a resurgence in...

COUNTRY VIEW: An hour in the July garden.
July 6, 2007... Helping your garden deal with deluge conditions From hosepipe bans to flood warnings, things have certainly changed since this time last year, writes Paul Peacock. LAST year, as we moved from June to July, many gardeners around the...

COUNTRY VIEW: Show has the perfect ingredients for visitors.
July 6, 2007... AWARD winning chefs, delicious food, and exciting cookery demonstrations combine to make the perfect ingredients for a visit to this year's Great Yorkshire Show. Now in its 149th year, the event has long been a paradise for food...

Thompson and Kyle master course to win league's Open title.
July 6, 2007... A TESTING course at Debdon Farm, near Rothbury, on Saturday saw Gordon Thompson and Kyle take the Northumberland League Open title. Undulating and with a slight rise to the lift, the course was set over rough ground where clumps of rushes,...

Chip and Jack take spoils at home of Pembrokeshire sheepdogs.
July 6, 2007... TREMYNYDD Fach is the farm, more usually known as the home of the Pembrokeshire sheepdogs. It is here that Anna-Lou Daybell trains handlers and their dogs and gives very popular and regular demonstrations to the large number of visitors...

MACHINERY: Increased capacity for amazone weigh cell spreaders.
July 6, 2007... Amazone has increased the capacity of its ZA-M ProfiS weigh cell spreaders. The updated range has a beefed-up frame to carry the 1,500 to 3,000-litre capacity hoppers. Other features are incorporated corner bump bars and lights. All of the...

MACHINERY: Shakaerator gets rear rollers.
July 6, 2007... McConnel has fitted two rollers to the rear of a Shakaerator to broaden its cultivating potential. The larger-toothed packer at the rear powers the smaller packer at the front through a gear train. McConnel say the slower turning front...

MACHINERY: Three-wheeled slurry tanker.
July 6, 2007... Slurry tanker makers continue to look hard at new ways to reduce ground compaction. The work has already led to the development of hydraulically-extendable axles and even machines with four wheels on a single axle. However, as far as we are...

MACHINERY: First RMH triple auger feeder sold.
July 6, 2007... RMH has sold its first triple auger feeder in the UK. Bought by brothers William and James Goodwin, the WAV35 will be used to feed the 700 milkers and followers on their Sussex farm. The 35cu m capacity feeder has triple axles with front...

MACHINERY: ROC Rake using swathing belt concept.
July 6, 2007... Although hugely popular with US contractors for working lucerne, the swathing belt concept has yet to catch on in Europe. Currently only offered from the likes of Kuhn and Italian firm ROC, the latter was the first to reveal a version at...

MACHINERY: Novel unloading system for combines.
July 6, 2007... The need to cover the ground as quickly as possible is leading to the development of even bigger machines. Take combine harvesters, for example, where the emphasis is on more power, wider headers and larger grain tanks. However, the...

MACHINERY: A good turnout for machinery dispersal.
July 6, 2007... Despite the heavy rain, there was still a good turnout for a machinery dispersal sale at Dairy Farm, Rainford, St Helens, Merseyside. On sale was a selection of modern tractors and associated implements, and vegetable handling and sorting...

Peak District farmers get a helping hand from Prince.
July 6, 2007... HRH PRINCE Charles has launched two schemes which are aimed at helping Peak District farmers. They were the `Peak Choice' brand, a farmer-owned co-operative selling premium beef and lamb, fed on the heather moors and herb pastures of the...

Ruthin's market gives public a taster of medieval times.
July 6, 2007... A FASCINATING glimpse into Ruthin's past, which is hanging on a wall at the Ruthin Livestock Market, proved the catalyst for the latest developments which took place at the town's produce market last week. The photograph shows a livestock...

Sheer joy for churchgoers.
July 6, 2007... A SPECIAL Fleecing Service was held recently at Cawthorne Parish Church, near Barnsley. Initiated by the Bishop of Wakefield, Stephen Patten, who had seen a similar service in Australia, its aim was to show support for the farming...

Environmental ethos at centre's heart.
July 6, 2007... WORK is due to start this month on the construction of a new eco- friendly, low carbon demonstration centre on the Lincolnshire showground. The first piece of turf to mark the start of work on the EPIC (Environment, Production, Innovation...

Plan is ready in event of foot-and-mouth outbreak.
July 6, 2007... A NEW vacccination preparedness plan for foot-and-mouth has been developed with Defra by Genus ABS, Promar International and HTSPE. The plan allows for a national vaccination programme be implemented quickly and effectively as a viable...

Delivery of training for stockmen has been revolutionised.
July 6, 2007... A NEW `one stop shop' for dairy training courses is set to revolutionise training in the dairy farming sector enabling stockmen to choose and book training courses far more easily. Stockmen UK Master, created by Stockmen UK and funded by...

Performance recording of the pedigree beef herd is essential.
July 6, 2007... A JUDGING seminar hosted by the Beef Shorthorn Cattle Society extolled the merits of pedigree beef recording, which is being demanded by newcomers to the resurging traditional breed. Around 100 people travelled from all over the country to...

Trials reveal the pros and cons of woodchip as an alternative bedding.
July 6, 2007... BARRY ALSTON takes a look at some of the on-going trial work on alternative bedding materials and soil fertility building crops on offer at the latest Aberystwyth-based Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research open day. ...

Growing demands on lupin development.
July 6, 2007... LONG-TERM work at IGER is also looking at improving the varieties of yellow and narrow-leafed lupins suitable for growing in the UK both as a protein source and soil nutrient provider in the light of growing demands to reduce diffuse pollution,...