Farmers Guardian articles from June 2003

Farmers Guardian archives from June 2003

Tenancy overhaul to boost business.
June 6, 2003... THE farm tenant sector is set for a major overhaul that will give tenants much greater flexibility in the way they run their businesses, following the publication of radical reform proposals this week. Recommendations by the cross-industry...

Meacher's concern at OP dips `illness' link.
June 6, 2003... EXCLUSIVE By Alistair Driver ENVIRONMENT Minister Michael Meacher has said he remains `very concerned' at alleged links between low-level exposure to organophosphates and `seriously debilitating' illnesses. In an interview with FG, he...

A `great leap forward' for tenanted sector.
June 6, 2003... CURRENT tenancy legislation is full of flaws that restrict people renting farms in how they run their businesses and act as disincentives to new entrants. The Tenancy Reform Industry Group's report that goes a long way towards addressing these...

Unions call for milk price rise.
June 6, 2003... THE National Farmers' Union and NFU Scotland have joined forces to call for a sustained rise of at least 2p per litre in the price of milk paid to farmers. Following discussions with major milk industry co-operatives, it is believed the...

Threat of action at stores as Express cuts EMP 0.6p/l.
June 6, 2003... SUPERMARKETS supplied by Express Dairies may soon become the focus of farmer action following a decision by the processor this week to cut the price it pays to its direct suppliers in the Express Milk Partnership by by 0.6p a litre from June 1....

Legislation to control gangmasters?
June 6, 2003... FOOD and Farming Minister Lord Whitty told a committee of MPs that he suspects new legislation could be necessary to curtail the illegal activities of gangmasters. He said the Government was looking at a voluntary approach to control....

Row over payment for cattle tests.
June 6, 2003... A ROW is brewing between farmers and Government over who should pay for compulsory pre-movement testing for cattle if the measure is introduced in bovine tuberculosis hotspot areas. DEFRA is drawing up a new TB control strategy. The...

Bovine TB: `vaccine is top priority'.
June 6, 2003... ANIMAL Health Minister Elliot Morley has been handed an action plan signed by the leading veterinary and farming organisations urging the Government to do more to control bovine tuberculosis. Finding an effective vaccine to beat the disease...

Badger cull: `bombshell' of political backlash fears.
June 6, 2003... THE Government has admitted the decision about whether to cull badgers to control bovine tuberculosis is partly a political one. The admission follows reports that culling badgers in Ireland is proving highly successful in controlling...

Dairy ice cream with Newcastle Brown.
June 6, 2003... NORTHUMBRIAN ice cream maker, Doddington Dairy have teamed up with Edinburgh based Scottish Courage to produce Newcastle Brown Ice The special edition ice cream, which combines real dairy ice cream with Britain's most unique beer brand, was...

Royal Lancs show director.
June 6, 2003... THE Royal Lancashire Agricultural Society, which moves its annual show to a new site this year, has appointed agricultural valuer Andrew Thompson as show director. Involved with the society for 14 years and deputy show director from 2002,...

GM debate greeted by scepticism.
June 6, 2003... THE Government's long awaited GM debate finally kicked off this week amid continuing accusations that it was badly managed and irrelevant. The first meeting took place at the NEC, Birmingham, but was poorly attended and attracted few...

New president of Welsh Black Cattle Society.
June 6, 2003... MEIRIONNYDD farmer Gwenfair Jones is the new president of the Welsh Black Cattle Society. She took over at the society's annual meeting at Thame, Oxfordshire. Together with sons Meredydd and Gwilym, Mrs Jones farms 760 acres on four...

Partnership with SAC could end.
June 6, 2003... THE four-year partnership between the Scottish Agricultural College and the crops consultancy, Scottish Agronomy, appears certain to be severed. Scottish Agronomy was founded 20 years ago to provide a service to arable farmers on a fee...

Fallen stock saga still no nearer to being resolved.
June 6, 2003... THE saga over whether the proposed national fallen stock collection scheme will ever be established appears no nearer to being resolved this week. The deadline for farmers in England to show interest in the scheme was May 28. DEFRA has...

Break the subsidy shackles, don't compromise - NFU.
June 6, 2003... THE National Farmers' Union is urging European agriculture ministers to `seize the opportunity' to break the shackles of the current subsidy system ahead of next week's crucial meeting. Ministers are expected to agree on a new structure for...

Moves to allay support fears.
June 6, 2003... THE National Farmers' Union says it remains committed to finding a solution acceptable to all parties to the dispute within its ranks over the effect of subsidy reform on the unsupported sector. Growers of unsupported crops fear the...

No signs of bid to break deadlock.
June 6, 2003... WITH days to go to the Farm Council at which a deal on CAP reform could emerge there are no signs yet of the big idea to break the deadlock. However, behind the scenes the high level group of senior officials is successfully solving...

MEAD'S VIEW: Why is the NFU content to wait in the wings?
June 6, 2003... At a time when the merry-go-round is starting up again and the dairy companies are apparently short of profits, despite having distributed, among their shareholders, the #560million they had out of our milk cheques last spring, I want to...

OPINION: Wait on our mind.
June 6, 2003... WE learned some things we thought we already knew this week. One is that culling badgers can have a massive impact on reducing the spread of TB in cattle in areas where disease lurks in both species. Another was that culling badgers is a...

Message from NZ is co-operate - don't view each other as competitors.
June 6, 2003... The latest recipient of the Welsh Sheep and Beef Scholarship is back home after spending six weeks studying New Zealand farming systems. Charlie Morgan, of Glasbury, Powys, will now be undertaking a series of lectures to farmers groups,...

Letter: Misguided faith in purifying power of fire.(Letter to the Editor)
June 6, 2003... Ten years ago, I published the results of my research on the law and environmental aspects of burials and cremations. That research underpinned the launch of a very new type of charity, to offer green burials in nature reserves. I...

Letter: False claims of wind lobby - by top QC.(Letter to the Editor)
June 6, 2003... BEST of luck in the attempts to trace the fraudulent author (FG, May 9) supporting wind farms. Such activities come as no surprise to those who are aware of the tactics of some of the promoters of wind turbines in the countryside. Here on...

Letter: Mike Keeble's Points of View article.(Letter to the Editor)
June 6, 2003... I FOUND Mike Keeble's 'Points of View' article (FG May 16) both inaccurate and misguided. Why is it that the agricultural elite and some agricultural correspondents continually try to knock the livestock market system and try to devise a...

Charollais shearling tup sets a sizzling pace at the shows.
June 6, 2003... WORCESTERSHIRE Charollais breeders Derrick Daffurn and his daughter, Jennifer Curtis, are certainly setting a sizzling pace in the opening rounds of the season's major inter-breed sheep championship stakes. With the top Devon County Show...

Holstein Oprah takes inter-breed championship.
June 6, 2003... THE jointly owned Holstein cow, Cleedale Rudolph Oprah, took the dairy inter-breed championship on the second day of the Royal Bath & West of England Show at Shepton Mallet. The July 1999-born animal is bred by Andrew Baird, of Cheltenham,...

No need to fall asleep counting those sheep.
June 6, 2003... NO need to fall asleep counting sheep anymore - let the sheep count themselves, instead! Making that possible is an automatic `teller' dreamed up by a West Wales farmer which does away with the need for keeping the mind alert, the good old...

British Lop clinches the cup.
June 6, 2003... IN what was an all-female final to the pig inter-breed championship, the title went to Tony Osborne's British Lop. His five-year-old female, Greenway Harmony 23, beat a host of first class pigs to clinch the Edmund Rack Challenge Cup and an...

Family and showman share dairy inter-breed honours.
June 6, 2003... A TOP showman who is about to leave the UK for a sabbatical in Australia and a family exhibiting at the event for the first time in 16 years shared Staffordshire Show's dairy inter-breed honours at Stafford. Supreme championship went to a...

Family pet brings owners first taste of supreme beef honours.
June 6, 2003... A `family pet' weighing more than a tonne gave her owners their first taste of inter-breed success after nearly 15 years exhibiting at the show. The supreme beef championship went to five and a half year-old Simmental cow, Atlow Valentine...

Suffolk lamb `surprise'.
June 6, 2003... DARREL and Gale Jeffries always go off to shows with an air of confidence, but even they had to confess to surprise at the success they enjoyed in sheep section. Their ewe lamb class winner not only went on to become Suffolk champion but, on...

Middle White gilt champion.
June 6, 2003... A MIDDLE White gilt, Eleany Fairlady 77, from Cheshire exhibitor G. Parker, of Tarporley, won Staffordshire Show's overall pig championship. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

British Friesian takes supreme.
June 6, 2003... THE British Friesian breed confirmed its return to favour among dairy farmers when eight-year-old Oakalby Prestige Brenda won the supreme dairy inter-breed championships at the Suffolk Show, near Ipswich. Owner David Burroughs, of Aldeby,...

Hampshire Down's title.
June 6, 2003... A Hampshire Down flock owned by Suffolk sheep breeder Jim Cresswell took the sheep inter-breed title, while the top Suffolk title went to Norfolk farmers Gordon and Betty Beddie, of Swaffham. Mr Cresswell secured his inter-breed title with...

Cattle Services turnover up.
June 6, 2003... AROUND 150 breeders gathered for the Ayrshire Cattle Society's annual meeting at the Cairndale Hotel, Dumfries, before setting off on a programme of herd visits. Retiring president Alex Kirkpatrick, Barr, Sanquhar, presented the annual...

Herd visits enthusiasm.
June 6, 2003... TWO days rain did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of visitors to Dumfries and Galloway for the herd visits. Almost 140 attended John and James Howie's, Muirside Farm, Dumfries, to see how the herd has developed since the original herd was lost...

Valleys initiative to forge a new `marketing force'.
June 6, 2003... An opportunity is in the offing for a unique meat production chain link- up. BARRY ALSTON reports. HOPES are running high that tripartite talks involving livestock farmers, family butchers and the local authority will lead to a new...

Show is back after two-year break.
June 6, 2003... After an enforced break of two years due to foot-and-mouth disease and then a flooded site, the Cothi Bridge Agricultural Show, Carmarthen, was again held at the weekend. Secretary Hedd-Wyn Williams said entries were well up to...

Limousin tops beef.
June 6, 2003... THE beef inter-breed championship at Kenilworth Show, Warwickshire, on Sunday was the Limousin champion Staveley Tigra from Smiths of Bloxham. Honesberie Farms took the dairy inter-breed with their Holstein Friesian leader Honesberie...

Hunting ban `set to fail'.
June 6, 2003... MID Wales Conservative AM, Glyn Davies, is convinced the hunting with dogs ban proposals have had their day. "As the debate about hunting with dogs has progressed the cause of hunting has won increasing level of support as the case for banning...

Financial support for events.
June 6, 2003... OVER 100 rural shows and events are going ahead throughout Wales this summer with financial support from the Welsh Development Agency and the Welsh Assembly. The funding is coming from the Rural Recovery Plan set up following the cancellation...

Gout flies active in southern and eastern regions.
June 6, 2003... ADULT gout flies are now active in high numbers across southern and eastern England and egg-laying is underway on spring crops in high-risk areas, according to ADAS entomologist John Young, who is monitoring winter and spring wheat and barley...

Consistency and reliability are key to variety choice.
June 6, 2003... Variety reliability was the key focus of a technical briefing held by Monsanto at the Maris Centre, Trumpington, near Cambridge. ALISON LEA reports. THERE is a mindset among growers that yield is still the driving force for variety choice,...

British wheats win international friends for bread-baking.
June 6, 2003... BRITISH wheat varieties proved their value to international millers when a bread-baking workshop hosted by the Home-Grown Cereals Association in association with Trade Partners UK took place at CCFRA (Campden and Chorleywood Food Research...

Organic proximity warning.
June 6, 2003... POTATO growers should take increased account of the proximity of organic potato crops to their own farms when drawing up blight control programmes for the current season. That is the message from BASF potato specialist Phil Brown,...

Trials show `worrying' levels of early take-all.
June 6, 2003... MARKED varietal differences are already becoming apparent in Dalgety trials at Throws Farm, Essex, with GS31 root assessments showing worrying levels of early take-all damage in second wheats. At over 6.0, the average late-April take-all...

Pesticide problems in winter lettuce.
June 6, 2003... MANAGING pesticide use in winter lettuce continues to prove difficult for growers, according to results of the 2002/03 enforcement programme for winter lettuce published by DEFRA, which tested a total of 147 lettuce samples. The programme...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: Advice and demonstrations.
June 6, 2003... Cereals 2003, on Wednesday and Thursday June 11 and 12 and promises to be bigger and better than ever before now that it incorporates the Sprays & Sprayers event. Organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of England (RASE) and the East of...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: Pesticides: avoid the tax!
June 6, 2003... WITH the threat of a tax on pesticides, which could cost farmers up to #10 per acre, getting on board with the Voluntary Initiative is a must for all farmers. The VI is a five-year plan put forward by the agricultural industry to minimise...

CEREALS 2003: Four new winter wheat varieties to emerge at the show.
June 6, 2003... FOUR new PBIC Seeds winter wheat varieties will be launched at Cereals 2003. Currently in RL trials, all are candidates for 2004 recommendation. Gladiator and Steadfast are feed varieties. Offering a yield improvement over currently HGCA...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: Best practice for stubbles.
June 6, 2003... MANAGING over-wintered stubbles to combine optimum weed control with the best conservation practice ahead of spring cropping comes under the spotlight with practical demonstrations and advice on the Monsanto stand. "Over-wintered stubbles...

CEREALS 2003 IN BRIEF: Monsanto stand.
June 6, 2003... RAPESEED oil quality could become as important as its quantity in a production future increasingly driven by market needs and opportunities, according to Monsanto who are focusing on oil quality at Cereals 2003, displaying innovative varieties...

CEREALS 2003 IN BRIEF: Rothamsted Research stand.
June 6, 2003... MORE than 50 per cent of the cereals acreage is now at risk of sulphur deficiency. But, for winter oilseed rape, the area of deficiency is likely to be much larger. A survey showed that many farmers are not applying enough sulphur to wheat,...

CEREALS 2003 IN BRIEF: Welford and Pennant stand.
June 6, 2003... ELSOMS Seeds will be introducing Welford and Pennant - the first two wheat varieties for the UK, which have good resistance to Orange Wheat Blossom Midge - a pest that is difficult to detect and control, with yield losses from failure to spray...

CEREALS 2003 IN BRIEF: Cebeco demonstrating its portfolio.
June 6, 2003... SEED company Cebeco will be demonstrating its portfolio of winter wheat varieties. Growers can see newly Recommended Richmond - a hard feed variety with high yields, good specific weight, stiff straw and robust disease resistance, alongside the...

CEREALS 2003 IN BRIEF: BBRO stand will feature 20:20 Vision Initiative.
June 6, 2003... THE British Beet Research Organisation (BBRO) stand will feature the 20:20 Vision Initiative aimed at increasing sugar beet growers' yields and reducing growing costs. Growers' performance figures show that yields and growing costs continue to...

CEREALS 2003 IN BRIEF: Syngenta Seeds/New Farm Crops stand.
June 6, 2003... GROWERS can check out the bold grain size claims being made about new high-yielding 6-row winter feed barley Sequel, and get the latest news on a potential malting variety, Pedigree and hybrid developments along with advice on managing...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: Making investment yield more.
June 6, 2003... CHALLENGING times for growers have prompted Syngenta Crop Protection to adopt a fresh approach to its stand. With a theme of `helping growers' investment in crop protection yield more', there will be less emphasis on trial plots...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: First biodiesel OSR contract is launched.
June 6, 2003... THE UK's first farmer contract for purchasing oilseed rape grown for use in biodiesel will be launched at the event by blended biodiesel suppliers Greenergy. Named as the `Field to Forecourt' contract, it will create a new market for...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: Showcase for a new partnership.
June 6, 2003... EXHIBITING for the first time in its new guise, Bayer CropScience looks forward to welcoming visitors to its stand. The company comprises the former Bayer Crop Protection and Aventis CropScience. Presenting established products as Cheetah...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: SAM's trailed sprayer.
June 6, 2003... SANDS Agricultural Machinery (SAM) will be exhibiting its trailed sprayer - a 3000-litre machine with 12/24m aluminium boom with 6- section shut off. The sprayer has a full electronic sprayer control system and a hydraulic jack for easy...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: Extending arms to suit the field.
June 6, 2003... BERTHOUD has developed a spray boom with hydraulically-activated arms that can be extended as spraying operations require. The CRX boom is designed for Berthoud mounted sprayers such as the Force and Mack in 18, 20 and 21m formats....

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: Allman replaces trailer sprayers.
June 6, 2003... Allman has replaced its 2000 and 2600 litre trailed sprayers with new tanks, chassis and booms. The tanks are manufactured from GRP and have large, deep sumps to ensure flooded suction to the sprayer pump, together with maintaining a low...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: Wide boom option.
June 6, 2003... A 36-metre sprayer boom, the latest in Knight Farm Machinery's range, will be on show on the company's Cereals stand. The option, available for self-propelled, trailed and de-mounts, can also be operated at 24m in which format a break-back...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: Rotary tillers launch.
June 6, 2003... WORKING widths of 1.8m, 2.05m and 2.3m are available with a new series of rotary tillers in Kuhn Farm Machinery's EL range. To be launched at Cereals, the EL 92 models will suit tractors up to 95hp and are therefore aimed at larger scale...

CEREALS 2003 PREVIEW: Steering system available for 8020 Series.
June 6, 2003... JOHN DEERE'S GreenStar AutoTrac assisted steering system is now available for the company's 8020 Series wheeled tractors and their predecessors, as well as tracked models. The new system can be seen for the first time at the event. This...

Farm becomes `Tractorland' home of Tractor Ted the latest video star.
June 6, 2003... When, for the umpteenth time, mum Alexandra Heard had fast forwarded the children's video to `the bit with real tractors, pleeeeease, mummy!' she realised there was a serious gap in the market for real life video footage of farming and farm...

City children get an insight into country life.
June 6, 2003... BEDFORDSHIRE sheep and arable farmer David Seamark was among the many individuals and organisations giving 5,000 inner city London schoolchildren an insight into rural life at the Countryside Live event organised by the Countryside Foundation...

YOUNG FARMERS CLUB NEWS: Horse show and rally day.
June 6, 2003... HAMPSHIRE Young Farmers were out in force for their horse show and rally day at the Korbey family's New Park Farm, Brockenhurst. YFC members skills in everything from craft to tractor driving, bale throwing and kite flying were...

YOUNG FARMERS CLUB NEWS: Far and wide.
June 6, 2003... THEY'RE coming from far and wide to attend Inkberrow YFC's 60th anniversary reunion. The Worcestershire club is holding a pig roast at Mr and Mrs Tim Tyrell's Berrowsfield Farm on June 28 to mark the occasion. "A lot of former members have...

YOUNG FARMERS CLUB NEWS: Stockjudging.
June 6, 2003... STAFFORDSHIRE Young Farmers' dairy stockjudging event saw a team win for Eccleshall with Ridware runner-up and Ashley and Leek clubs sharing third place. There was also a win for Eccleshall in the ley competition organised by Staffordshire...

YOUNG FARMERS CLUB NEWS: Muckathon.
June 6, 2003... A 24-hour muckathon organised by Richard Lambert of Axminster YFC, Devon, has raised #2,000 for Cancer Research and the West of England School for the Blind. Twenty-nine club members took part in the event spreading 354 loads of cow dung...

YOUNG FARMERS CLUB NEWS: In the picture.
June 6, 2003... RAINFORD YFC will be in the picture in future thanks to Glasson Grain. The company presented a digital camera to the Merseyside club during members' visit to its Glasson fertiliser plant and country supplies store at Winmarleigh, Lancashire....

`Mum who cooks' sparks a resolution.
June 6, 2003... A farmer's wife who was referred to by her daughter's school friends as `the mum who cooks' helped spark a resolution about children's diets, exercise and health, which will be debated at the National Federation of Women's Institutes' annual...

Cumbria Federation northern area field day.
June 6, 2003... SALSA-dancing, log-sawing YFC members with `Stars in their eyes' kept the crowds entertained at the Cumbria Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs' northern area field day. Ladies' Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling proved a winner. Katie...

Northampton's 60th anniversary.
June 6, 2003... NORTHAMPTON Town & County Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year, special events including an anniversary ball in Northampton on June 21. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Popular format at Kingsland trials.
June 6, 2003... OF the three trials held in the Bank Holiday week two of them divided themselves into morning and afternoon trials and, as one of the organisers said: "It so much easier to get judges for half a day." From the competitors' viewpoint it...

Related dogs Spot and Taff shine at Deerplay.
June 6, 2003... TWO dogs of the same breeding shone at the annual Deerplay Hill trial, run at the weekend by the Holme Association. Having won the championship last year with Sid, the host, Jim Cropper, judged Saturday's trial of 85 entries, then the...

The new man at the top fighting for fair play for farmers.
June 6, 2003... Gareth Vaughan is the new president of the Farmers' Union of Wales, unanimously elected to succeed Bob Parry at a special meeting of the governing council on Wednesday. BARRY ALSTON profiles the new leader. STEPPING into the presidency of...

Traditional beef and sheep unit.
June 6, 2003... A Montgomeryshire beef and sheep farmer, Gareth Vaughan has become only the seventh president in the 48-year history of the Farmers Union of Wales. Deputy president for the past year, he has won the full confidence of the membership by...

Status tag `may be doing more harm than is justified'.
June 6, 2003... Scrapie genotyping has been given a high profile by both the Government and some of the sheep breed societies. One Welsh producer, however, believes that this emphasis on genotyping is distorting the market. BARRY ALSTON reports. Picture...

PRODUCT NEWS: Cruyff No.1.
June 6, 2003... Cruyff, the new number one bull in the UK rankings for PLI and PIN, and also fat is now available to producers from Dairy Daughters. He features along with nine other sires in the company's newly launched spring portfolio of value for money...

PRODUCT NEWS: Freeman.
June 6, 2003... Braedale Freeman has been added to Semex UK's stud. The bull @TE offers a combination of strong type and high production, including the ability to improve butterfat yield and percentage. Freeman's UK MACE production proof stands at +467kg milk,...

PRODUCT NEWS: Dairy ration.
June 6, 2003... A dairy cow ration to overcome the limited fibre content of fresh grass and to balance the high degradability of its protein, has been developed by Lancaster-based Pye Farm Feeds. It is created from maize gluten, sugar beet pulp and maize...