Farmers Guardian articles from June 2007

Farmers Guardian archives from June 2007

UK meat `undervalued'.
June 1, 2007... Consumers willing to pay more, retailers could raise prices, says report LIVESTOCK farmers were given a significant boost this week after new research revealed that consumers were willing to pay more for British beef and lamb. In the...

Queen's Ayrshire dairy herd to be sold off.
June 1, 2007... THE Queen is to sell off her Ayrshire dairy herd, which for the past 56 years, has been based at the Royal farm in Windsor. Over the past few years the 175 Ayrshire dairy cows and 150 young stock have proved to be economically unviable in a...

Poultry at centre of avian flu scare.
June 1, 2007... POULTRY that passed through Cheshire's Chelford Market on May 7 are at the centre of a case of avian flu confirmed in birds on a North Wales smallholding. The strain has been identified by Welsh Assembly veterinary officials as the low...

EA denies trying to convert the public to switch to vegetarian diet.
June 1, 2007... A GOVERNMENT agency has denied allegations that it is secretly trying to convert the public to vegetarianism. A leaked e-mail from the Environment Agency was reported to have advised that if the public switched to a vegan diet it would be...

Local Food Hero search.
June 1, 2007... THE search for Britain's Local Food Hero, the nationwide competition to find the ultimate food champion, is returning this year, hosted by celebrity chef Gary Rhodes. The competition will be organised by UKTV and each of the 10 regions in...

Fallen stock protest goes to No.10.
June 1, 2007... THE GROWING protest against the fallen stock disposal scheme has gone all the way to No. 10 Downing Street this week. A petition, created on the Prime Minister's website, has called on Tony Blair to scrap the scheme and reinstate on-farm...

CAP and climate change.
June 1, 2007... THE European Commission is set to make measures to combat climate change part of the Common Agricultural Policy. A document, to be published later this month, will warn that the farming implications of global warming must be taken into...

Retail sector warning.
June 1, 2007... AS supermarkets go all out to try to attract new customers with their `green' credentials, the retail food sector has been warned it may need to restructure radically in the face of climate change. New reports published this week by the...

Two major stores to go cage-free.
June 1, 2007... THE life of the battery egg could be numbered after two leading supermarkets made a public stand against battery cages. Both Morrisons and Sainsbury's have committed to go cage-free by 2010 and 2012 respectively. Morrisons' poultry trading...

Identifying the rural development priorities.
June 1, 2007... A BROAD welcome for the new SNP-led Scottish administration has come from NFU Scotland and the SRPBA (Scottish Rural Property Business Association. Anna Davies NFU Scotland communications manager, said: "Throughout the election campaign,...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Ancient wales woodland.
June 1, 2007... A #2.3 million programme aimed at recreating the traditional ancient woodlands of Wales is providing new job opportunities for forestry workers to help make the work a reality. ROFI - Reclaiming Our Forgotten Inheritance - is a Forestry...

Making the CAP work for Scotland.
June 1, 2007... Scottish farming has generally welcomed the new Scottish National Party- led Scottish Parliament and its new Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead. However, there is also an element of `reserving judgement' as the new administration settles...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Cheese awards.
June 1, 2007... The North Wales-based South Caernarfon Creameries producer co-operative is celebrating a gold, three silver and six bronze medals in this year's World Cheese Awards. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Muddy waters ahead for Welsh Assembly?
June 1, 2007... AFTER three weeks of wheeling and dealing, twisting and turning, the Welsh Assembly at last has the makings of an administration in place - but for how long? Amid happenings not out of place in a Whitehall farce, Labour leader Rhodri...

Home Office defends migrant workers policy.
June 1, 2007... THE Home Office has hit back at claims that it is risking a farm labour crisis by restricting a migrant workers scheme from 2008. It plans to limit the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS), a crucial source of labour for the fruit...

Farmer fury grows over fate of Shambo.
June 1, 2007... WITH little sign of any voluntary movement towards ending the slaughter stalemate surrounding Shambo, the so-called West Wales `sacred' bullock, legal action is being seen as the only solution. The six-year-old commercial Friesian has been...

NFU welcomes new waste strategy but has concerns over flytipping.
June 1, 2007... THE NFU has welcomed David Miliband's new strategy for cutting waste, but is concerned that it does not detail how the Government plans to cut flytipping. Mr Miliband's strategy, published last Thursday, sets out how the Government intends...

CLA call for land use testing.
June 1, 2007... RESTRICTIONS on land use should be tested before more are imposed on farmers and landowners, David Fursdon, president of the CLA, has warned. Speaking at Suffolk Show on Wednesday, Mr Fursdon said that restrictions impacted on individual...

RABI awards at meeting.
June 1, 2007... A NUMBER of Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution volunteers received awards at the annual meeting. They included a new award, the Hunter Farm Challenge Cup, for the person who organised the most successful and innovative charity event on a...

Biggest ever countryside survey.
June 1, 2007... THE biggest ever survey of the English, Scottish and Welsh countryside was launched by Government agencies this week. A team of 60 scientists will survey over 600 sq km of countryside, collecting information on soils, small rivers and ponds,...

No Cows=No Countryside.
June 1, 2007... Hay Festival highlights campaign for Fair trade for British farmers A RECEPTIVE audience of more than 300 attended the weekend's `No Cows=No Countryside' debate at the Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts at Hay-on-Wye, Herefordshire....

Would Miliband sacrifice food security for fuel?
June 1, 2007... I do find it painfully difficult to dislike David Miliband, but there are times when I think I should try much, much harder. He really is the Tim Henman of British politics. He usually lets you down, but somehow his youthful charm and that...

OPINION: Supply and demand.
June 1, 2007... So consumers aren't as concerned about price as the retailers would have us believe, according to Eblex this week. This is news that did not really come as any great a surprise in the FG office. Where a brief survey among staff found that...

LETTER: Productive farming is vital for society.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... I would like to reassure Mike Keeble (FG May 18) that the NFU is actively reinforcing the message that productive farming is vital for society's future. In the global context, land use is the only genuine source of renewable raw materials...

LETTER: Practical support for Brenda?(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... LIKE many of your readers, I have been following Brenda Sutcliffe's long running campaign to discover the facts about the alleged effect or effects of sheep dip on humans. Her arguments concern me, but so does the silence of those she has...

LETTER: Burger King.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... AFTER reading your article `Burger King to Implement an Animal welfare Strategy' (FG April 20), I have decided to write to you in thanks. It is nice to be updated on the actions of chain-food industries in their effort to stop the...

LETTER: Milk prices.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2007... WHILE Tesco milk prices dominate the headlines, has nobody noticed that Freshways, who claim to be Britain's largest independent processing dairy, is running riot through the country lowering the general price of milk? They have processing...

Carcase challenge winner.
June 1, 2007... THERE was no shortage of producers trying their hand at the lamb carcase assessment challenge staged by the Welsh red meat promotional body, Hybu Cig Cymru - but only two people got it spot on. Outright winner in the adult section was Tom...

Sheep producers urged to `wise up' to the threat of bluetongue.
June 1, 2007... BARRY ALSTON reports from a record crowd-pulling Welsh Sheep 2007 - which delivered some sobering messages on lamb prices and a serious disease threat. SHEEP producers from across the industry were being urged at the event to `wise up' on...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Promo award.
June 1, 2007... The Brecknock Hill Cheviot Sheep Society came out top in the awards for the best breed promotional display, with the British Charollais Sheep Society second and the Lleyn Sheep Society and Zwartbles Sheep Association tying in third. ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Hot competition.
June 1, 2007... Two teams from Carmarthenshire's Gelli Aur College stormed their way through to take first and second places in the fiercely contested multi- disciplined inter-college competitions. A team from Holme Lacy College, Hereford, was third. ...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Trade stand win.
June 1, 2007... MoreE than 140 trade stands were at the event and the award for the best exhibit went to Northants-based Euroclip, with Shearwell, from Minehead, Somerset, runner-up. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

NEWS IN BRIEF: Working dogs.
June 1, 2007... Top price in a special sale of working dogs was a 2,000gns bid for Chip, a May 2004-born entry from Allan Scadden, of Garth Farm, Pant, near Merthyr Tydfil, and one of two dogs bought by unnamed buyers from the Isle of Man. Other dogs made...

`Radical rethink' needed on cost savings.
June 1, 2007... THE weather was glorious and the queues never ending as most of the 4,000 or so visitors set out to see the spectacular views from the 1,400ft peak at host farmer Nigel Turner's Graig Farm, overlooking Cross Ash, near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire...

Plea to farmers on double tagging regulations.
June 1, 2007... NFU Cymru vice-president and Meirionnydd sheep farmer, Edmund Bailey, appealed at the event to farmers, the auction markets, abattoirs and local authorities to do all they could to stick to the regulations in order to extend the current...

Stockjudging prize.
June 1, 2007... THE top prize for the event's open stockjudging competition - a galvanised lamb weigher - did not have far to travel. It will be staying at Graig Farm - thanks to the skills of Oliver Turner, the youngest member of the host family, who only...

Patient's sandwich query sparked local food sourcing revolution.
June 1, 2007... Cornwall is once again proving to be a leading the way with local food. This time it is the county's hospital food which has been revolutionised. DAVID BURROWS reports on a new initiative which is benefiting patients and farmers alike. ...

Practical test for the science of farming.
June 1, 2007... NEARLY 300 fifth-year pupils from 12 secondary schools in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire will take part in the Royal Northern Countryside Initiative annual Science of Farming in the Countryside Day at Dunecht Home Farms. Two-hour projects...

Suffolk competition looks at the whole business structure.
June 1, 2007... THE Suffolk Agricultural Association has launched its 2007 Suffolk Farm Business Competition. The competition is divided into three categories: Small farms (up to 200 hectares), Medium Farms (200-399 hectares) and Large farms (over 400...

Schoolchildren to discover `why farming matters'.
June 1, 2007... NINETEEN Leicestershire and Warwickshire schools with more than 800 children and their teachers will visit Burton Fields Farm next week to find out `why farming matters'. The pupils and their teachers will spend the day at the Ensor...

Yorkshire farmers invited to harvest `internet crops'.
June 1, 2007... THE Yorkshire farming community is being offered the opportunity to diversify into new markets, with help from the Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward. FarmersOnTheWeb.org is already demonstrating that with a little help,...

Commercially grown organic spelt crop.
June 1, 2007... A NEW flour mill, producing the only commercially grown organic spelt crop in the UK - one of the oldest grains in the world - will be officially opened this month. The mill, at Sharpham Park, near Glastonbury, Somerset, is already in full...

Tractor stolen in Lancashire.
June 1, 2007... Farmers and contractors in Lancashire are being prompted to lock up their tractors after a John Deere was stolen from the Kirkham area. The 6810 has the registration number P051UKY and was stolen on the night of May 28. If you have any...

Belgian Blue takes top cattle honours, Texels head the sheep awards.
June 1, 2007... HEADING the cattle parade at Cothi Bridge Show, Carmarthenshire, was Ingrid Phillip's winning beef entry, the 30-month-old pedigree British Belgian Blue heifer Balzer Waterlily. It had a slight edge over Elwyn and Cheryl Thomas's Holstein...

Inter-breed honours on Simmental's first outing.
June 1, 2007... A SIMMENTAL bull on his first outing took beef inter-breed honours at the Hertfordshire County Show. Greenfields Solomon, is jointly owned by Charles Horrell of Peterborough and Richard Green of Leicestershire. The two-year-old was bred by...

Quality counts as two Jerseys take the dairy line honours.
June 1, 2007... THE quantity of competitors in the dairy classes may have been lacking, but the quality of entries was not, according to the section's judge C. Hall, of Buckingham. Champion and reserve dairy inter-breed was awarded to Barry and Jenny Daw...

Inter-breed title for a Southdown ram from the Mulberry flock.
June 1, 2007... TERMINAL sheep breeds took centre stage on the first day of judging with a Southdown ram taking inter-breed honours ahead of a Charollais ewe. The three-shear ram is part of the Mulberry flock of Southdowns owned by Hayley...

Beef Shorthorn takes inter-breed title, Southdown heads sheep lines.
June 1, 2007... THE two-year-old Beef Shorthorn bull, Pode Hole Yeti, from C. Horrell, took the beef inter-breed championship at Surrey County Show, staged at Guildford. Reserve in the beef lines was the Hereford heifer, Hawkesbury 1 Marigold, shown by R....

Triple honours go to Belgian Blue Vivienne.
June 1, 2007... With forecasts of heavy rain the prospects for Tynedale Agricultural Society's Northumberland Show at Corbridge, on Monday, did not look good, but a day of just showers saw the crowds pouring on to the showground. The only hiccup was that the...

Morty Ghost tops dairy lines.
June 1, 2007... OVERALL dairy and Holstein championships went to Aldingham Morty Ghost from Sarah and Andrew Oliver, of Stocksfield. By Stouder Morty, she was bought as an 11-month-old calf at the Aldingham dispersal in Cumbria in 2004. She went on to give...

Two-shear Suffolk is supreme sheep.
June 1, 2007... A two-shear tup, Tillydusk Farewell, bought in Edinburgh two years ago, took the Suffolk and overall sheep championships. Shown by Lilburn Estate Farming Partnership, of Wooler, the stock ram is part of the Roseden flock that has just been...

Suffolks take group trophy.
June 1, 2007... Suffolks took the sheep group trophy, beating the Texels into second place. Holsteins won the dairy groups, while the beef group award went to the Belgian Blues with the Limousins in reserve place. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Shadow is horse champion.
June 1, 2007... INGLEBY Silver Shadow, a two-year-old filly by Deighton Telstar and from P. and W. Bedford of Escrick, York, took the agricultural horse championship. Runner-up was the mare, Cocklaw Lady, from M.C. Robinson and Son, of Humshaugh, Hexham....

ARABLE: Strike a balance for good yields.
June 1, 2007... THE best oilseed rape yields require a balance to be struck between good establishment and giving plants space to branch out, says Richard Fenwick, of Cambridge Arable Technologies. The organisation is in its second year of trials looking...

ARABLE: NEW PRODUCT - De Sangosse TDS slug control bait.
June 1, 2007... BRINGING slug control technology up to date and in line with its crop protection herbicide, insecticide and fungicide counterparts, while offering improved performance in control, is how De Sangosse sums up its new TDS slug control bait. ...

ARABLE: CropCo loyalty card.
June 1, 2007... AN East Anglian agricultural merchant has launched what is believed to be the farming industry's first loyalty card. Suffolk-based CropCo introduced its Seed Plus card, which customers can use to collect points against seed purchases. ...

ARABLE: A man on a mission.
June 1, 2007... SUFFOLK farmer and director of Agricultural Development in the Eastern Region, Chris Knock, has been awarded a Farmers' Club scholarship to study how governments are changing farming policies to be more carbon- friendly. Mr Knock will...

ARABLE: Eccleshall project ready to burn local miscanthus.
June 1, 2007... The first locally grown miscanthus will be processed and turned into electricity at the new Eccleshall biomass plant this summer, with around 50 producers now growing the crop in the Staffordshire and Shropshire area. JOANNA BAKER reports on...

ARABLE: What now for Energy Crops Scheme.
June 1, 2007... IN the past, miscanthus growers have benefited from a #920/hectare grant for growing the crop through the Energy Crops Scheme. "However, that planting scheme finished in December 2006 and so far Defra have failed to announce a new scheme,...

FARM FEATURE: `Building' up a premium outlet for Galloway beef.
June 1, 2007... Links between the worlds of farming and garden centres have resulted in an impressive range of buildings and a premium outlet for Galloway beef for Dumfries farming company Klondyke Farms, as NEIL RYDER found out. Full use of second-hand...

Best Young Farmer Producer Award 2007.
June 1, 2007... A passion for drinking and keeping quality that is keeping milk production on farm In the third of the FG/Waitrose Best Young Farmer Producer finalist features, LIZ FALKINGHAM visits a South Wales dairy producer determined to ensure the...

Europe's Young Farmers look ahead.
June 1, 2007... Two YFC members report back from a recent event in Brussels when young farmers from all over Europe descended on the EU Commission to discuss the future with Mariann Fisher-Boel, European Agriculture Commissioner. PETER Garbutt,...

Small farmer ignored.
June 1, 2007... RHYDIAN Rees, Wales YFC rural affairs committee chairman, believes the small farmer was ignored. "The main focus in the finishing plenary session was on how climate change would influence agriculture and that bio-energy production would...

Live on the web.
June 1, 2007... THE Young Farmers Day was managed by CEJA, the European Council of Young Farmers, and was streamed live on the web. Visit www.ec.europa.eu/agriculture/events/youngfarmers/index_en.htm to take a look. Following the event, CEJA met again...

COUNTRY VIEW: Farm shop's guiding hand.
June 1, 2007... A MID-Wales beef and sheep farmer has set up a unique diversification venture - helping farmers help themselves. With growing interest from farmers and garden centres in setting up farm shops and backed by his knowledge of the shopfit...

COUNTRY VIEW: Peak District wildlife's brighter future.
June 1, 2007... THE latest biodiversity survey in the Peak District National Park has revealed positive news for a number of species, but others remain vulnerable. Water voles, lapwing and curlew are all reportedly doing well, but the park's white-clawed...

TV appearance will take the CLA's Game Fair to much wider audience.
June 1, 2007... ORGANISERS of the 2007 CLA Game Fair have joined forces with Horse & Country TV to allow television coverage of the popular event, which takes place at Harewood House near Leeds from July 27 to 29. The Horse & Country TV team will be out in...

Framework for Post Office network's future receives a guarded welcome.
June 1, 2007... FOLLOWING the official announcement on the future of the Post Office network, the Commission for Rural Communities has welcomed proposals that the access criteria should be extended beyond simple geographical criteria. The Post Office will...

COUNTRY VIEW: An hour in the June garden.
June 1, 2007... The dawn chorus and fluttering night-time bats make it clear that summer is about to burst on the scene. There is so much to do in the garden that you won't have time to read on. PAUL PEACOCK explains. Transplant and prune cordon tomatoes...

Jess shows her liking for Trawden course yet again.
June 1, 2007... RON Hodgkinson with Jess and Stephen Duckworth with Highcliff Tom were victorious at the two open trials held in midweek at Little Thorn Edge Farm, Trawden, Lancashire, when taking the morning and afternoon sessions respectively. Running...

Tough course and weather can't stop Cap landing a double fetch double.
June 1, 2007... ONE of the toughest courses in Wales at Ponterwyd, near Aberystwyth, was the venue for the Aberceiro Double Fetch Mountain Trials. Although this competition was started 11 years ago, this was only the tenth running of the competition and...

An open mind when selecting stores, but goal is profit per head.
June 1, 2007... AN open mind when selecting store cattle from the region's livestock markets sees finishing sheds at Badminton Farm, Badminton, Gloucestershire, full of a variety of dairy and, predominately, beef breeds of both sexes, but all with one common...

MACHINERY: Track option.
June 1, 2007... As far as we are aware, this is the very first Case IH Magnum 250 to be kitted out with rubber tracks on all four corners. The conversion was carried out by Dutch-firm Westtrack, a company that specialises in supplying retro-fitted rubber...

MACHINERY: Guardian concept.
June 1, 2007... The Guardian tractor concept looks like a cross between a Fendt EVO 828 and a more modern Schluter tractor. Tractor design needs to take a major step forward and provide operators not only with far higher levels of comfort, but also bring...

MACHINERY: Suspended rear axle.
June 1, 2007... New Holland used the last Agritechnica to stun the tractor world with it's very first suspended rear axle tractor. Shown as the study model on a new T8000 tractor, although the details were limited, we were told that the system used a...

MACHINERY: `Winners and losers' in West European tractor market.
June 1, 2007... SALES of new tractors have yet to be officially confirmed for last year, but a cross-section of results compiled by a number of European machinery magazines suggests a modest 1 per cent increase on 2005 levels to a total of just over 161,000...

MACHINERY: CAMBRIDGE ROLLS GO LARGE.
June 1, 2007... Farm Force has produced what it believes to be the largest Cambridge rolls produced in the UK, measuring 15.3m. Destined for a farm in Dorset, the rolls are part of a new range of seven axle, five section rolls and have a working width...

MACHINERY: Stone picker range.
June 1, 2007... Gregoire Besson can now supply UK farmers with a range of stone-picking machines that have working widths of 4, 5 and 6m. Stones between 25mm and 300mm can be gathered with the 6m model, which is capable of handling 1,200kg per minute. ...

MACHINERY: LM5000 to launch at cereals.
June 1, 2007... New Holland has ann-ounced that Cereals is where it will launch the LM5000 - its in-house designed side engine telehandler. Set to replace the seven model rear engine LMA machines that have been produced by Manitou. The LM5000 will be...

Grazing Monitor: Maintaining the quality of your grazing is the key.
June 1, 2007... AT long last, most parts of the country are seeing something resembling normal grass growth rates - but make sure you manage grass to ensure a good supply for the next month and do not waste grazing. Data from our contributor farmers...

Preference for big bale silage - new survey.
June 1, 2007... A SURVEY conducted by Dow has revealed that more farmers in the UK made big bale silage in 2006 than used clamps. The data showed that two thirds of respondents continued to bale a significant proportion (between 80 and 100 per cent) of the...

Major research project at IGER is aiming to invigorate beef industry.
June 1, 2007... A MAJOR new research project involving the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) in Aberystwyth is aiming to provide major benefits for both producers and consumers of beef. The overall objective of the ProSafeBeef...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Gold Cup.
June 1, 2007... Over 60 herds are through to the next round of the 2007 NMR/RABDF Gold Cup competition. They include herds of five different breeds from mainland Britain, Isle of Man and for the first time Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. All 64 have...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Hoofcare.
June 1, 2007... Delegates from Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Spain and the USA have booked to attended Hoofcare 2007 in Cheshire on July 1-4. Details on 07980 490422. Another international conference in the North West is a...