Farmers Guardian articles from March 2008

Farmers Guardian archives from March 2008

Hundreds in central London pig protest.
March 7, 2008... PIG farmers gathered in Whitehall this week in protest over the poor prices which they claim are driving thousands of farmers out of business. The rally, organised by the National Pig Association (NPA), saw almost 800 farmers gather in...

NFU in levy board row.
March 7, 2008... A MAJOR row has broken out between the NFU and four influential trade associations over allegations the new industry levy board structure will use English beef and sheep farmers' levy money for all sectors of agriculture. Central to the...

Tough EU rules imposed after bluetongue is passed maternally.
March 7, 2008... The bluetongue debate stepped up this week as countries across the EU pushed on with efforts to control the disease. JACK DAVIES reports THE EU will impose tough new rules on the movement of livestock from bluetongue-affected areas this...

Vaccine costs.
March 7, 2008... DEFRA has provided farmers with an outline of how much it will cost to protect their animals with bluetongue vaccine. The vaccine will be available in 50ml and 20ml bottles, and will be available through private vets via veterinary...

Emergency vaccination plans put forward.
March 7, 2008... EU-WIDE vaccination programmes against bluetongue are set to get under way in the summer after detailed emergency strategies were submitted to the EU for approval. As Farmers Guardian went to press, the EU's Standing Committee on Food...

Call for Scottish vaccination order as disease spread fear grows.
March 7, 2008... THE Scottish government came under increased pressure this week to place an order for bluetongue vaccine, following the publication of NFU Scotland's views on vaccination and a series of meetings with farmers across the country. They claim...

Only 106 Brazilian farms are placed on EC `positive list'.
March 7, 2008... ONLY 106 Brazilian farms have been placed on a `positive list' of farms allowed to export to the EU by the European Commision. In a statement the Commission said the holdings had been confirmed as complying with EU quality and traceability...

FSA admits threat to some rural abattoirs.
March 7, 2008... THE Food Standards Agency has reacted swiftly to claims that yet more of Britain's network of independent meat processing plants faces shutdown. As Farmers Guardian reported last week, proposals to make abattoir operators meet the full...

Modulation rate rise scrap call.
March 7, 2008... The European Parliament's rapporteur, German MEP, Lutz Goepel, whose role is to help guide the Parliament's agriculture committee to an agreed view, has called for the plan to increase modulation rates to 13 per cent by 2013 to be scrapped. He...

Fuel duty hike `unjustified' in light of extra revenue.
March 7, 2008... UK Treasury coffers have swelled by more than #2billion above expectations over the last six months, thanks to the boom in oil prices, yet Chancellor Alistair Darling still plans to increase fuel duty by 2p on April 1. Figures from the...

NFU and RSPB in war of words on biofuel as oil alternative.
March 7, 2008... BIOFUELS are the only viable alternative to oil-based products, the NFU has said in response to an RSPB campaign against the farmed fuels. In a letter to two national newspapers, with whom the RSPB took out full-page anti-biofuel...

RSPCA criticised over poultry claims.
March 7, 2008... THE RSPCA has come in for criticism following its claim that three- quarters of British consumers want to buy free-range, organic or high welfare chicken. The charity's survey claimed that 73 per cent of consumers responded to the recent...

New case of H5N1 found in Canada goose in Dorset.
March 7, 2008... A NEW Control Area is in place in Dorset, following the discovery of the highly pathogenic form of H5N1 avian flu in a wild bird near Weymouth. The disease was confirmed on Friday in a Canada goose collected on February 25 in the Wild Bird...

Defra launches its consultation on Single Payment distribution.
March 7, 2008... DEFRA has launched a public consultation on the options for the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) following the EU fruit and vegetable and wine reforms. The consultation aims to gather views on the criteria under which new entitlements to SPS...

Horticulture expects huge labour shortage.
March 7, 2008... NEW government regulation on immigration has come into force that could cause severe labour shortages in the horticultural industry, experts have warned. Home secretary Jacqui Smith said that the new points based system will help attract...

Cumbrian farmer elected new livestock board chair.
March 7, 2008... ALISTAIR Mackintosh has been elected as the NFU's National Livestock Board chairman, having succeeded Thomas Binns. Mr Mackintosh, North West regional livestock board chairman, who unsuccessfully stood for the union's vice-presidency last...

Clones withdrawn from sale.
March 7, 2008... THE offspring of a cloned cow, which were due to be sold at the Smiddiehill Holstein dispersal sale at Bristol Sales Centre, were not offered for sale. The decision to take the December 2006-born Smiddiehill Dundee Paradise and her full...

Getting the message across.
March 7, 2008... THE NFU is using advertising, video, the internet and letter writing to get its message across and try to persuade the Government to implement the Efra Committee's recommendations for a licensed humane badger cull. It has taken out adverts...

Gassing ruled out as a culling option.
March 7, 2008... Trials abandoned by Defra By Alistair Driver DEFRA has abandoned trials into the effectiveness and welfare implications of gassing badgers and definitively ruled the practice out as a method by which farmers could cull them. ...

Date set for legal challenge against table valuation for cattle.
March 7, 2008... A DATE has finally been set for the NFU-backed legal challenge against Defra's controversial table valuation system for cattle. A Judicial Review of the system is scheduled in the High Court for June 9, six months after it was initially...

Action plan to tackle bovine TB to be launched in Wales.
March 7, 2008... AN action plan to tackle bovine TB will be launched in Wales `early in April', Tir Mynydd hill farming support payments are to be re-branded and there are to be industry-wide consultations on a strategy setting out the long-term future of Welsh...

Prize-winning herd suffers.
March 7, 2008... ACTION to rid TB from cattle cannot come soon enough for a West Wales dairy farming family. Despite winning five classes, including the large herds section, and being placed second or third in eight others in the latest Pembrokeshire NMR herd...

Keeping us dependant on the SPS cheque.
March 7, 2008... The majority of claimants will now have received their Single Payment cheques and it has never been more welcome, with the collapse of lamb prices last year and the ever increasing cost of inputs our SP had a very good home for a very short...

OPINION: No go on the logo.
March 7, 2008... The road to hell, they say, is paved with good intentions, a phrase that may well have some resonance for the NFU this week, as it finds itself embroiled in a row over the new, as yet-to-be-formed, central levy board, the AHDB. Apparently...

LETTER: Badger culling does work as TB control measure.(Letter to the editor)
March 7, 2008... While many years of procrastination has delayed a decision on whether to cull badgers to control the deteriorating TB/cattle crisis, the announcement by Defra Secretary Hilary Benn at the NFU conference that he will make his decision, [based...

LETTER: Badger culling does work or not, according to Irish results.(Letter to the editor)
March 7, 2008... I read with interest your bovine TB update on page two (FG, Feb 29), but was surprised that although you devoted a page to this subject, you made no mention of the present bTB situation in Ireland. You will find evidence of the...

LETTER: Cost-effective to have private tests.(Letter to the editor)
March 7, 2008... MANY folk will be unaware of some of the conclusions stated in Blood's 1989 Veterinary Medicine: * Up to 30 per cent of cows which have calved in the previous 4-6 weeks may test negative to the TB skin test. It would be easy to target...

LETTER: Not alone.(Letter to the editor)
March 7, 2008... I AGREE with P. Watson (FG, Feb 29) that `livestock markets give farmers the opportunity to meet, discuss problems and realise that they are not alone in adversity'. I would even suggest that the opportunity to meet with other farmers...

LETTER: Food security as important as national security.(Letter to the editor)
March 7, 2008... IN response to Edward Hart's excellent letter (FG, Feb 29), the vital question must be loudly demanded: `when are Brussels and our Government going to put food production high on the agenda?' They should regard food security as being just...

LETTER: Raising money for RABI.(Letter to the editor)
March 7, 2008... I WILL be raising money for the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI) by participating in the British 10k London Run, on July 6, 2008 in central London. The RABI supports members of the farming community facing hardship, need or...

Committee to encourage protection of UK breed genetics.
March 7, 2008... A NEW committee launched to encourage the sustainable use and protection of the nation's livestock breeds was due to meet for the first time yesterday. The UK-wide National Standing Committee for Farm Animal Genetic Resources is made up of...

Support for British concerns over the CAP health check.
March 7, 2008... CONCERNS voiced by British farmers over the CAP health check appear to have been supported by members of the European Parliament's agriculture committee. This adds to a feeling that the European Commission will have to make significant...

Mandelson: US must match EU's subsidy cuts.
March 7, 2008... THE European Commissioner for Trade has urged the United States to cut its large trade distorting agriculture subsidies to benefit the world's poorest nations. In a speech to trade ministers from least developed countries, in Lesotho,...

Quote compensation move angers NFU.
March 7, 2008... NFU Sugar is considering legal action after Defra revealed it was planning to reopen negotiations on how compensation should be split between growers and contractors following British Sugar's successful application to renounce 13.5 per cent of...

Final sugar quota cut of 1.16m tonnes.
March 7, 2008... SUGAR growers across Europe may face a final quota cut of 1.16 million tonnes in 2010. The European Commission will impose the cut - with no compensation - if countries fail to renounce enough quota to reach the 6 million-tonne target. So...

Lambs and vehicle theft.
March 7, 2008... WEST Yorkshire Police are investigating the theft of a Land Rover and trailer containing 14 fat lambs from outside a slaughter house lairage on Friday. The farmer and his wife (who do not wish to be named) parked on the roadside at Pole...

Helping `rekindle' offal export trade.
March 7, 2008... TWO of France's leading experts in the offal trade are visiting Scottish abattoirs this week as part of a QMS project to help the Scottish red meat industry rekindle trade in the `fifth quarter'. Sylvain Labayle and Xavier Aleyrangues from...

Cooking roadshows raise farming's profile.
March 7, 2008... THE regional cooking roadshows, aimed at increasing awareness of the NFU's `Why Beef and Sheep Farming Matters' campaign, have been launched in the South West. Meat South West worked alongside the NFU to host a `Ready, Steady, Cook'-style...

Transport rules sessions.
March 7, 2008... THE Welsh Assembly is staging a series of awareness sessions to explain the new requirements for transporting animals, including farm livestock, horses and poultry, which effectively come into force in Wales at the end of April. Anyone who...

Union describes NVZ proposals as `madness' and demands changes.
March 7, 2008... NATIONAL Farmers Union leaders described the Government's Nitrate Vulnerable Zone proposals as `madness' as they gave evidence to the Efra House of Commons Select Committee this week. A delegation, led by president Peter Kendall, told MPs...

Government urged to look at hill farming's long-term future.
March 7, 2008... THE Government has been urged to consider establishing a commission on the future of hill farming to determine how such areas could be managed in the future. In his second report to the Prime Minister on rural England, the Government's...

YFC gets #50,000 grant from the Welsh Assembly.
March 7, 2008... YOUNG Farmers Clubs in Wales are to get a #50,000 grant from the Welsh Assembly to support them in their work of providing social and educational opportunities for young people in rural areas. Assembly Rural Affairs Minister, Elin Jones,...

OBITUARY: Alan Pratt.(Obituary)
March 7, 2008... A FORMER director and chairman of Hellifield Auction Mart until its closure, Alan Pratt, has died after a long illness. He left milk production to go into beef in the 1970s and was later actively involved with Sedbergh Auction Mart after its...

County show.
March 7, 2008... THE inaugural Carmarthenshire County Show is to be held on Saturday, June 21, at its permanent Nantyci showground, near Carmarthen. It will include competitive livestock sections for cattle, sheep, horses, pigs and goats. Details on...

Going it alone after 20 years at the NFU.
March 7, 2008... For 20 years - through the farming crises of BSE, foot-and-mouth, bovine TB, and rocketing fuel prices - Richard Haddock has been the NFU's `rottweiler'. He specialised in saying the uncomfortable things farmers think but NFU leaders dare not...

Marketing produce from the hills needs long-term planning.
March 7, 2008... The successful launch of a marketing scheme is not a guarantee of long- term success, a seminar on marketing the products of the hills heard on Monday. It was part of the Hill Farming Matters initiative backed by LEADER+. NEIL RYDER reports....

Group's answer to liquidity problems.
March 7, 2008... THE sale of `angel' shares with a minimum investment of #1,000 from 75 shareholders provided the answer to potential liquidity problems for South Downs Lamb Marketing. Chris Clark said the group was nearing its `break-even' target...

`No detachment' from DairyCo.
March 7, 2008... THE dairy industry's new development body, DairyCo, which replaces the Milk Development Council on April 1 will not be detached from producers. Speaking at a meeting of Pembrokeshire NFU, DairyCo's chairman and the union's former national...

Bassenthwaite phosphorous cut makes everyone a winner.
March 7, 2008... FOR most farmers in the Bassenthwaite Lake catchment area in Cumbria, helping reduce phosphorous levels in the lake and saving themselves money is a `win/win situation', a Bassenthwaite Lake Restoration Programme conference in Keswick was told....

Farming in the Fens and its importance to the whole region.
March 7, 2008... A MAJOR new report highlighting the importance of farming to the Fens was launched by the NFU this week. Why Farming Matters in the Fens sets out the contribution farmers and growers make to the economy, the food and drink sector,...

Gamma interferon blood test - is it friend or foe?
March 7, 2008... The increased use of the gamma interferon (gIFN) blood test to diagnose bovine TB is becoming a divisive issue in farming. Depending on your view point, the blood test is either an essential tool in tackling the disease, or another burden on...

Case studies show two sides of the gIFN coin.
March 7, 2008... When it's good, it's good..but when it's bad, it's really bad IN many cases, the gIFN test does what it says on the tin. One satisfied customer was Lyndon Edwards, an organic dairy farmer from Herefordshire, whose herd was tested with...

Bow Chicka Wah Wah takes supreme title, going on to sell for #2,000.
March 7, 2008... NEIL RYDER reports from the Royal Northern Spring Show in Thainstone, Inverurie. BOW Chicka Wah Wah, a 12-month-old Belgian Blue cross steer bred in Orkney, took the supreme beef trophy for Stuart Hunter, showing for his parents-in-law, Mr...

ARABLE: Breeding research into pearl millet for drought-prone areas.
March 7, 2008... POOR subsistence farmers in areas of Africa and Asia will be the direct beneficiaries of research work being carried out in West Wales - but with the growing concerns over climate change, the findings could also have a significant bearing on...

ARABLE: Climate change could alter fungicide timings.
March 7, 2008... A MOVE away from traditional fungicide timings may be required if climate change favours the development of new wheat diseases such as black stem rust and tan spot. Speaking at the first Broom's Barn Cereals Conference, Broom's Barn...

ARABLE: Wheat bulb fly larvae now hatching.
March 7, 2008... WHEAT bulb fly larvae have now begun to invade plants, according to Dow AgroSciences. Dow AgroSciences Pestwatch, which monitors sites in East Anglia and Yorkshire, shows that egg hatch is now near its peak, with 45-63 per cent of eggs...

ARABLE: Early drilling yield benefits.
March 7, 2008... SUGAR beet growers have an ideal opportunity this season to take advantage of the yield benefits linked with early drilling. Seed preparation for beet crops should be easy. Despite the lack of frosts in January, soils ploughed under good...

ARABLE: Landowners responsible for rabbit control on their land.
March 7, 2008... FARMERS suffering damage to crops from rabbits on neighbouring land are being reminded of their legal rights. Cambridgeshire farmer Phil Bailey contacted Farmers Guardian after he and fellow farmers suffered continual damage to wheat crops...

ARABLE: First export for the Seed Company.
March 7, 2008... THE Seed Company of Sherborne, Dorset is sending out its first export. It is an order to Ireland for a pallet of Dorset-grown rapeseed oil. Farmers in Dorset grow the single variety of seed and sell the resulting crop back to The Seed...

ARABLE: Getting contract to manage price risk in volatile grain market.
March 7, 2008... MOST of the grain sold by farmers in Britain is traded under standard contracts, but in a volatile market merchants are looking at ways of helping growers handle price risk. It is worth checking carefully to make sure you're getting the...

ARABLE: Consumers need to know true cost of food production.
March 7, 2008... WITH rising food prices hitting the headlines in the national press, the farming industry needs to inform consumers about the costs of food production and the relatively low cost of food when measured as a proportion of household income....

ARABLE: Hedge fund `bubble' could burst but prices hold firm.
March 7, 2008... Grain prices, market `bubbles' and mycotoxins were on the agenda at the ProCam spring conference held at Newmarket, Suffolk. Over 250 farmers from the eastern region made their way to the event, which was supported by Farmers Guardian. Teresa...

ARABLE: Growers must analyse DON fusarium mycotoxin levels.
March 7, 2008... WITH a new legal requirement for due diligence in minimising mycotoxin levels in grain destined for human consumption now in place, growers need to have prepared a risk management strategy. Since November 12, 2007, farmers have been...

ARABLE: Higher costs and lower yields hit margins.
March 7, 2008... GROWERS should not get carried away by the hype of high grain prices and their impact on returns. While there was a big improvement in gross margins from the 2007 winter wheat crop over previous years, average yields and pricing meant that...

ARABLE: PSD warning.
March 7, 2008... THE Pesticides Safety Directorate has advised that an isoproturon product marketed as `Emrald Wotsit' has been manufactured to a different formulation from the approved formulation and anyone selling, supplying or using this counterfeit product...

ARABLE: Guard against influx of generic herbicides.
March 7, 2008... FARMERS and agronomists must guard against the influx of generic sulfonylurea herbicides finding their way onto the UK market, warns a leading agronomist. Incorrect use of herbicide sequences could put single farm payments at risk and...

ARABLE: Spring grass weed control `a struggle'.
March 7, 2008... WITH the maximum dose rates of IPU (isoproturon) having been cut to 1,500g of active ingredient in the autumn many farmers could be struggling with grass weed control this spring. North Yorkshire and Durham-based agronomist Nigel Scott,...

ARABLE: HGCA `Crop Oracle' updated.
March 7, 2008... HGCA's `Crop Oracle' CD has been updated for 2008. The CD contains the latest information on varieties, crop management and business planning for cereals and oilseeds. It contains all the HGCA Recommended Lists tables, the interactive RL...

FARM FEATURE: Farming lowland and mountain with confidence in future.
March 7, 2008... Take one of the highest mountain peaks, award-winning livestock and a strong foresight into the industry's political issues and it's little wonder brothers John and Wyn Owen are looking to the market, and the future, with confidence. BARRY...

Building dream of owning his own dairy farm business.
March 7, 2008... Agricultural student Martyn Mills explains why juggling jobs, attending college and milking British Fresians is all part of his long-term plan to run his own dairy farming business. KATIE ROEBUCK reports. SOME people dream of a life they...

COUNTRY VIEW: Rights of way plan to be shelved?
March 7, 2008... A multi-million pound project launched five years ago by the Countryside Agency to unearth discarded and disused rights of way looks set to be ditched. The Discovering Lost Ways project was a #15million flagship scheme to rediscover and...

COUNTRY VIEW: Recipe booklets box-set.
March 7, 2008... THE Countryside Alliance's Game-to-Eat's annual recipe booklets have been such a success with butchers and pubs that all six editions have been combined into a box-set. The recipe booklets are produced annually as essential point-of-sale...

COUNTRY VIEW: Rosemary the first woman chairman of Essex NFU.
March 7, 2008... THE first woman chairman of Essex NFU is urging farmers to help build public support for agriculture in the months ahead. Rosemary Padfield, of Rolls Farm, Ongar, is keen to take advantage of initiatives such as the Year of Food and...

COUNTRY VIEW: Open Farm Sunday advice.
March 7, 2008... A NUMBER of practical on-farm events/workshops is being staged from March into May to give advice to farmers who want to take part in this year's Open Farm Sunday. The nationwide workshops, which started in Cumbria and Co. Durham this...

COUNTRY VIEW: Joining forces to reduce fire risk in the rural community.
March 7, 2008... A Welsh farming union is joining forces with fire officers in a bid to reduce the risk of fire across one of Britain's biggest rural communities. During 2007 a total of 36 fires occurred in farm buildings and there were 37 involving...

COUNTRY VIEW: Hedging and fencing match.
March 7, 2008... THE South East Wales-based Llangattock-Vibon-Avel and District Ploughing and Agricultural Society's annual hedging and wire fencing match at Rockfield, Monmouth, saw David Probert, of Llanvihangel Crucorney, Abergavenny, take the top award. ...

COUNTRY VIEW: Upland Forum members.
March 7, 2008... THE chairman and members of the Wales Upland Forum have been re- appointed for a second two-year term. A non-statutory advisory panel, it was set up to provide advice to the Welsh Assembly Government on a wide range of issues relating to...

COUNTRY VIEW: On the Peak District trail with Paul Peacock.
March 7, 2008... Derbyshire is like Devon - only wild! Travellers have raved about the wonderful scenery, the amazing country houses, the caves, the rivers and high peaks for hundreds of years. The hills in Derbyshire are rounded, it's a bit like being in...

Alex and Garry wow 500-crowd to take Scottish Inter-district Nursery.
March 7, 2008... Alex MacCuish, and his home-bred, two-and- a-half-year-old Garry, worked well together in difficult conditions and triumphed at the Scottish Inter-district Nursery Sheepdog Championship, held at Mid Powside Farm, outside Perth on Saturday. ...

Croppers take the hat-trick at Holme nursery trials.
March 7, 2008... THE name Cropper dominated the final Holme nursery. Jim won the trial with Spud, Shirley took the championship with Black, while Chloe won best young handler with Ron. Set over a rough pasture at Clough Head, near Haslingden, Lancashire,...

4x4 ROUND-UP: Affordable kerb-climbing with the Seat Freetrack 4.
March 7, 2008... Compact 4x4s - or derivitives of them - are crawling out of the woodwork like elderly relatives at a wedding, as car makers rush to cash in on consumer demand for yet more affordable kerb-climbing ability with bags of space for the kids too....

4x4 ROUND-UP: IVECO MASSIF.
March 7, 2008... Expect the forthcoming Iveco Massif 4x4 to get Land Rover's Defender in a thorough headlock. The vehicle is loosely based on the Land Rover Defender - which Iveco-owned Santana used to build under licence. The Spanish-built Massif uses an Iveco...

4x4 ROUND-UP: SUBARU BOXER DIESEL.
March 7, 2008... Subaru has finally developed its first diesel engine - a boxer-style, flat-four that delivers 150hp from its 2.0 litre capacity. Initially fitted to the Legacy Sports Tourer and Outback models, Subaru's diesel can propel the cars to 60mph in...

4x4 ROUND-UP: New CX-7 takes Mazda into SUV territory.
March 7, 2008... Mazda's first foray into 4x4 SUV territory is the CX-7. It's a blend that started out as a sports car that was then given some extra size, four-wheel drive and filled to the roof with goodies. At first glance, it appears a good value...