Farmers Guardian articles from May 2006

Farmers Guardian archives from May 2006

New wave of confidence as beef exports resume.
May 5, 2006... A NEW wave of confidence swept through the British beef industry this week as the resumption of exports brought hopes of higher prices and a brighter future. The decade-long ban was lifted on Wednesday and already the first exports should...

First UK calves for 10 years head for the continent.
May 5, 2006... THE first British calves in 10 years to set foot on the Continent should be arriving at rearing units in Belgium and Holland later today. Up to 1,000 calves, drawn together from farms right across the country were expected to be on the...

Solution sought to marts export rule `madness'.
May 5, 2006... DEFRA has promised to review restrictive rules governing live exports that are preventing livestock markets being used as collection points. Current rules mean live cattle can only be exported direct from farm or from approved assembly...

Domestic market `still the key' - Bach.
May 5, 2006... FARMING Minister Lord Bach has reiterated the importance of the domestic market in the wake of the resumption of British beef exports this week. Speaking after the second summit of the beef industry on Wednesday, Lord Bach said it was...

IN BRIEF: Scotch beef delivered in Europe.
May 5, 2006... Scotch beef was set to be delivered to half a dozen destinations in Europe this weekend. Speciality producer Millers of Speyside said product would leave the Grantown on Spey plant this weekend to be delivered to Antwerp, Brussels, Moskroen,...

IN BRIEF: Insufficient detail.
May 5, 2006... One livestock agent, who had been flying calves to the continent before the ban, is attempting to get the trade going again but believes, in reality, Defra does not want it to happen. He said there was still insufficient detail on what...

IN BRIEF: Major European marketing drive.
May 5, 2006... Welsh red meat promotional body Hybu Cig Cymru celebrated the ending of the ban by launching a major European marketing drive at this week's top Cibus trade show in Italy. It will be followed up by targeted promotional events in other key...

Eblex summarises export opportunities.
May 5, 2006... THE English Beef and Lamb Executive has summarised the export opportunities arising from the lifting of the embargo: * Prime steer and heifer beef: High quality steer and heifer beef will be in demand on continental markets. Many importers...

Export business confidence.
May 5, 2006... IRISH live cattle exporter Shamus Scallan is so confident about the market for British cattle he is planning to set up an exporting business in the south of England. Mr Scallan has been exporting Irish cattle to continental Europe for more...

Wales goes ahead with pre-move bTB testing.
May 5, 2006... DESPITE strong opposition , the Welsh Assembly went ahead this week with pre-movement bovine TB testing - with individual farmers picking up the costs. Since Tuesday, cattle aged over 15 months moving out of a one or two- yearly tested...

Industry coping with bird flu outbreaks.
May 5, 2006... THE poultry industry is fighting back after three outbreaks of low pathogenic H7 strain avian influenza on Norfolk farms and the subsequent cull of 50,000 birds. NFU regional poultry board chairman Nigel Joice said the outbreaks had come...

Grampian struggling in the marketplace.
May 5, 2006... POULTRY giant Grampian has acknowledged that it is struggling in the marketplace. While not admitting to industry rumours this week that its poultry business was becoming unviable, it said it was seeking to review operations. Despite huge...

No contamination found on anthrax case farm.
May 5, 2006... INVESTIGATIONS into the possible source of anthrax, which caused the deaths of two cattle on a South Wales farm, have found no trace of contamination. Since confirming anthrax at Ynysgau Farm, Gwaelod-y-Garth, near Taffs Well, just north...

#100,00 for rural support organisations.
May 5, 2006... AN additional #100,000 is being made available immediately to key rural support organisations that help farmers deal with stress. Five organisations with close links with the farming community are drawing up proposals for additional support....

Get forms in by May 15.
May 5, 2006... FARMERS are being urged to get their forms in by May 15 - if necessary with a covering letter - even if they are not convinced of their accuracy. Defra now seems unlikely to announce that penalties will be waived for late and inaccurate...

Pay details to be available on website this autumn.
May 5, 2006... DETAILS of the Single Farm Payments made to farmers this year will be made available on the Rural Payments Agency website from this autumn. "Once everybody has been paid and the payments have been audited the plan is to put the payment...

Leaks lead to claims that Ministers misled farmers.
May 5, 2006... MINISTERS have been accused of misleading farmers over the Single Payments crisis after news of two significant developments leaked out last week. First, it emerged during a European Parliament hearing that the UK has asked for the June 30...

Deadlines - what's good for the Government is good for farmers.
May 5, 2006... THERE must not be one rule for Government and another for farmers, Defra has been told, following its request for the EU payment window to be extended. If the European Commission grants the Government its wish to extend the payment...

Deadline doubts.
May 5, 2006... THERE are serious questions emerging as to whether the European Commission will grant Defra its wish to have the EU Single Payment deadline extended from June 30 to October 15. It is understood there is significant political opposition in...

Payments picture so far.
May 5, 2006... BY Tuesday morning, 56,921 claims had been paid, representing 47 per cent of claimants. Just over 3,000 people had been paid since the previous Tuesday. A total of #514.7 million had been paid out, about 32 per cent of the total owed. Over #80m...

Government gives biomass a boost.
May 5, 2006... FINANCIAL initiatives for businesses installing biomass heating boilers will begin before the end of the year, Government energy officials confirmed this week. The announcement came as Defra and the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI)...

Pressure is mounting on Defra to make tallow ban U-turn permanent.
May 5, 2006... DEFRA Animal Health Minister Ben Bradshaw is coming under increasing pressure to make last week's suspension of the ban on burning tallow permanent. Industry outrage at the unnecessary economic and environmental costs forced Defra to...

Survey to aid hunt law change campaign.
May 5, 2006... WITH the lambing season in Wales now past its peak, the four main farming organisations are calling on sheep farmers to fill in an industry-inspired questionnaire aimed at assessing losses to foxes. The survey results will be used as part...

Biomass - the facts.
May 5, 2006... Where is the market for farmer's energy crops? * Co-firing - Power stations like Drax are obliged to source a percentage of their fuel supplies from renewable sources such as energy crops. * Small-scale biomass heating initiatives - A...

Gangmaster licence issued.
May 5, 2006... THE first gangmasters' licence to be issued under the new regulations has been received by the Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, company Fred Bassett and Son, which provides workers in Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. Issued by the Gangmasters Licensing...

Ulster FU has new president.
May 5, 2006... ULSTER Farmers' Union has elected County Tyrone beef producer Kenneth Sharkey as its new president. Elected by UFU's members last week, Mr Sharkey used his opening speech to urge a re-think about the future of food security, accusing the...

Making most of grass and investing in dairy update.
May 5, 2006... HOSTING the presidential visit was current Ceredigion NFU county chairman, Gerwyn Owen, who with his wife Glenys, son Andrew and daughter-in-law Ann, farm the 220-acre Pantygwiail Farm, at Dihewyd, near Lampeter. Well known for the high...

`Hopeful' over TB action - `transparent' on calf trade.
May 5, 2006... BARRY ALSTON reports from Peter Kendall's first official fact-finding visit to Wales since his election as the NFU's new national president. ON the day bovine TB pre-movement testing came into force in Wales, NFU national president, Peter...

Long may the beauty and brutality of bulls reign.
May 5, 2006... CAMERON, our Highland bull, is mighty. His horns sweep murderously forward, creamy, magnificent, extending almost to his wide, ringed nose. A fearsome beast indeed. His looks may well deceive. Forking hay to him and his ladies on cold...

OPINION: Good news at last.
May 5, 2006... At last some good news. In fact, it is probably the best news the farming industry has had for 10 years. The day Stephen Dorrell announced the suspected link between BSE and CJD was a black one that had the potential to destroy an entire...

Working with Defra.
May 5, 2006... DAIRY UK is to work in partnership with Defra on a new strategy to achieve sustainability in the food industry. The strategy addresses key issues like energy, water and climate change, and Dairy UK says our dairy sector has long been...

Livestock chairman's concerns over viability.
May 5, 2006... THE viability of primary producers in the livestock chain is one of the greatest concerns for NFU livestock board chairman Thomas Binns who took office in March. While an improvement in finished stock prices will help as it feeds back...

All breeders must embrace change.
May 5, 2006... RECORDING was an opportunity to add value to both the sheep industry and flocks, suggested Steven Johnston, beef and sheep technologist at College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise at Greenmount, Northern Ireland. He said BASCO was...

A balance between cost and quality.
May 5, 2006... Meeting the demands on efficiency of output required by today's UK commercial lamb producer by incorporating the best genetics was among the key themes in a conference staged by the Suffolk Sheep Society at Penrith, Cumbria. JENNIFER MACKENZIE...

Farming can learn from the New Zealand model.
May 5, 2006... MURRAY Rohloff, whose New Zealand farming operation involves 3,500 ewes with 750 stud rams, described how his country's sheep industry had survived despite the withdrawal of subsidies. This had happened with knowledge, efficiency of...

Births - a hidden cost.
May 5, 2006... IN the changing climate towards low input systems, lambs that needed a lot of labour to deliver and get sucking were not going to be a popular choice, said Cathy Dwyer, SAC animal behaviour specialist. "The Suffolk is perceived to be an...

Export market re-opens ahead of Beef Expo.
May 5, 2006... THE re-opening of the beef export market for British beef has generated excitement in the beef industry, which will be reflected in Beef Expo 2006 at Carlisle next month, chairman of the organising committee, Ian Watson, told a press briefing...

Innovation awards for the dairy industry.
May 5, 2006... THERE was an increase in the number and quality of entries for the Milk Development Council's annual Awards for Dairy Innovation. The award for innovation in dairy product development (beverage) was won by Dairy Crest for its St Ivel...

Fruit-flavoured yoghurt drinks for added value.
May 5, 2006... With many farms already making ice-cream Alistair Stewart decided to look for something different to add value to milk and turned to fruit flavoured yoghurt drinks - a move which earned him a top NFU Scotland award. Neil Ryder reports. ...

Bringing art inside farm gate to raise awareness of the countryside.
May 5, 2006... RISING public interest for experiencing contemporary arts outside `white cube' galleries, and for learning creative skills in informal and natural settings, has opened up new opportunities for art on farms. The need for digital arts...

Off to a flier on new site with Blonde in top spot.
May 5, 2006... LEICESTERSHIRE Show, the first event on the county circuit, had a new venue this time, on Melton Mowbray airfield, which seemed popular with exhibitors as livestock entries were significantly up on last year. Burghwallis Star took the beef...

Farmers hold key to biodiesel market.
May 5, 2006... The annual Lincolnshire Agricultural Society Spring Lecture took place on the Lincolnshire showground. The event is sponsored by the society, land agents Brown and Co and solicitors Andrew & Co. Alan Stennett reports on a session that looked...

Be guided by trends of market.
May 5, 2006... FARMERS looking to break out of the current restrictive environment of agricultural commodity production should be looking at market trends rather than watching what their colleagues were doing, the audience was told. Delivering the annual...

Bread wheat N efficiency.
May 5, 2006... CONSIDERABLE differences have been identified in the efficiency with which the five currently Recommended bread wheats appear to utilise fertiliser nitrogen in the latest series of Masstock Arable Group Co- ordinated Growing Systems trials. ...

Cutting costs? Think again with Group 1.
May 5, 2006... WHEAT growers contemplating cutting costs and reducing final nitrogen applications on wheats are being advised to think again - particularly on Group 1 varieties. According to the latest results from Terra's N-monitoring sites, levels in...

Soft-fruit disease control.
May 5, 2006... A NEW fungicide from Syngenta could provide soft-fruit growers with new standards in broad-spectrum disease control and the opportunity to enhance shelf-life with improved fruit quality. They the new product, code-named A9219B in trials and...

Shorter T1-T2 gap could favour crops.
May 5, 2006... WITH T1 fungicide sprays delayed by about a week and the prospect of a shortened T1 to T2 interval, protectant sprays should work well this season. That's the view of Syngenta's Dave Ranner, who points out that, weather conditions...

Well-timed fungicide will control disease.
May 5, 2006... CONDITIONS have been perfect for cereal disease development but disease will be controllable as long as fungicide applications are properly timed. That's the view of Nickerson wheat breeder Bill Angus, who says while the overall weather...

Trials should help target strobilurins.
May 5, 2006... RESULTS collected from over 80 fungicide trials will help growers to better target strobilurin use believes Syngenta. The average yield response to strobilurins in the trials was 0.4 tonne per hectare in winter wheat - over and above the...

Sclerotinia on the increase in May.
May 5, 2006... SCLEROTINIA activity in oilseed rape has increased considerably during the last week and is likely to keep increasing during early May, growers are advised. Low levels of stem base infection are already evident with spread from plant to...

BYDV hits winter wheat.
May 5, 2006... BARLEY yellow dwarf virus (BYDV) infection has become visible in some winter wheat and winter barley crops in the East Midlands and in parts of Yorkshire during the past seven to 10 days. In some cases, symptoms have been seen even where...

Sugar beet `slow' but an adequate population.
May 5, 2006... SUGAR BEET crops drilled in the first half of March emerged slowly but have an adequate plant population of between 70,000 and 75,000 plants per hectare. Crops drilled in the second half of the month have a more comfortable 86,000 to...

Cool temperatures hold back early growth despite drilling on time.
May 5, 2006... REDRILLING of sugar beet crops so far amounts to tens of hectares but there will be more this month, mainly to repair damage caused by fenland blows. British Sugar is describing the sugar beet drilling season as an `average' one, and says...

Project aims to preserve native breeds.
May 5, 2006... A unique initiative aimed at further enhancing part of North Yorkshire's renowned upland landscape now links the visitor, conservationist, farmer - and the consumer. JENNIFER MACKENZIE reports. The Limestone Country Project was set up to...

Juggling the challenges of working with young farmers for the future.
May 5, 2006... The Young Farmers' annual convention takes place in Blackpool this weekend. Before the revelries kicked off, ANGELA CALVERT went to meet Stuart Bell, a man of many talents - Yorkshire farmer, development worker and chairman of the National...

Step-by-step to a farm business that delivers.
May 5, 2006... Six young farmers made it through to the final stage of the inaugural Farmers Guardian/Waitrose Best Young Farmer Producer award. Over the next six weeks, we will take a look at each business and its aims for the future. LIZFALKINGHAM visited...

Margaret is a top `learner' when it comes to a new farm business.
May 5, 2006... IN every walk of life experience is an invaluable asset - but it does not mean there is no room to broaden those skills even further. That most definitely is the way Margaret Johns sees things. Despite having more than 40 years'...

COUNTRY VIEW: Business is child's play for Jacqui.
May 5, 2006... FARMER'S wife Jacqui Lea knew her customers thought highly of her toy shop. Now she has the seal of approval from the industry. At its annual dinner, the Toy Retailers Association presented her with the `Toy Retailer of the Year Award,...

COUNTRY VIEW: Consistency pays off for Montgomery.
May 5, 2006... POINTS added up to overall first prize for Montgomery Young Farmers at the Wales YFC English public speaking competition weekend. Despite not winning any of the individual sections, consistency with placings brought its reward. Overall...

COUNTRY VIEW: Cross-border golf - for charity.
May 5, 2006... THE chance to play a round of golf that takes in two countries - and raises funds for a worthy cause is being offered by RABI (Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution. RABI is holding its first charity golf challenge on June 28 at...

COUNTRY VIEW: Guild cash award.
May 5, 2006... RICHARD Lewis, of Pembrokeshire, has won the 2006 Welsh Livery Guild Young Farmers award and #1,000 to help develop his business. Judges recognised his determination and dedication. He began milking on local farms then set up a foot trimming...

COUNTRY VIEW: WI award for recruitment.
May 5, 2006... A GLAMORGAN Women's Institute which increased its membership from 27 to 51 (an 89 per cent increase) during the past year has won the NFWI- Wales recruitment award for WIs with under 30 members. Sylvia Davies, president of Cwmafan WI,...

COUNTRY VIEW: Field day win for Brawdy.
May 5, 2006... BRAWDY YFC was overall winner at Pembrokeshire Young Farmers' field day, just a single point ahead of runner-up, Llysyfran. Third place went to Clynderwen. Caroline Lewis, of Llysyfran YFC, was awarded the stockman of the year title at the...

COUNTRY VIEW: Acquiring and honing skills.
May 5, 2006... SCOTTISH Young Farmers North Region members acquired and enhanced skills at their annual Grampian ladies day course. Four subjects - card making, sugarcraft, hand-tied bouquets and ropemaking - were led by Muriel Barclay, of Banff; Betty...

COUNTRY VIEW: Welsh contender.
May 5, 2006... LLINOS Angharad Davies, last year's lady ambassador for the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society, will represent Wales in the national final of the senior member of the year competition taking place during the NFYFC annual convention in Blackpool...

COUNTRY VIEW: YFC county titles.
May 5, 2006... FARM business consultant William Lawrence, 25, is Pembrokeshire Young Farmers' senior member of the year. A farmer's son, William is a member of Brawdy YFC and is county sports co-ordinator. The junior title went to farmer's daughter Angharad...

COUNTRY VIEW: An hour in the May garden.
May 5, 2006... When May blossom finally arrives, an old man's beard of wispy white from the back of the garden, or in a thousand fields, you can really begin to enjoy your gardening, writes PAUL PEACOCK. THE swallows have just arrived to take the first...

You have to take your cap off to Lindley Moor winners.
May 5, 2006... CAP was the name of the day at Lindley Moor, Huddersfield, on Sunday as the winners of both the morning and afternoon open trials carried that title. For the first 100 metres the sizeable course was flat but it then rose quite steeply for...

OLF rule gives Meg Llangadog success.
May 5, 2006... THE Bank Holiday weekend saw two trials in South Wales with competitors in Carmarthenshire for the Llangadog trial on Saturday and they gathered outside Monmouth for the Duffields Farm trial on Monday. There were many similarities between...

GRAZING MONITOR 2006: Everything set for grazing explosion.
May 5, 2006... ALTHOUGH the slow season persisted into the last few days of April, all the pointers suggest that grazing growth rates should soon accelerate and reach typical levels. "The results of grass samples taken last week clearly show that growth...

Green wrap reduces silage losses in trials.
May 5, 2006... WRAPPING big-baled grass with green film rather than black will help reduce silage losses, lower costs and achieve a higher quality forage, according to trials carried out at the ADAS Pwllpeiran Research Centre in Wales. Green-wrapped...

At the crossroads.
May 5, 2006... BARRY ALSTON reports from a Clwyd dairy farm facing a major crossroads over its future direction. What is for sure, is that we cannot keep on getting bigger and keeping more and more cows. To do that we would need more land, more buildings...

Foraging for a solution to make better quality silage.
May 5, 2006... The self-loading silage wagon market is getting a new lease of life as farmers look to longer chop lengths in an effort to increase forage quality. Mervyn Bailey reports on contractor Stuart Johnstone who has invested in two wagons not just for...

MACHINERY: Commercial catch-up.
May 5, 2006... The Commercial Vehicle Show, held at the NEC in Birmingham, gave the chance to catch up on the latest developments in pick-up trucks, vans and light commercial vehicles. Geoff Ashcroft reports. MERCEDES SPRINTER This extra long body...

`Modern mastitis' - SCENE - by the vet.
May 5, 2006... I HAVE just returned from Mexico where there was a five-day conference on mastitis and in particular looking at what is now called the `modern mastitis'. This is mastitis caused by environmental organisms. The majority of farms have cell...

Limousins lead Perth at 3,800gns.
May 5, 2006... THE United Auctions Perth Spring sale of pedigree cattle saw a top price of 3,800gns with Limousins leading the way on Monday. The bull in question was the May 2004 son of Airtnoch Lord, Chapelpark Victor. From J. and M. Pirie, Kingussie,...

Western Holsteins to 1,700gns for champion.
May 5, 2006... THE Western Holstein Club April show and sale at Beeston Castle Auction, Cheshire, saw an entry of 99 animals forward, including seven bulls. Judge, Alan Goldie (Wiskemanor), picked for his champion a heifer from M. and J.C. Gould, Bomere...

Janmac British Friesians.
May 5, 2006... AT the dispersal of the Janmac pedigree British Friesians for Malcolm and Janet Barrell, Grafton, near Hereford, prices reached 1,650gns and 22 sold for four figure bids. Top price was paid by T.S. Matthews and Son, Hereford, for Janmac...

New Charolais 5,000gns breed centre record at Ross-on-Wye show and sale.
May 5, 2006... THE Charolais breed established a new 5,000gns centre record at Ross-on- Wye, Herefordshire, during the breed society's spring show and sale. Leading the trade was Foxacre Vivaldi CH31, a 21-month-old Balthayock Marius son bred and...

3,700gns Carthorpe Limousin.
May 5, 2006... LEYBURN Auction Mart, North Yorkshire, was the venue for the dispersal of the Carthorpe herd of Limousins for G.P. Robinson and Partners, Bedale, North Yorkshire. Top price was 3,700gns for an unregistered 18- month-old bull by Carthorpe Rookie...

Simmentals top of 3,100gns at Carlisle.
May 5, 2006... SIMMENTALS sold to 3,100gns at Carlisle, on Friday, at the society's national spring show and sale. Leading was the February 2005-born son of Blackford Hawk, Astcote Sparrow Hawk. Out of Agardsley Annie 3 he was sold by S. and C. Evans,...

Northern Ireland Herefords.
May 5, 2006... Top lot at the Carlisle Simmental show and sale came from S. and C. Evans, Towcester, with Astcote Sparrow Hawk, that made 3,100gns. THE standard of Herefords on offer at the Northern Ireland native breed sale at Dungannon was high, with...

First foray to Skipton Blues proves a winner.
May 5, 2006... BREED stalwarts Danny and Jane Wyllie made their first-ever foray to Skipton Auction Mart, North Yorkshire, pay dividends when they were awarded the championship at the second annual show and sale of pedigree Belgian Blue breeding cattle. ...

BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF: Review delayed.
May 5, 2006... THE Welsh Assembly's statistical return of agricultural land prices in Wales for the quarter ending June 2005, which was set for publication in April, has been postponed because of the low number of notified sales. Copyright: CMP...