Farmers Guardian articles from May 2007

Farmers Guardian archives from May 2007

Defra urged to stand firm on tag derogation.
May 4, 2007... Sheep industry desperate to keep it DEFRA is being urged to fight to keep the derogation on the double tagging of sheep in response to signs its resolve on the issue is weakening. The UK's derogation on compulsory double tagging of...

Letter leads to resignation of Levy Board sector head.
May 4, 2007... THE man due to take charge of the horticultural sector company on Levy Board UK has resigned after an anonymous letter questioning his appointment was circulated within the industry. John Hall, who was due to become chairman of the sector...

Report claims crop approval processes are biased against GM.
May 4, 2007... THE approval processes for genetically modified and conventional crops are fundamentally flawed and biased against GM. That is the renewed message from a sub-group of the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE) in a report...

UK beef exports hit #100m.
May 4, 2007... BRITISH beef exports in the past 12 months have been twice the predicted level and have hit the #100 million mark. Boosted by a #5.5 million Government-backed beef recovery programme, beef has been showcased by the English Beef and Lamb...

Udny YFC founder member dies.
May 4, 2007... Retired North East farmer, David Argo, Tillymaud, Udny, has died at the age of 90 days before he was to be guest of honour at the 80th anniversary celebrations of Udny Young Farmers' Club on Saturday night. Mr Argo was the only surviving...

SPS UPDATE.
May 4, 2007... 2007 SPS Nearly three-quarters of potential 2007 Single Payment claimants had still not submitted their application forms with just a fortnight to go before the deadline. By April 30, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) had received 31,669...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Woodfuel supply boost.
May 4, 2007... The Forestry Commission has unveiled plans to boost the supply of woodfuel by an extra two million tonnes a year by 2020. Its Woodfuel Strategy for England, launched by Biodiversity Minister Barry Gardiner aims to boost woodfuel supply to...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Hydroponic salad scheme.
May 4, 2007... Preparations are underway to grow and sell exotic salad leaves, pak choi and strawberries on Anglesey using innovative hydroponics systems. Last year, development bodies Menter Mon and Madryn Cyf, teamed up with local growers to pilot a...

Common land rules change eligibility for SPS payments.
May 4, 2007... HUNDREDS of farmers face losing their Single Payments and Hill Farm Allowances because of an unannounced change to eligibility rules on common land. The Defra-RPA Policy Unit in London has decided to rely only on the Commons Registers held...

Legal challenge is `for all farmers'.
May 4, 2007... THE man who is challenging Defra in the High Court over its controversial table valuation system for cattle says he is fighting for a fairer deal on behalf of all farmers. Devon farmer David Partridge lost tens of thousands of pounds last...

Brazil begins FMD vaccinations.
May 4, 2007... BRAZIL has begun a massive campaign to vaccinate its cattle against foot-and-mouth disease. This comes a long time after European farmers raised concerns about the relaxed attitude of the European Commission, which allowed Brazilian beef...

Peers seek evidence for CAP investigation.
May 4, 2007... PEERS have launched a major investigation into the future of the Common Agricultural Policy. Members of the House of Lords European Union Committee have issued a call for evidence to feed into their inquiry, which they hope will influence...

EU poultry labelling plans dumped.
May 4, 2007... EUROPEAN Union plans for a labelling scheme for poultry that meets higher EU standards have been dumped because of member countries' opposition. It has also emerged that a scheme proposed by the German presidency to stress higher animal...

New WTO paper outlines concerns.
May 4, 2007... A NEW World Trade Organisation paper on agriculture has been published this week, but it does little more than underline where problems lie. It sets out areas where WTO members can agree, and where they cannot - with the latter a much...

LEAF Marque to cover imported goods at Waitrose by 2010.
May 4, 2007... WAITROSE has announced plans to extend its use of the LEAF Marque to cover all of its imported conventional fresh, prepared and frozen fruit, vegetables and flowers by 2010. The retailer has been using the LEAF Marque on all UK produce for...

Foreign meat investigation.
May 4, 2007... THE increasing practice of foreign meat being passed off as prime local produce is being investigated by Trading Standards officers across the country. Checks on butchers, restaurants, pubs and other catering outlets are being stepped up...

Be vigilant on storage after fertiliser bomb convictions.
May 4, 2007... FARMERS have been reminded of the importance of securing their fertilisers, following the outcome of a terrorist trial at the Old Bailey. Five men were jailed for life on Monday for a UK bomb plot to blow up a shopping centre, nightclub...

Attracting the next generation of farmers.
May 4, 2007... ATTRACTING the next generation into farming is the key to the future of the industry says the the Scottish National Party in its new agricultural manifesto. It says: "New entrants need to know that they are entering a profitable industry....

Campaign out to recapture children's imagination.
May 4, 2007... THE Year of Food and Farming has launched its campaign website and logo and more than 20,000 schools have been contacted with details of the resources on offer. The Year, which aims to recapture children's imagination about food and how it...

Sudden death of Midlands auctioneer Michael Bletsoe.
May 4, 2007... EAST Midlands auctioneer and chartered surveyor, Michael Bletsoe, a partner in the family firm of chartered surveyors, Henry H. Bletsoe and Son, has died suddenly at the age of 42. The fourth generation of his family to sell in Thrapston...

The younger generation need to carry the fight.
May 4, 2007... The great rural commentator of the pre and post war years, A.G. Street, often referred to `time out of mind'. It was in the 1960s that farmers were told it was time they regarded themselves as businessmen with the priority of the bottom...

OPINION: We're not like the EU.
May 4, 2007... If the EC inspectors who found fault with our sheep tagging and recording system were making close comparisons with other member states, it is perhaps not surprising they found anomalies. They are not comparing like with like and to be...

LETTER: `The HSE plunges to new depths'.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... The poisoned shepherds will not be surprised to learn that the Health and Safety Executive have plunged to new depths. They have decided in their ignorant wisdom that they will not respond to any more of my letters as I have not raised any...

LETTER: Waste Act warning concern.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... I AM disappointed that your article `Waste Act should be taken seriously is the warning' (FG April 27) is so misleading. Failure to register exemptions under the agricultural waste regulations will NOT breach cross-compliance conditions and...

LETTER: Waste exemptions.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... AGRICULTURAL waste exemptions do not feature under the cross-compliance rules (`Waste Act should be taken seriously is the warning' - FG April 27). Under the cross-compliance rules the Environment Agency assesses farmers against the Action...

LETTER: Editor's note.(Editorial)(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... Frances Hall from Promar writes: The NFU and Environment Agency have suggested that some of the points made in the article `Waste Act should be taken seriously, is the warning' (FG April 27) could be misleading. The Waste Management...

LETTER: Preparing equipment for shearing.(Letter to the editor)
May 4, 2007... IN your excellent sheep supplement (FG April 27) you mentioned the importance of preparing the equipment for shearing. I would suggest that a far better solution would be to keep sheep that don't need shearing such as the `Easy Care' breed....

NEWS IN BRIEF: New research chairman.
May 4, 2007... Borders farmer, Andrew Elliot, has taken over as chairman of Quality Meat Scotland's research and development committee. A QMS board member, he takes over from Chris Gilbert-Wood who has completed his three-year tenure in the post. Mr Elliot...

Government needs to rethink its approach to dairy.
May 4, 2007... AGAINST the positive messages for cheese manufacture, Dairy UK chairman David Curry accused the Government of adopting a too negative approach. "There is a very strong message here that the industry has a positive future. Cheese is the...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Positive impact.
May 4, 2007... Encouragement for public sector bodies to buy their food needs locally and have a positive impact on the rural economy and communities, while also benefiting the environment, has come from Welsh Assembly Countryside Minister, Carwyn Jones. "The...

Conference leaves cheesemakers with a positive message.
May 4, 2007... This week's Cheese Summit, mounted by Dairy UK, was clearly a game of two halves. On the one hand, cheesemakers had a potentially lucrative world market, on the other Government and the Food Standards Agency were intent on delivering a double...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Organic degree.
May 4, 2007... The University of Wales, Aberystwyth is launching a new full-time organic agriculture top-up BSc degree in organic agriculture from September. Targeted at students who have completed an HND or Foundation degree in general or organic agriculture...

NEWS IN BRIEF: Chick supply and demand.
May 4, 2007... Chick suppliers, Tom Barron ISA, are stepping up production of the ISA Warren egg layer as demand continues to grow for the UK's newest strain. Sales are now heading towards 3.5 million since the layer was launched in the UK and Ireland just...

Poultry producers told to play up environment credentials.
May 4, 2007... CONSUMER concerns about the environment are beginning to outweigh animal welfare and organic issues, according to grocery analysts. Speaking at the British Poultry Council's (BPC) annual conference on Tuesday, Dr James Northen from the...

Waste Regulation Exemptions.
May 4, 2007... With time rapidly running out thousands of farmers have still not registered for exemptions to the agricultural waste regulations. ALISTAIR DRIVER looks at why it is important to register in the two weeks that remain and the issues you need to...

Marina helps secure dairy farm's future alongside busy canal.
May 4, 2007... Building a marina alongside the Llangollen Canal has secured the future of dairying on a Cheshire farm. Cheshire FWAG held an open day at Swanley Marina to mark their association with LEADER+. Neil Ryder went along. Building a 317-mooring...

A second trade set in the heart of the community.
May 4, 2007... WHEN Michael Thurlby realised the family farm, at Tallington, Lincolnshire, would no longer provide a realistic income for himself and his brother and sister, on his father's retirement, he began to look around for other opportunities. To...

Branching out into olives.
May 4, 2007... THINK olive groves and most people look to Italy, Greece or Spain - but all that could be set to change with the planting of the first olive trees in North Wales. Anglesey-based cooking oil producer, Calon Lan, has planted 50 specimens...

Fact-finding in the Yorkshire Dales.
May 4, 2007... THE new director general of the Natural Environment Group at Defra, Peter Unwin, has been on a fact-finding visit, meeting officers and members of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, learning more about the role of England's nine...

Numbers are up for FarmText.
May 4, 2007... SAC has just signed up the 1000th subscriber to its FarmText service. The service, which uses telephone messaging facilities to deliver up-to- the-minute information and advice directly to farmers on their own mobile phones, was launched in...

Dorset Fresh Start Academy launched.
May 4, 2007... Geraint Hughes with Menter Mon's Dafydd Gruffydd, olive trees and some of the oils already being produced under the venture project. THE Dorset Fresh Start Academy has been launched at Kingston Maurward College, bringing together the...

MACHINERY: Bobcat S100.
May 4, 2007... The S100 is the latest skid steer loader from Bobcat. Power comes from a 34hp Kubota four-cylinder engine, which is transverse mounted for better serviceability. It has a rated operating capacity of 453kg and a tipping load of 907kg. Other...

MACHINERY: Standen evolution fluted rollers.
May 4, 2007... Standen Pearson has introduced a new separating option for its Enterprise harvesters. The Evolution fluted rollers have been in development for two seasons. Three or four soft deformable fluted rubber rollers work in conjunction with rubber or...

MACHINERY: Kuhn Pro longer hedge cutters.
May 4, 2007... Kuhn is expanding its range of Pro Longer hedge cutters with the addition of a 5.2m model and a crank arm option for this and the 5.7m reach machine. The EP5253PA and EA5762PA are aimed at those with a more demanding workload and are...

MACHINERY: Quick fit points.
May 4, 2007... Spaldings Quick fit points are now available for retrofitting to most makes of cultivator and seed drills. The knock on A shares could save as much as 60 per cent on downtime, says Alastair Ramsay. A cast adaptor with different hole centres...

MACHINERY: New Holland service.
May 4, 2007... Farmers and contractors using New Holland kit can now make use of the firm's Top Service Team. Available on a 24 hour, seven days per week free-phone number 00800 64111111, where the customer service team will work with the customer's dealer...

MACHINERY: Agromek show changes.
May 4, 2007... From 2008, the Danish Agromek show will be held in November every year with a different machinery focus. Machines for fieldwork will be exhibited every second year, while their internal mechanisation will always feature at the show. To match in...

MACHINERY: New Bagma general manager.
May 4, 2007... The British dealer association BAGMA has appointed Keith Christian as its new general manager. Keith started with outdoor equipment company H Burlingham in 1979. He was chairman of the Agricultural Engineers Association Outdoor Power Equipment...

MACHINERY: MTX front linkage option.
May 4, 2007... McCormick has added a front linkage to the list of factory fit options for the MTX 115hp to 152hp tractors. Lift capacity is up to 4,550kg with either single or double acting cylinders. The linkage is produced for McCormick by Zuidberg...

MACHINERY: Eurotechnics agri group formed.
May 4, 2007... French manufacturers Suire, Goizin and Jean de Bru have pooled together to form the Eurotechnics Agri Group. Each manufacturer will continue to focus on its core products, which will be imported to the UK by Essex based Abrey and Son. ...

MACHINERY: SAMSON AGRICULTURE.
May 4, 2007... With the recent changes in how Danish firm Samson International markets its equipment in the UK Mogens Olesen has set up Hampshire-based Samson Agriculture. With 17 years experience of selling muck and slurry equipment, Mogens will be offering...

MACHINERY: Bunning centenary.
May 4, 2007... The Bunning family is celebrating 100 years at their Norfolk site. The business was founded in 1906 by Robert Bunning, a blacksmith who was joined by his son. George Thomas Bunning, in 1925. George's initials are now used in the company's name...

MACHINERY: Tractor registrations.
May 4, 2007... The latest AEA figures show that Lancashire and Yorkshire has seen the greatest increase in tractor registrations for the first quarter of the year by 59 per cent to 387 units. This represents 11.5 per cent of the UK market this year for...

MACHINERY: New appointment.
May 4, 2007... Same Deutz Fahr has appointed Marc Haggart as its territory manager for Northern England and Scotland. Marc's appointment follows the recent promotion of his predecessor, Paul Concannon, to UK and Ireland sales manager. Having been brought...

MACHINERY: JCB Queen's awards.
May 4, 2007... JCB is celebrating three more Queen's Awards for export achievements. The Loadall business at Rocester, Compact Products at Cheadle and the International Transmission plant at Wrexham all received an honour, which now brings JCB's collection to...

Open your farm and spread the good news about farming.
May 4, 2007... FARMERS throughout the UK are being encouraged to open their farm gates to the public for Open Farm Sunday taking place on Sunday, June 10. Tony Cooke, who farms near Doncaster and chairs Framework for Change, is urging fellow farmers to...

ARABLE: New canopy complete stage blight fungicide launched.
May 4, 2007... A new blight fungicide from Syngenta will be available this spring, after going from development to registration in less than eight years. The new fungicide, which is to be marketed as Revus, is based on the single active ingredient...

ARABLE: Inspect beet crops for aphids.
May 4, 2007... SUGAR beet growers are being advised to start inspecting crops that have not been treated with either an insecticidal seed treatment or granules for aphids following the discovery of wingless myzus persicae at near spray threshold levels in a...

ARABLE: Growing the family business to cater for the market.
May 4, 2007... BARRY ALSTON takes a look at how Pembrokeshire's first early potato crops are shaping up. WITH token liftings already under way and some better growing conditions of late, prospects for the bulk of Pembrokeshire's first early potatoes are...

OSR & BIOFUELS: Are sustainable biofuels a reality?
May 4, 2007... With the Government's mandatory requirement for road transport fuel to include biofuels less than 12 months away, the focus on the UK sector has never been greater. Critics are asking if biofuels will reduce carbon emissions and whether its...

OSR & BIOFUELS: Better-performing OSR crops nearly 40pc greater.
May 4, 2007... BETTER performing oilseed rape crops generated gross margins nearly 40 per cent higher than the average and well over double those earned by their poorer-performing contemporaries last season, according to results from ProCam Agronomy's latest...

`UK could meet double biofuel target if plants were at full capacity'.
May 4, 2007... The biofuels market has grown dramatically in recent years as a result of increasing awareness of global warming and its effects, combined with general concerns on security of energy supply. Biofuels are being promoted as a step in helping to...

ARABLE: UK arable sector could take advantage of organic `boom'.
May 4, 2007... Is converting to organic arable production worth it? CLEMMIE GLEESON reports from a Soil Association event held at Rushbrooke Farms, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, which aimed to show growers that it is. NATIONWIDE demand for organic arable...

ARABLE: DEMAND for organic animal feed up 30 per cent.
May 4, 2007... DEMAND for organic animal feed has grown by 30 per cent in the past 18 months, explained Nigel Gossett of Norton Organic Grain. This is due to the move towards making organic livestock feed 100 per cent organic, as well as a growth in the...

ARABLE: Rotation design `essential' to success.
May 4, 2007... ROTATIONS are essential for the organic producer to reduce the weed, pest and disease burdens of the land and are the route to successful organic cropping, explained Andrew Trump of the Organic Arable Marketing Group. Rotation design is...

ARABLE: Case study: Rushbrooke Farms, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
May 4, 2007... Conversion of land at Rushbrooke Farms started in 2000 with 250 hectares of the total 600 hectares. "I did it as a staged conversion over five years so that I could learn from mistakes made in the first year or two," said manager Dominic...

ARABLE: Case study: Hammonds End Farm, Hertfordshire.
May 4, 2007... Hammonds End Farm is a 270-acre farm in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, owned and managed by Howard Roberts. He started converting to organic production in 1997. He said that he was initially put off producing organic crops because he thought he...

ARABLE: Case study: Lavenham Lodge Farm, Suffolk.
May 4, 2007... John Pawsey farms 2,430 acres at Lavenham Lodge Farm, 724 acres of which is under farm management contracts. In 1999, 350 acres was converted to organic production. "I decided to go through one whole rotation before converting more so that...

FARM FEATURE: Protecting rare bloodlines.
May 4, 2007... Protecting rare bloodlines with a mix of commercial farming and conservation A broad-based approach to commercial farming and conservation, making use of a traditional breeds and methods in a modern context, is proving a winning formula...

YOUNGSTOCK: Subscriptions lead debate at `memorable and historic event'.
May 4, 2007... Temperatures and spirits were high as Young Farmers from across England and Wales travelled to Torquay for the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs Annual Convention. KATIE LOMAS reports on a weekend of competition finals, debates and...

YOUNGSTOCK: Discussing issues with industry experts at farming forums.
May 4, 2007... FARMING, food and rural life were the main topics discussed at the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Forum, where young farmers from across England and Wales met industry experts. The forum was made up of three discussion groups - food and...

YOUNGSTOCK: High drama in strongly contested competitions.
May 4, 2007... ALONGSIDE the evening entertainment and soc-ialising, a number of competition finals and important trophies were keenly contested at the Young Farmers convention. The national drama competition, held at Torquay's Princess Theatre on...

COUNTRY VIEW: Scholarship to develop woodland craftsmanship.
May 4, 2007... AN organic smallholder has won a #2,500 scholarship which will help him develop his hurdle making, hedge laying and woodland management skills Simon Saggers, from Bassingbourn, near Royston, Cambridgeshire, will receive the Queen Elizabeth...

COUNTRY VIEW: Hedgehog charity celebrates its 25th anniversary.
May 4, 2007... THE British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) is celebrating its 25th anniversary. The charity, which was founded by Maj Adrian Coles of Knowbury, Shropshire, in 1982, now has almost 11,000 members. "We are delighted with all that...

COUNTRY VIEW: Bryson is new president.
May 4, 2007... LEADING author Bill Bryson is set to become the Campaign to Protect Rural England's new president, taking over from newspaper columnist and military historian Sir Max Hastings. The best-selling American writer, who lives in Norfolk, has...

COUNTRY VIEW: Developing skills for using rifles safely.
May 4, 2007... NORFOLK's Easton College is launching a course aimed at sporting rifle users at the end of May, following its link-up with Diss-based Riflecraft. Ian Revill, head of agriculture and environment at Easton College, said the idea was to...

COUNTRY VIEW: An hour in the May garden.
May 4, 2007... May sees the start of those seemingly never-ending afternoons in the garden, though the weather often has something to say about it, says PAUL PEACOCK. Ne'er cast a clout, eh! Well global warming or not you can bet your bottom dollar that...

Jim Cropper makes it five wins out of five.
May 4, 2007... JIM Cropper's current form is best described as `unbeatable' as he won all three of the open trials in the North of England at the weekend. Over the last two weekends in April, Jim has entered five trials and won them all. On Saturday...

Llangadog proves popular - and the course testing.
May 4, 2007... ONCE again the Llangadog and District trial proved immensely popular. It was so well supported that the raffle raised #800, which will be distributed to local charities. By 7.30am the book was over half full and an hour later there were...

Ty Draw fundraiser sees Owen and Lightfoot take first placings.
May 4, 2007... ABOUT 70 dogs had been entered in the Ty Draw Fundraising Trial by 9am, and by the end of the day this had risen to 121 split between the two sessions. The field at Ty Draw Farm, Bodfari, North Wales, provided an outrun of 200 yards and...

Trident show how to get rid of tyres on the clamp and reduce cost.
May 4, 2007... THROUGH their stand at ScotGrass, Trident will be showing how effective self-weighting silage clamp covers can be as an alternative to using tyres. Paul Jackson from Trident said such systems were increasing in popularity across the UK....

Drop-in clinic will answer your questions on grass and forage.
May 4, 2007... THE British Grassland Society will be offering a `drop-in clinic' at ScotGrass, offering farmers opportunity to pose any questions they have about grass and forage. Three experts will be on-hand at different times of the day, each with a...

SCOTGRASS: A recipe for good silage.
May 4, 2007... Making good quality silage is never as easy as it may seem. Here Ecosyl Products, the mainline sponsor for ScotGrass 2007, looks at the key issues of ensiling grass. The main aim when making silage is to conserve as much of the original...

SCOTGRASS: The showcase for new machinery.
May 4, 2007... Scotgrass 2007 - the only major grassland event being held in the UK this year - is set to be an important event for the industry as manufacturers use the occasion to introduce their latest machinery. Andy Collings provides a taste of what...