Farmers Guardian articles from November 2003

Farmers Guardian archives from November 2003

HALTED: Shock as reactive badger trials cull is suspended.
November 7, 2003... IN an extraordinary twist this week, the Government has ruled out a policy of culling badgers in response to TB outbreaks ahead of the completion of the Krebs badger trials. Interim results indicated this actually increases TB incidence in...

Declaration Day for hunting.
November 7, 2003... More than 1,000 people turned out at Rydal Park, Ambleside, Cumbria, to sign a declaration of intent to ignore a proposed ban on hunting with dogs in the event that it became law. The event was one of 12 mass meets organised around the country...

Third of dairy and arable farmers may quit.
November 7, 2003... A third of arable and dairy farmers could quit production as a result of forthcoming changes to the Common Agricultural Policy, according to a new study. The study by the National Farm Research Unit and farm business consultants Andersons...

EU at odds over cross-compliance standards.
November 7, 2003... THE European Commission has confirmed it will not try to stop the UK or any other member state imposing higher cross-compliance standards than those set in the CAP reform rules. This raises the prospect of farmers once again facing unfair...

Alliance challenge to Beckett on `progress'.
November 7, 2003... THE Countryside Alliance has challenged DEFRA Secretary of State Margaret Beckett to substantiate her claims that the Government has made significant progress on more than three-quarters of its Rural White Paper's policy targets. Alliance...

Cut in set-aside to offset poor grain harvest?
November 7, 2003... CONFIRMATION from EU Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler of how he intends to help offset the effects of this summer's poor harvest, has been welcomed by the NFU. Dr Fischler is due to recommend a reduction in next year's set-aside...

Individual sheep tagging proposals rejected.
November 7, 2003... THE European Parliament's Agriculture Committee has unanimously rejected EC sheep tagging proposals under which a 14-digit code number would be put in both ears of each sheep. MEPs opted for an EU-wide batch system of checking involving...

Co-operative Group set to quit dairy farming.
November 7, 2003... THE Co-operative Group's farming business, Farmcare, announced this week its intention to withdraw from dairy farming in order to concentrate resources on arable, fruit and vegetable production and its contract farming business. Farmcare...

Dry weather hits a third of OSR crop.
November 7, 2003... UP to a third of the winter-sown oilseed rape crop has been affected by the lack of rainfall in what the Met Office has said is the driest year on record, according to an NFU member survey. The survey, taken at the NFU's Combinable Crops...

Payments `should be quota-based'.
November 7, 2003... THE NFU, the Dairy Industry Association Limited (DIAL) and the Federation of Milk Groups (FMG) have called for the calculation of direct payments to dairy producers according to an individual producer's quota holding. The three...

FFA hopeful on milk price rise.
November 7, 2003... FARMERS For Action was this week hopeful that major dairy processors and supermarkets were starting to think seriously about how they could deliver the 2ppl price rise demanded by dairy producers. The group met Dairy Crest and Sainsbury's...

`Poisoned milk' scare at Westbury.
November 7, 2003... POLICE are investigating claims that `poisoned' milk has been supplied to Westbury Dairies. The alarm was raised following an anonymous phone call to First Milk, Glasgow, on Monday morning, in which the caller, believed to be a farmer and...

`Mr Pig' elected.
November 7, 2003... Britain's `Mr Pig', North Yorkshire producer Stewart Houston, was elected chairman of the National Pig Association (NPA) on Wednesday. Mr Houston, who is also executive director of the association, chairman of the MLC's British Pig Executive...

New inquiries.
November 7, 2003... The Environment and Rural Affairs Committee has announced two new inquiries it is to undertake. Deadline for submissions for an inquiry into the Implementation of CAP Reform in the UK, is December 12, while the deadline for an inquiry into...

Passport date.
November 7, 2003... Regulations setting out full details of what is required by horse owners under the `horse passport' scheme have been laid before Parliament. Owners now have to obtain passports by June 30, 2004. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Important staging post for `undervalued' farmworkers.
November 7, 2003... REPRESENTATIVES of farmworkers from across England and Wales met at the headquarters of the Transport and General Workers Union on Saturday to start the planning process for the 2004 pay claim. The T&G national secretary for agriculture...

Govt blamed for #700m shortfall.
November 7, 2003... THE British Government will have to make up the #700m shortfall in compensation from the European Commission as a result of the devastating foot-and-mouth outbreak, according to Euro MP and farmer Robert Sturdy. He blamed the shortfall on...

`Landmark' High Court victory over bank.
November 7, 2003... A Northern Ireland farming partnership has won what could be a landmark decision over advice provided by a bank. In a High Court judgement a two man County Londonderry vegetable and market gardening farming partnership won costs and damages...

A passionate man on a rural mission.
November 7, 2003... The Country Land and Business Association elected a new national president on Wednesday - North Wales farmer and agricultural consultant, Mark Hudson. BARRY ALSTON reports. ONLY the second Welsh member ever to lead the CLA, Mark Hudson is...

Farming, business and experience.
November 7, 2003... MOVING up from his current role as CLA deputy president over the past two years, Mark Hudson is an organic dairy farmer - owning 300 acres and farming a further 350 acres in the same area with his wife, Sue. He also has a farm business...

`Rural rebellion no surprise'.
November 7, 2003... THE Government must give time to Lord Donoughue's Bill on animal welfare to prevent hunters from having to break the law, warned Mark Hudson of the Country Land and Business Association. He spoke at the Declaration Day, as supporters of...

Mass show of hunting force.
November 7, 2003... TENS of thousands of people have committed themselves to refusing to co- operate with any hunting ban and to submit themselves to the legal consequences. More than 35,000 signed the Hunting Declaration - an initiative organised by the...

A queue to declare `we'll keep hunting'.
November 7, 2003... MORE than 1,000 fell foxhunting enthusiasts turned out to sign a declaration of intent to ignore any proposed ban on hunting, should it become law. Representatives from Cumbria's three mounted foxhound packs and three beagling packs,...

Debate runs out of time.
November 7, 2003... THE Government's latest attempt to ban foxhunting ran out of time as the Hunting Bill was being discussed in the Lords last week. Conservative peers were accused of `filibustering' as the Government called a halt to the debate, while the...

`We will continue - ban or no ban'.
November 7, 2003... `TOLERANCE, Freedom and Liberty' was the demand to the Government from thousands of hunt supporters from all over the South West who converged at Honiton last weekend to pledge their `declaration of intent to break the law' if hunting is...

YATES'S VIEW: `I would have been first in line for a smack.
November 7, 2003... Thank heavens for Ryanair. Without them I might be banged-up by now or at least on the wrong end of a policeman's truncheon. Staffordshire Constabulary has been taking an increasingly robust attitude towards the FFA's flying picket lines...

OPINION: Game, sett and match?
November 7, 2003... The shock announcement from DEFRA on the discontinuation of reactive culling of badgers for TB has already draw a storm of protest from the farming industry. Always an extremely emotive issue, this will undoubtedly raise the political...

Time to stand up for our agriculture.
November 7, 2003... The movement of support away from production will free us from years of farming forms, allowing us the flexibility to farm to suit our interests, our abilities, our environment and our customers, writes Douglas Chalmers, regional director North...

Judge tempted by Marsbar at Expo.
November 7, 2003... OVERALL champion in the 21st Northern Expo Holstein Show, staged at Borderway Mart, Carlisle, was Marsbar Marker Betty, shown by joint owners Paul and Gillian Rawcliffe's Almond Holsteins of Annan, Dumfriesshire, and Mark and Sue Nutsford's...

Beef ribbing.
November 7, 2003... Welsh farmers will have the chance next month to show they can produce the best rib of beef when the Royal Smithfield Club's National Festival of Meat competition takes on a regional focus at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair. Prizes totalling #750...

Two top awards.
November 7, 2003... A large number of quality entries for the North West Producer of the Year 2003 competition led the judging panel to take the unprecedented action of announcing two top awards this year. The winners were Wild and Fruitful, from Cumbria, for...

Hedgerow date.
November 7, 2003... The closing date for entry into the hedgerow award scheme, run by the Cheshire branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is January 31, 2004, with judging taking place in February and March. Details from 01606 835046 Copyright: CMP...

Eryri tops North Wales Holstein herds.
November 7, 2003... THE top award in the North Wales Holstein Club's herd competitions has gone to the Eryri herd of Mrs Menna Owen and Sons. A special presentation has also been made to Philip Davies, of the Gornal herd, who has retired from the Holstein UK...

Show switch.
November 7, 2003... Though keeping to its traditional mid-August timing, next year's two- day United Counties Show, at Carmarthen, is switching from a Thursday and Friday staging to Wednesday and Thursday. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Orkney quota changes helps Stronsay.
November 7, 2003... CHANGES to the Orkney Isles dairy quota ring fence, which will have the effect of excluding the island of Stronsay, enabling producers there to acquire quota from outside the Orkney area, have been announced by Scottish Environment and Rural...

Grouse broods.
November 7, 2003... Once facing extinction in Wales, black grouse have had their most productive breeding year on record, with 2003 bringing excellent news for one of the most threatened of Welsh birds. Brood counts carried out during summer revealed an average of...

Locally produced food lifts tourism.
November 7, 2003... BUSINESS Link South Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Tourist Board (YTB) teamed up once again this week to host a one-day event to encourage tourism related businesses to actively source and promote the use of local produce to gain a marketing edge....

Minister pledges support for milk producers in Wales.
November 7, 2003... THOUGH not directly able to do anything about milk prices, Welsh Assembly Countryside Minister, Carwyn Jones, has given his backing to producers in Wales. He said this week he `sympathised' with the problems facing the dairy sector and...

CAP reform: farm survival package plea.
November 7, 2003... THE Welsh Assembly is being urged to help family farms in Wales survive by making future CAP payments on an historical basis rather than averages per hectare - and if need be to go it alone on TB eradication. Both pleas have been put to...

Exemplary rural business rewarded.
November 7, 2003... An East Leicestershire rural business has received a grant of #130,000 to provide training courses to farmers and forestry workers. The Rural Training Centre, based at Manor Farm, in Owston, received funding under the Vocational Training...

Eighty-cow herd wins suckler award.
November 7, 2003... Scottish and Northern Charolais Breeders/Bank of Scotland Suckler Herd of the Year 2003 award has been won by David Henderson, who produces Charolais cross calves from his 80-cow herd based in the Central region at Auchenrivoch, Banton, near...

Double victory for heifer Stairend Formation Kitty.
November 7, 2003... THE Holstein and Holstein-bred championships in the West of Scotland Dairy Show, staged at the Rowallan Equestrian Centre, Kilmarnock, were won by Bryan Kennedy, of West Carngillan, Tarbolton, with the heifer Stairend Formation Kitty. The...

Farm management champions.
November 7, 2003... THE Montgomeryshire Agricultural Association's prestigious farming competition has seen a new trophy offered by sponsors, J.T. Hughes, of Newtown, for the most points going to David Jones, of Trefnant Hall, Berriew, the winner of the best...

Midland Longhorn competition.
November 7, 2003... Midland Longhorn Breeders Club's annual herd competition was judged by Simmental breeder David Bell. RESULTS Overall champion, M. Arden, Ardenlea Cinquencento; reserve, Mr and Mrs C. Sutcliffe, Tetford Fritillary. Senior cow,...

Champion Charollais ewe and flock.
November 7, 2003... Overall champion ewe and shearling ewe flock in the British Charollais Sheep Society's Central Region flock competition came from Madders and Johnson, Hanyards Farm, Tixall, Stafford. They had earlier taken the flock championship and headed...

Cheshire Farming Debate.
November 7, 2003... The 13th Cheshire Farming Debate, sponsored by NatWest, will be held at Portal Championship Golf Club on Thursday November 13 between 10a.m. and 12.45p.m. Speakers will include Ciaran Gannon (DEFRA), Sir Ben Gill (NFU) and Tony Rimmer (Carver...

Hydraulic loaders for McCormick 37-102hp models.
November 7, 2003... TWO hydraulic loaders have been developed for key models in the McCormick tractor range. Features such as joystick control, quick- attach mountings and fast-fit implement couplings are standard on the LiftMaster range. There are two...

Kuhn adds 3-bale machine to Primor feeder/bedders.
November 7, 2003... A new addition to Kuhn's Primor range of feeder/bedders is an interesting three-bale model capable of carrying three 1.5m diameter round bales simultaneously. The Primor 5060 model, a 5.5cu.m machine, has all the same design features as...

Small capacity top-loading incinerator.
November 7, 2003... Waste Spectrum Environmental have added a new, smaller capacity top- loading incinerator to their range. All models are now fully compliant with the current Animal By-products Regulations 2003 and the latest, the Stour II, has been...

The Xerion - an old name but a new concept.
November 7, 2003... AN old name but a new concept, says Claas about its Xerion 3000 systems vehicle. Originally launched 10 years ago Xerion never really caught on in the UK, but this time around the company has clearly targeted the vehicle at three different...

Matching the appetite of the big foragers.
November 7, 2003... FEATURING five, 3m mowers, Claas will be displaying its prototype 400hp- plus Cougar 1400 self-propelled mower at the Agritechnica show in Germany, this week. With a cutting width of 14m, the Cougar concept was borne out of the need to match...

Articulated versions a tight turning `powerful package'.
November 7, 2003... ARTICULATED versions of a couple of the recently launched M series tractors have been developed by Valtra. Known as the XM130 (130hp) and XM150 (147hp) and largely based on the current four-cylinder M130 and M150, the addition of the...

Valtra's new livestock tractors designed for front-end loaders.
November 7, 2003... Valtra has a brand new range of livestock tractors which are specially designed for front-end loader work. Using similar exterior styling to current M, T, and S series tractors, the C series is part of a continuing development programme...

Laser levelling.
November 7, 2003... Erecting your own buildings? A new range of laser levelling devices to assist with precise levelling of sites has been announced by Mans International of Calne, Wiltshire. Manufactured in the US, LaserMark is intended to replace traditional...

First Baselier six-row topper on UK farm.
November 7, 2003... Working in a crop of Kerrs Pinks in Scotland, grown for Golden Wonder, this is the first Baselier six-row topper on a UK farm. The 6LKB-550 was introduced at the Potato event by Standen. On Eddie Gauld's 500 acre of potatoes in Banff, it is...

Flexi-coil rigid cultivator.
November 7, 2003... A 3m-wide rigid cultivator from Flexi-coil is for front mounting but without the additional weight of full width coils. The implement has two rows of depth adjustable spring tines followed by a 1.5m row of 18inch or 21inch solid coils which...

Biggest machinery ring.
November 7, 2003... TWO of Scotland's most successful machinery rings, Laurencekirk-based Ringlink (Scotland) and Oldmeldrum-based Gordon and Buchan Machinery Ring, are to merge to create the UK's largest machinery ring. The new body will have a membership of...

Make the most of CAP reform opportunities.
November 7, 2003... THE reform of the CAP will bring a period of `change, friction and distortion', but growers should make the most of the opportunities created by it, said NFU president Sir Ben Gill. He said it is a `radical' and `fundamental' review and...

Historic: Making sure support payments stay with farmers.
November 7, 2003... THE challenges facing the cereals sector were outlined by NFU cereals chairman and Bedfordshire farmer Peter Kendall. He said the question of allocation of the single farm payment under CAP reform was never a difficult one for the...

Make `true costs' known.
November 7, 2003... FARMERS were urged by Patrick Stephenson, chairman elect of the Association of Independent Crop Consultants, to calculate the true costs to their businesses of legislation and assurance schemes and to make sure buyers and consumers are aware of...

The warm weather meant cooling grain and hot air balloons.
November 7, 2003... With last year's crops in store and most new season crops in the ground, we take a look at just how harvest 2003 and autumn field work completed so far, has gone for our Lincolnshire based FarmTalk grower, Christine Lilly. THE last few...

Grow what market demands to achieve premium prices.
November 7, 2003... To achieve premium prices for their grain, producers must increasingly be able - and willing - to produce what the market demands, emphasises Graham Lacey, director of trading for Centaur Grain. In the past, there has been an understandable...

Aiming high gives widest range of selling options.
November 7, 2003... AIMING for premium markets will always allow farmers to maintain the widest range of options when it comes to selling their grain, especially at times of surplus, according to Graham Lacey, Director of Trading for Centaur Grain. With grain...

Root management to increase yields.
November 7, 2003... CAN management to improve rooting in oilseed rape bring increased crop yields? That's what new HGCA-funded research aims to find out. The research is based on the premise that root length density of oilseed rape may be insufficient to fully...

Combating triazole resistance in OSR.
November 7, 2003... Scottish oilseed rape growers face a serious challenge from triazole resistance in light leaf spot. Here TERESA RUSH takes a look at HGCA- funded work set to determine the distribution of triazole resistance in the Pyrenopeziza brassicae...

Poultry is not just for Christmas - it's a year-round dish.
November 7, 2003... Many years ago a teenage John Franklin became interested in free-range poultry with a pair of geese and rearing their goslings. Now he and his wife Anna run a thriving free-range poultry business on the family farm near Sandy, Bedfordshire....

RURAL LIFE: Taking a plunge into the holiday business.
November 7, 2003... As the family relaxed by a swimming pool on a farm holiday in Devon in 1998, Amanda Tattesall said: "We could do this". "We really could do this," she said the following year when they stayed on another farm, complete with swimming pool, in...

Bell and Jess take the Yorkshire Nursery title.
November 7, 2003... AFTER twice being the runners-up the previous weekend, John Bell and Jess took the title at the Yorkshire Nursery trial, on Saturday. Set on high, rough ground, which overlooks the Aire Valley in West Yorkshire, the course sloped gently...

Inter-county championship is close run.
November 7, 2003... WHEN just eight points decide a championship in which there are 12 competitors per team the result is a close - so congratulations are due to Carmarthen and commiserations to Ceredigion in the inter-county championship at Llanteg,...

#1,500 top at Tomatin dog sale.
November 7, 2003... AT the Tomatin Sheep Dog Society dog sale in Scotland, 18 dogs sold to #1,500 for a rising two-year-old. Six sold over #1,000 from a 13-month- bitch to a four-year-old dog. Pups sold from #70 to #620 for one of 16 weeks and #900 for a dog aged...

Keeping plant pests and diseases at bay.
November 7, 2003... WHILE DEFRA has a key role in maintaining England and Wales' good record in containing and eradicating major outbreaks of plant pests and diseases, there are several ways in which it could improve its work. That is the message in a report...

No justification for buffer zones - NFU.
November 7, 2003... THERE is no justification for buffer zones around farms and the Government would risk undermining the public's confidence in its own regulatory process if it were to introduce no-spray zones, the NFU has warned. The union's comments are in...

Planning to keep farming in the family at Farchwel.
November 7, 2003... Changes to planning regulations that could help keep farmers' sons and daughters farming are a possibility in Wales, at least. BARRY ALSTON reports. AT 58 years old, Ianto Jones has reached the farming industry's average age. His...

No answers for egg and poultry industry.
November 7, 2003... THE Government has said that it recognises the importance, but it would be misleading to pretend there is a ready answer to the concerns of the egg and poultry sectors to the UK's agriculture industry. In its response to the Environment and...

First time entrant wins All-Ireland Milk Award.
November 7, 2003... THE All-Ireland Pfizer Quality Milk Award 2003, which attracted a record number of entries, has been won by a first-time entrant to the competition, David John Wallace of Antrim. His prize of an all-expenses paid trip for two to California,...

The man with a mission: To save the Northern Dairy Shorthorn.
November 7, 2003... Adual-purpose breed the Northern Dairy Shorthorn has been in rapid decline for many years - a victim of specialisation and unable to compete with the extreme Holsteins. But Brian Bellas, who runs the Cannsmill herd of Northern Dairy...

Farmland walks and rides guide.
November 7, 2003... A new web-guide to farmland walks and rides has been launched by Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael. The DEFRA-run website has now been redesigned to make it interactive and user friendly. The guide lists walks and rides open to the...

Planning guide.
November 7, 2003... The Countryside Agency has launched new planning guidance for local panning authorities. `Concept Statements and Local Development Documents' is available by phoning 08701 206466 or at www.countryside.gov.uk. Copyright: CMP Information...

Shock horror.
November 7, 2003... A new version of `Shock Horror - Safe Working near Overhead Power Lines in Agriculture' has been published by the Health and Safety Executive and is supported by a video showing reconstructions of typical accidents. Copies are available from...

Changing needs of rural training courses.
November 7, 2003... RESEARCH undertaken by a training association suggests the requirements for training in the countryside are changing and threatening to leave traditional trainers out of touch with the rural community's needs. The questionnaire conducted...

`Quality Milk' performance.
November 7, 2003... FOR the interest of farmers and vets who have entered next year's Quality Milk Awards, sponsor Pfizer Animal Health has released performance figures from the 2003 competition. The average farm yield was 7,741 litres with the top-yielding farm...

AGCO machinery on display at Staffordshire showground.
November 7, 2003... ALMOST 100 different machines, representing at least one model from every range in AGCO's farm equipment line-up goes on show at Bingley Hall, Stafford showground, in the last week of November. The largest single manufacturer event of its...

`Wording' row on poultry welfare `totally rejected'.
November 7, 2003... ASSERTIONS made by animal welfare pressure group, Compassion in World Farming, in a High Court hearing of a Judicial Review concerning the welfare of modern chicken breeds in the UK have been `totally rejected' by the British Poultry Council....

Sugar reform fails to ignite debate.
November 7, 2003... The European Commission may have published its options for reform of the sugar regime - but to date this has failed to ignite debate, writes Richard Wright. Most member states agree that the regime needs to be reformed, but the major...