Farmers Guardian articles from October 2003

Farmers Guardian archives from October 2003

Upturn in fortunes a `one-off'.
October 3, 2003... ARABLE farmers and potato growers are set to enjoy a massive windfall next year thanks to this year's freak global weather conditions, allied with good weather in the UK and the weakening pound. Accountants Deloitte and Touche predict their...

Milk price protests continue.
October 3, 2003... MORE farmers than ever before took part in demonstrations this week at dairy plants up and down the country, but Farmers For Action remains adamant that every milk producer must join in. For the first time ever the National Farmers' Union...

Dairy Crest milk price rise `insult' - Handley.
October 3, 2003... FARMERS For Action chairman David Handley said he was insulted by the announcement made by Dairy Crest, on Monday, following the company's promise last week of a significant milk price rise. "The situation is that Dairy Crest has said it...

Bayer to halt GM crop trials in the UK.
October 3, 2003... ONE of the world's biggest crop science companies is planning to halt trials of genetically modified crops in the UK because of the persistent attentions of protesters. Bayer CropScience, the UK subsidiary of Bayer, was planning to run...

Tentative recovery `good news'.
October 3, 2003... THE National Farmers' Union said it was determined to build on improved prices for farmers outlined by Deloitte and Touche to establish a more secure and stable base. An NFU spokesman said the tentative recovery was `very good news', but...

Disease plan is tested.
October 3, 2003... AN exercise to test the systems structures and lines of communication set out in the new Welsh Foot-and-Mouth Contingency Plan was staged this week by the Welsh Assembly. During Tuesday's test-run Assembly and State Veterinary staff, DEFRA...

OP illness: `a social and financial disaster area'.
October 3, 2003... GOVERNMENT indifference to suspected cases of organophosphate poisoning was making it increasingly difficult for victims to get recognition of their plight, a leading professional in the diagnosis of OP-related conditions told a North Wales...

Call for tighter meat traceability controls.
October 3, 2003... AN investigation by the European Commission's Food and Veterinary Office (FVO), which enforces food safety legislation, has called for tighter controls on the traceability of meat from the abattoir to supermarket shelf. It claims, however,...

Westbury contracts extended.
October 3, 2003... MILK producers supplying the Westbury plant in Wiltshire have received letters to extend the contract they have with the dairy until the end of October. It means the consortium of three farmer co-operatives intending to lease the plant...

MILK PRICE PROTESTS: `A rise is long overdue'.
October 3, 2003... SCOTTISH farmers took the unprecedented step of crossing the border to protest at an English dairy plant this week. More than 300 farmers turned out to demonstrate at Dairy Crest's cheesemaking plant at Aspatria, near Carlisle. ...

MILK PRICE PROTESTS: `This is the last resort'.
October 3, 2003... MANY of the farmers who attended Sunday night's protest at ACC's Fole plant, near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire, were making a stand for the first time, driven to despair by the continuing below-cost-of-production milk prices. * Stan Eyre, a...

Acreage pay may sink many farms - warning.
October 3, 2003... THE Government has been warned that swathes of farmers could be forced out of business if forthcoming decoupled subsidy payments are based on a farm's acreage, rather than historic payments. Member states have flexibility to decide how to...

Decoupling debate now hots up.
October 3, 2003... CAP reform finally ended this week so far as the European Commission is concerned, but with more of a whimper than a bang. With no debate the farm ministers meeting in Brussels unanimously voted through the implementing regulations that...

Cows greet trans-Atlantic balloonist.
October 3, 2003... A landing in a Lancashire field with only a few cattle to welcome him was not quite how solo balloonist David Hempleman-Adams planned his grand descent. Having become the first person ever to fly across the Atlantic in an open wicker...

Pay progress.
October 3, 2003... The Rural Payments Agency has reported excellent progress in processing 2003 Sheep Annual Premium Scheme (SAPS) and National Envelope payments. It expects payments to start soon after the payment window opens on October 16 and for the majority...

Merger support.
October 3, 2003... The NFU has backed plans by the National Association of Farmers' Markets and the Farm Retail Association to merge - a move that would make it Britain's largest farm retailing representative body. An extraordinary general meeting of the two...

Agreement date on GM looks `difficult'.
October 3, 2003... DIVISIONS between member states over genetically modified crops were highlighted again at this week's Agriculture Council during what turned out to be a robust debate. EU Ministers were debating co-existence between GM and conventional...

Irish dairy regime to fully decouple by January 2005.
October 3, 2003... THE Irish government has confirmed that it will fully decouple its dairy regime from January 1, 2005. This means it has beaten even the UK to the decision, despite the fact that it was DEFRA minister Margaret Beckett who in June sought...

FUW urges Chancellor to reverse fuel duty policy.
October 3, 2003... WITH anger mounting over this week's hike in fuel duty, the Farmers Union of Wales has launched a major campaign aimed at stemming any further price increases in next month's Autumn Budget Statement. The union has told Chancellor Gordon...

Sweet smell of success.
October 3, 2003... A successful first harvest of lavender has been undertaken at Wolds Way Lavender farm at Wintringham, Malton, Yorkshire. Established by Steve and Anne Jaques, some 80 varieties of lavender are now grown at Deer Park Farm since the Jaques...

E100 billion cost of BSE.
October 3, 2003... A panel of experts has put the long-term cost of BSE at nearly 100 billion euro, most of which will be carried by European livestock farmers. Headed by Professor Patrick Cunningham, of the department of genetics at Trinity College Dublin,...

Full decoupling favoured by SLF.
October 3, 2003... THE Scottish Landowners' Federation has completed its consultative process into the best course for rural Scotland to follow for the next decade following the mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy. With responses from over 800...

KEEBLE'S VIEW: Remove the bad and the ugly and breed the best.
October 3, 2003... I got back into Newcastle Airport from Belfast having spent three days among Ulster's cattle and their keepers. I picked up my FG and was struck by two items which put the previous three days into true perspective. Let me explain. There in...

OPINION: Noble cause, but at a price.
October 3, 2003... Whatever benefits are attached to basing the decoupled single farm payment on acreage alone - and there are many - it is a policy that must be avoided at all costs by Government. A redistribution of wealth can be a very noble cause when...

Mid-term review hits farm sales market.
October 3, 2003... With the onset of autumn, the traditional time for farm sales, it has been noticeable that the number of sales occurring has been dramatically reduced this year, according to Tom Oates, of North-East based land agents George F White. Last...

Fringe meetings.
October 3, 2003... THERE were around 20 fringe meetings with a rural flavour to them, with wide-ranging subjects including the CAP, the environment, fly-tipping, Right to Roam, water pollution, broadband, hunting and GM foods. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd....

Overriding principles of CAP reform.
October 3, 2003... THE mid term review must not result in a CAP with support mechanisms being replaced by regulatory mechanisms, NFU president Sir Ben Gill told the union's fringe meeting at the Labour Party Conference on Sunday evening. "We have to have...

Rural turn out.
October 3, 2003... RURAL organisations and companies were also well represented in the conference exhibition halls, with exhibitors ranging from the League Against Cruel Sports to the Countryside Alliance and the Scotch Whisky Association to Nestle. ...

Get into farming.
October 3, 2003... FOOD and Farming Minister Lord Whitty told a fringe meeting, organised by the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) he would rather concentrate on getting people into farming than help them leave. Answering a question from the floor about...

Keep GM demands short and simple, says Meacher.
October 3, 2003... THE battle against GM crops is one that can be won, insisted former Environment Minister Michael Meacher, at a Friends of the Earth fringe meeting, on Labour's GM dilemma, on Tuesday. But rather than produce a long list of demands for the...

Gill criticisms.
October 3, 2003... THE way the Competition Commission appeared to interfere in farming, and particularly the dairy industry, was criticised by Sir Ben Gill, who said he despaired that almost every step made resulted in the Commission "breathing down our necks."...

LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE BOURNEMOUTH 2003: COMMENTS.
October 3, 2003... "Just a bit of diversification," quipped NFU president Sir Ben Gill as he fixed the microphone for Margaret Beckett at the union's fringe meeting. "What really matters to ordinary, hard-working families in rural areas is not fox hunting,...

Rights of Way Act is `on track'.
October 3, 2003... THE Countryside Rights of Way Act will be implemented region by region, as each is ready to go ahead, rather than waiting for the end of the process, according to Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael. The Minister, whose speech was read out...

More attention to fly-tipping.
October 3, 2003... A LOT more attention must be paid to dealing with fly-tipping at source, Environment Minister Elliot Morley told an Environment Agency fringe meeting on Monday. "We need to concentrate on detection, prevention and enforcement. We need to...

Inquiry call into Anglesey TB outbreak.
October 3, 2003... A full-scale inquiry is being called for into the circumstances of an outbreak of bovine tuberculosis at a farm on Anglesey - one of only a handful of cases on the island in 40 years and well away from the Welsh disease `hotspots' of Powys,...

Tests to make BSE screening routine.
October 3, 2003... SIMPLE tests for large-scale routine screening for BSE and scrapie on the farm or at the abattoir are at the heart of new research at the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research. Scientists at the Aberystwyth centre have won a...

HSE promoting safety awareness.
October 3, 2003... More than 1,000 farmers from Cumbria, Lancashire and North and West Yorkshire attended Safety Awareness Days run by the Health and Safety Executive at Westmorland Showground, Kendal. Copyright: CMP Information Ltd.

Ploughing makes perfect.
October 3, 2003... THE overall champion ploughman of the Cheshire Ploughing Match, staged at Froghall Farm, Tattenhall, Chester, was Jim Reynolds, winner of the horse ploughing high cut class. Champion hedgelayer was Malcolm Johnson, winner of the open...

Senior men take top handler titles.
October 3, 2003... Senior handler Samuel Wake took the top handler award at the Central Counties Holstein Club's calf show held at Ells Farm, Banbury in September. Taking second place behind Samuel was another senior handler, Philip Claridge. In the calf...

Mersey Forest.
October 3, 2003... A guide for local communities wanting to improve their woodlands and green spaces has been published by The Mersey Forest. `Friends of the Woodlands', a guide to the Community Contracting Initiative in The Mersey Forest, is priced #14, and can...

Three Summits.
October 3, 2003... A six-strong team from NFU Scotland and Quality Meat Scotland has completed the Three Summits Challenge in a bid to raise #6,000 for the Air Ambulance Foundation. The team, comprising Bob Allen, Andrew Bauer, John Flanagan, Kate Scott and...

Parallel show planning.
October 3, 2003... IT is all systems go on the Anglesey County Showground. Work starts soon on the transformation of one of the big sheds into a state-of-the-art #540,000 North West Wales Events and Exhibitions Arena and alongside it plans are well ahead for...

Full decoupling best option for beef in Scotland - NBA.
October 3, 2003... Stripping finishers of 10 per cent of their decoupled entitlement to set up a new bureaucracy that may at best only deliver additional net income support to specialist suckled calf breeders of less than #20 a cow is not a sensible proposition...

Extra cash for YFCs.
October 3, 2003... YFC clubs in Wales are getting an extra #50,000 from the Welsh Assembly over the next 12 months to help them develop services to young people in rural areas. "Young farmers across Wales play a vital role in rural communities across Wales....

New secretary of oldest farmer co-operative.
October 3, 2003... BRITAIN'S oldest farmer co-operative - the Brecon and Radnor Suckled Calf Rearers Society - has a new secretary. Farmer's wife, Sue Watkins (left), has taken over the role just before the society stages its annual sales at Sennybridge on...

Welsh relief after ear tag referral.
October 3, 2003... "COMMON sense at last!" - is how a European Parliament decision to refer back the European Commission's demands for double ear tagging of sheep is being received in Wales. "At long last the Eurocrats are seeing some sense in the argument...

Byrne admits public reluctance to GM food.
October 3, 2003... EUROPEAN Union food safety commissioner David Byrne has admitted GM foods will not be accepted by European consumers until they can see clear benefits for themselves or the environment from the use of the technology. Speaking at an...

Profit rise for H&H Group.
October 3, 2003... The H&H Group, Carlisle has continued to increase its profits and turnover despite difficulties in the aftermath of foot-and-mouth which continue to have impact upon the business. Results for the year ended June 30, 2003 show a consolidated...

New president for YHA.
October 3, 2003... TELEVISION presenter John Craven, who has presented CountryFile, the BBC's flagship programme for rural and environmental issues, since 1989, has been elected president of the Youth Hostels Association (England and Wales). His nomination...

New farm management tool is launched.
October 3, 2003... THE organisation Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) has launched a new version of its LEAF Audit. Designed to provide farmers with a whole farm management tool for appraisal and improvement of farm practices, the new LEAF Audit is fully...

Heritage site exemption deadline is extended.
October 3, 2003... THE deadline for home owners to ensure that their listed houses are removed from a public internet site has been extended for another year, following requests by the Country Land and Business Association. The original deadline of September...

Schools give-away promotes milk.
October 3, 2003... OVER 50,000 cartons of milk have been given away this week in two hundred primary schools across England and Wales for School Milk Week. Running from September 29 to October 3, School Milk Week encourages primary schools to take advantage...

Dairy crusade from a north Devon farm.
October 3, 2003... LIZ Moore, a farmer's wife from Devon, has been on a one-woman crusade to inform schools in north Devon of The School Milk Scheme. Mrs Moore, from Cleave Farm near Bideford, entered a competition last year which asked for people to help...

Maize Monitor 2003.
October 3, 2003... Maize Monitor 2003 Region Variety Days to Latest crop assessment (maturity class) harvest * Southeast Goldion (5) 0 days Harvest complete Central south Goldaphne 0...

Lord in chair.
October 3, 2003... Lord Carter is to chair the newly formed Royal Smithfield Show Advisory Panel, comprising leading figures from agriculture and rural affairs. He is president of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers, vice- chairman of English Farming...

Gangmasters `by the book' move.
October 3, 2003... A Herefordshire agency that supplies farm labour `by the book' is calling on like-minded agencies to come together to set up an industry register of legitimate gangmasters. Marilyn Day is staff manager at Farmforce, a company she prefers to...

Caring for walls.
October 3, 2003... Grants to repair dry stone walls are now available in three areas of the Cotswolds. The money is part of the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Partnership's `Caring for the Cotswolds' project, which has Heritage Lottery Funding....

GM ban ruling.
October 3, 2003... A European Court of Justice ruling allowing EU Governments to temporarily ban genetically modified foods if thought to pose a health risk, has been welcomed by Welsh Liberal Democrat environment spokesman, Mick Bates. "The ruling confirms that...

Govt would prefer a voluntary scheme.
October 3, 2003... A STATUTORY registration scheme for gangmasters maybe necessary `in the long run', but the Government would prefer to make a voluntary scheme work, according to Food and Farming Minister Lord Whitty. Ministers have been pondering the merits...

State-of-the art dairy unit with low labour costs.
October 3, 2003... The vacuums and milking lines are housed in a cellar beneath the milking pit, leading to a quiet and hygienic milking environment. A state-of-the-art dairy unit, boasting some of the country's cheapest labour costs, has been officially...

Ridgefield holsteins sale.
October 3, 2003... Monday saw 100 served and maiden heifers go under the hammer at the second home sale of the prizewinning Ridgefield Holsteins herd at Ridgefield Farm, Copt Oak, Leicestershire. John and Val Barker established the Ridgefield Herd in 1995 and...

Disc cultivators out in force this season.
October 3, 2003... JUDGING by the number of new disc-type cultivators appearing at this year's Tillage events, manufacturers could be forgiven for thinking that this summer's dry season could see a gradual shift away from tined equipment. Opico's Disc-Roller...

Power increase for NH's five-straw walker combines.
October 3, 2003... THE New Holland CX combine now has two harvest seasons under its belt but there are changes for 2004. Most significantly, the five-straw walker machines see an engine power increase of between 14hp and 23hp, depending on model. This...

Triple bed set planter.
October 3, 2003... A new onion set planter from Konings - imported into he UK by Burdens Distribution - enables 15 rows in three beds to be planted simultaneously. Burdens have been selling the single bed machine for four or five rows for some time, but for...

Record for Polaris Britain.
October 3, 2003... Polaris Britain, has achieved record results for the first six months of 2003. It claims sales of its utility ATVs are about to overtake the figures recorded by the previous importer in its last full year - despite losing the diesel ATV from...

Flagship harvester hits 60 tonnes/hour spot-rate.
October 3, 2003... Twenty-five years after launching its first axial flow rotary combine, Case IH has moved into the major combine harvester league in terms of header width, engine size and harvesting rates. Based on results from two pre-production machines...

Five models added to Western trailer range.
October 3, 2003... RICHARD Western, with an established range of high quality trailers, is also now looking to compete in the less expensive end of the trailer market and has launched five new models carrying the Weeks badge. The Weeks 8 to 14 tonne trailers...

New babies from MF.
October 3, 2003... MASSEY Ferguson's new MF 2400 agricultural compact range offers three tractors with engine powers from 33hp to 47hp. This new SDF-built platform range, which replaces the MF 1300 models, is expected to have some applications on farms as...

Floating topper.
October 3, 2003... Irish manufacturer Fleming Agri-Products launched a new addition to its grass topper range at the National Ploughing Championships. The new 8ft hydraulic fully off-set `Super Float' topper has a twin rotor cutting platform mounted...

Claas-Renault - some markets `go green'.
October 3, 2003... FROM October 1, Claas will be marketing tractors from the Le Mans Renault factory with the Claas badge and in Claas colours - but not in the UK. In markets where Renault tractors have built a reputation - and that includes the UK, Denmark...

Aphids: OSR virus warning.
October 3, 2003... DELAYED by dry weather, the late flush of cereal volunteers in many young oilseed rape crops has created the ideal `green bridge' for aphids, which will carry BYDV onto this autumn's cereal crops. That is the warning from Clare Tucker,...

Crop monitor: Pushing ahead after much-needed rain.
October 3, 2003... In the last of our current season's columns, independent agronomists from FG's specialist, six-strong nationwide panel report on the progress and performance of combinable crops across the country and advise on management opportunities, threats...

New take-all weapon.
October 3, 2003... CEREAL farmers now have a new tool available for tackling take-all - following news that the Pesticide Safety Directorate (PSD) has now granted approval for use of the strobilurin fungicide Amistar (azoxystrobin) against take-all in wheat,...

Drought cuts potato yields.
October 3, 2003... POTATO yields will be less than last year, according to over 85 per cent of growers and advisers responding to a recent ballot on the specialist potato website, potatocrop. com. Asked whether they thought that their potato yields would be...

Six varieties on List trial.
October 3, 2003... ONLY six new winter wheat varieties have been promoted into the HGCA Recommended List trials this year compared to a total of 16 varieties promoted last year. The only potential bread-making variety to enter the RL trials this year is...

Careful take-all management is key.
October 3, 2003... MANY of the 2004 wheat crops in the UK will require particularly careful take-all management this season, due to the prolonged autumn drought, according to ProCam Agronomy. That message also extends to wheats after set aside and spring...

A chance to grow Solstice.
October 3, 2003... Farmers still weighing up their wheat variety choices this autumn have a chance to grow milling variety Solstice, a group 2 variety offering high yields and excellent bread-making potential, in a seed contract for Dalgety Arable. Farmers who...

Oilseeds new MD.
October 3, 2003... United Oilseeds has named Christopher Baldwin, regional arable director of Allied Grain South, as managing director. Mr Baldwin will take up his new role in January 2004, succeeding acting managing director John Manners, who remains managing...

Breakthrough.
October 3, 2003... Bioethanol, which can be manufactured from energy crops such as sugar beet or wheat, as well as from waste products such as municipal waste, forestry waste and surplus crops, is set to form part of a new low emission fuel, GlobalPetrol....

Pre-emergence is next step.
October 3, 2003... IF black-grass is so serious a problem on-farm that post-emergence treatment alone is not good enough, then pre-emergence treatment is the next step in control. However, according to Matthew Williams, senior arable consultant with Promar...

Disease experts.
October 3, 2003... Two plant disease experts have joined the research team at the Central Science Laboratory, York. Dr Nicola Spence is experienced in high quality research on virus diseases of horticultural crops, particularly in international development, while...

Cultivating organic business growth.
October 3, 2003... The box scheme is big business for organic Riverford Farm, near the historic Devon wool-trade town of Buckfastleigh. This, combined with a dairy unit and two comprehensively-stocked farm shops, is the frame of major expansion. VAL CHAPMAN went...

RURAL LIFE: Representing farming through art.
October 3, 2003... From a farming community and having seen the family's agricultural engineering business go into liquidation, Sue Flowers knows at first hand the problems faced by the industry as a whole and the repercussions on the individuals involved. ...

Dairy Event turns out host of young winners.
October 3, 2003... ANITA Williams, 23, a member of Culm Valley YFC, Devon, is the National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs stockman of the year. The title was awarded when the NFYFC competitions were held at the Dairy Event. The national young...