News from United Kingdom

Home front: is farmland a good investment? Even before the horsemeat scandal caused Britons to scrutinise cheap and cheerless grub more carefully, rising demand for decent food by a growing pop... Farmer attacked by dairy cow The incident happened in the farmyard at High Post Farm in Hurdle Drove near West Row on Friday evening. The 52-year-old man slipped and fell and w... Paterson 'to call for EU to allow more GM crops to be sold' Only two GM crops have so far been approved for human consumption by the EU, though their use is much more widespread in the US and China. But prop... Beef found in Scots ‘lamb’ curries The discovery of beef in lamb curries tested in Scottish restaurants raises new issues over public trust in the food chain, experts have warned. Fo... Sheep farm raiders strike twice Police are investigating the theft of 78 sheep worth more than £14,000 in two raids on farmland in southern Scotland. In the first incident, at lan... Farmer vow in cow probe A farmer has insisted he is caring for his cattle – despite shocking pictures showing the emaciated animals in a muddy field. Stuart Wilson said hi... Dairy firm wins Russia cheese deal One of Northern Ireland's leading dairy producers has landed a one million euro (£861,500) deal to supply cheese to Russia. Dale Farm secured the o... Pension funds join forces to invest in farmland Major asset managers, cowed by the cost, the risk and the controversy involved in investing in farmland, are joining forces to increase investment in ... Fall in funding for bovine TB vaccine research forecast Funding for research into vaccines to combat bovine TB has seen an overall downward trend which is set to continue in the coming years, according to o... Farmers urged to try European funding source Farmers thinking of investing in agriculture and rural business projects should consider applying through the Agricultural Mortgage Corporation for a ... Why farmers are turning to festivals We’ve got 15,000 people coming for the weekend in August. Getting that organised has kept me pretty busy for the past couple of months, but it’s actua... Livestock virus found on 1,500 farms A virus that causes stillbirths and birth defects in lambs and calves has spread to more than 1,500 UK farms, new government figures show. Cases of... Scotland’s birdlife the victim of stock decline There has been a major erosion of livestock in the hills and remote areas of the country since subsidies linked to numbers of cattle and sheep were re... Tribunal cuts Tesco's fine over dairy price fixing to £6.5m Tesco will pay a reduced £6.5m fine for its part in a dairy price fixing scandal after an appeal ruling that ends a more than decade-long investigatio... Northern Ireland farmers 'lose' fields in mapping error Thousands of farmers in Northern Ireland found they had lost fields after an error in the government maps used to process an EU subsidy. Maps are s... Viewpoint: Farm virus spreads to deer Evidence of extensive Schmallenberg virus (SBV) infection of wild deer populations has far-reaching significance - not least for the future control of... Pesticide battle rages on The battle over the future of a range of pesticides intensified this week, with Alyn Smith MEP claiming some of his parliamentary colleagues were just... Sheep warning for Isle of Man dog owners Isle of Man dog owners whose animals disturb livestock during the lambing season have been warned they could face legal action or compensation claims.... How UK sheep farmers are fleeced in supermarket price war Prices at the farm gate have been falling and the National Sheep Association (NSA) say the value of a single lamb is now up to £30 less than a year ag... Cattle TB vaccine 'is years away', MP is told A West County MP has been told a vaccine for cattle against bovine TB is at least 10 years away. Liberal Democrat MP David Heath said Defra officia... Farmers accuse the Duke of Northumberland as rents rocket The Duke of Northumberland’s Estates have been accused of a “get rich quick” attitude to the region’s farmers after hitting hundreds of them with infl... Halve meat consumption, scientists urge rich world People in the rich world should become "demitarians" – eating half as much meat as usual, while stopping short of giving it up – in order to avoid sev... Farmers push to lift ban on GM-fed hens Farmers are pressing supermarkets to give them permission to feed the nation’s millions of egg laying hens a ‘Frankenstein Food’ GM diet. Currently... East of England: Farmland prices reach record levels The latest Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Rural Land Market Survey found that the average price per acre for farmland in the region i... Primary school children rear pigs to send to butcher Primary school children in Suffolk are rearing three pigs to be killed for meat, to teach them the "provenance of food". The piglets, due to be nam... Sussex livestock at risk from crippling virus Farmers across Sussex are bracing themselves for the return of a crippling virus as the lambing season begins. The county has been one of the worst... Barclays halts agriculture trading with hedge funds Barclays is halting agricultural trading with hedge funds in a move to burnish its reputation amid a major overhaul, but will still market index-linke... Brian May upsets farmers with his latest plan to save badgers The former Queen guitarist has bought 115 acres of land near Wareham, Dorset to turn into an “ecological sanctuary” for wildlife. The land around t... Staffordshire farmers meet over HS2 route plans About 200 farmers have met to discuss the proposed route of the second phase of the HS2 high-speed rail line. Under proposals unveiled last month, ... Schmallenberg virus cases increase in Welsh lambs A virus that leads to birth defects in lambs is being increasingly detected in Wales, say farmers and vets. The Schmallenberg virus is carried by i... Scottish farmers 'optimistic about future' Scottish farmers remain optimistic about the industry's future despite two years of wet weather-hit harvests and rising costs, according to a report. ... Rising farming land values leading to costly divorce A regional specialist in family law has called for farmers to ensure their plans regarding the ownership of their land and properties are legally docu... Move over sheep? Cumbria to host North West's first ever British Alpaca Society Show THE first British Alpaca Society Championship Show to be held in the North West will be staged in Cumbria. Livestock auctioneers, Harrison and Heth... Organic farm under threat from rail plan One of the region’s top organic farms has vowed to fight plans for a high speed rail line to be built through the heart of its land. Bosses at Swil... Dairy industry pushes for immigration reform Federal immigration reform is taking center stage in Wisconsin. State farming groups are joining a national movement to allow foreign workers to w... Farmer set to lose half of lambs to virus A farmer from Leicestershire says he is expecting to lose 40 per cent of his flock of lambs due to a virus that causes severe abnormalities. Schmal... Chickens to be ‘superfrozen’ to kill food bug Food safety experts plan to “superfreeze” chickens to halt the rise of campylobacter food poisoning. The Food Standards Agency is currently looking in... Thousands of NI farmers could be forced out of business Thousands of farmers in Northern Ireland could be forced out of business because of a collapse in their personal income. Last year was the worst fo... Appointment of grocery adjudicator welcomed AGRICULTURE Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA has welcomed the appointment of a Groceries Code Adjudicator to enforce the Groceries Code of Practice. M... Farm double payments clear hurdle Farmers could be paid twice for measures to protect the environment under a European Parliament deal. The Agriculture Committee agreed that EU rule... Bacterial supplement could help young pigs fight disease In a study of 36 weanling-age pigs, researchers found that a dose of lipid-producing Rhodococcus opacus bacteria increased circulating triglycerides. ... Police on the hunt for 'poultry thieves' Police are appealing for information after 20 chickens were stolen from an allotment in Curdridge, Hampshire. The raid took place some time between... Farmers could get paid twice over for 'greening' Plans to force Europe’s farmers to earn their subsidies by protecting the environment are under attack by MEPs. The European Commission is attempti... Müller claims £17m dairy boost Scottish dairy farmers are set to benefit from a £17 million investment in what will become Britain’s largest butter plant, announced yesterday by Ger... Author attacked on GM crops 'reversal' An Oxford environmental author who renounced his opposition to genetically modified (GM) crops has hit back at “lunatic” critics. Wolvercote’s Mark... Channel Islands' wet weather 'demoralising' for farmers "Wall to wall rain" over several months has been "demoralising", according to the Guernsey Farmers Association. Dairy farmers have had to keep catt... East of England farmers could be hit by 'super dairies' Small dairy farms in the east of England could be replaced by industrial-scale "super dairies", a farm economist has told BBC Inside Out. Once ther... Hovis abandons British-only wheat pledge after heavy rain The bread maker, which is owned by Premier Foods, is expected to start using EU grain this weekend and is likely to cut its British wheat buying by a ... Dairy farmers vow to tackle water use Twelve major UK dairy companies have pledged to significantly cut their water footprints, as part of a government and industry-backed taskforce manage... Fenstanton dairy ceases production after 86 years A milk factory which has been at the heart of a Cambridgeshire village for 86 years will cease production later. The decision to close the Dairy Cr...