Sunday 27 May 2012
Feed and Forage
Forestry businesses and land agents will no longer need licences from the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) to use temporary workers, according to proposals made today. Agriculture Minister Jim Paice announced that the GLA is to focus on protecting the most vulnerable temporary workers from exploitation while freeing those in low-risk secto...
The NFU has today said that the views of Welsh Government are currently broadly in line with those of the farming industry in Wales, following the Welsh Government’s response to the European Commission’s CAP Pillar 1 proposals. NFU Cymru President Ed Bailey said, "The response picks up on many of the concerns highlighted by NFU ...
Arable farmers across the West and Central Midlands have been given a boost ahead of harvest after the 27,000 tonne grain store at Stratford-upon-Avon operated by Arable Crop Storage (ACS) had its application to merge with a store in Cambridgeshire approved by the UK Financial Services Authority. Following a review of the business in 2010 the bo...
The importance of grass variety selection on animal performance - specifically milk production - has been put under the spotlight by the Animal & Grassland Research and Innovation Centre at Moorepark, near Cork. The results to-date have been revealing. Barenbrug’s agricultural product manager David Long considers the findings and implicati...
East of England MEP, Stuart Agnew has thrown his weight behind the scientists at Rothamsted Research, who are carrying out an experimental GM wheat crop trial in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. The crop has been designed to repel aphids by the production of a natural pheromone. If successful, it would radically reduce the need for pesticides. How...
In April, Team Red Tractor covered 2,500 miles, 3 nations and 6 farming sectors in a 5 day campaign to educate school children about how Red Tractor farmers are gearing up to feed 20 million visitors and athletes at this summer’s 2012 Olympic Games. The event brought local schools to the farms giving over 150 children across the country...
Very warm and dry conditions have been dominant across southeastern Ukraine into south central Russia and western Kazakhstan this spring, which has resulted in considerable stress on winter wheat. "Winter wheat is now pushing into heading in southern Russia and southern Ukraine, and yield potential is declining rapidly as moisture needs in...
Almost 300,000 tonnes of Round Table for Responsible soy have been sold since June 2011 and demand is rising from across the world. At the start of the 7th Annual Conference, an annual target of five million tonnes of responsible soy to be produced and sold by 2015 was set. Soy is a major global commodity crop used in a wide range of consume...
NFU President Peter Kendall has today condemned the vandalism of the country’s first ever GM wheat trial. In a speech to MPs at the House of Commons later to launch the new NFU Farming Delivers for Britain campaign, Mr Kendall is expected to liken the damage to the Nazi book burners of the 1930’s. The wheat trial was vandalised on...
The Tenant Farmers Association has stressed the importance of ensuring that farm tenants are not disadvantaged through reallocation of payment entitlements in the Common Agricultural Policy Reform process. "It has long been a concern that vital support payments to agricultural producers can become capitalised into land values and land rent...
The funds started the soya Bull Run in the early part of this calendar year as a punt, when the trade could not see what all the fuss was about. Then the South American crop numbers continued to fall, and the trade realised that there was a bigger problem than expected, and that the funds had positioned themselves well. For the past month, the ...
While the world battles with economic uncertainty and austerity, Britain’s farmers are enjoying a boom in business with the sector growing 25% last year. Farmers selling produce overseas now accounts for the fourth largest export market in the United Kingdom. NFU President Peter Kendall said that farming had seen a huge change in its f...
Oilseed rape growers and advisors had the opportunity to explore recent breeding developments in oilseed rape and see how they can improve on-farm production and market dynamics at this season’s first NIAB Innovation Farm workshop ’Producing Quality Oilseeds.’ Clare Tucker, of BASF reviewed recent trends in UK oilseed crop prod...
Welsh Government Minister for the Environment and Sustainable Development, John Griffiths, has launched NFU Cymru’s ’Why Farming Matters to the Welsh Environment’ booklet, on-farm in south Wales. The bilingual booklet explains how Welsh farmers contribute a great deal to maintaining and improving the environment, giving example...
Farmers who are Members of the AtlasFram Group, a UK purchasing and grain marketing co-operative, can now benefit from two new oilseed rape marketing contracts as part of the Group’s alliance with ADM Direct. The first offers AtlasFram Members an additional £15 per tonne premium over and above normal quality premiums for standard double-ze...
WHEAT - USDA report corn plantings 87% complete, 71% last week and 66% average. Spring wheat plantings 94% complete, 84% last week and 64% average. - UK wheat exports slowed in March to 125,000mt, bringing the season-to-date figure to 2.11mln t. - Kazakhstan cuts rail costs to boost exports - should allow the country to export an addit...
Agricultural accountants are urging farmers and rural businesses to take advantage of a second round of grant funding to boost their businesses. Defra is now inviting applications for grants of up to £25,000 to enable businesses to buy new machinery and develop green projects. The grants total £40 million and mark the opening of the second r...
As part of their focus on global health and food security this year, G8 leaders will discuss a global partnership made under the L’Aquila Food Security Initiative (AFSI) in 2009 with food security a prominent feature in this year’s G8 Summit. At the 2009 AFSI meeting, leaders pledged to partner with global governments to improve agri...
Conventional wheat farmer Peter Lundgren will join other GM sceptics in a public debate on Rothamsteds GM wheat trial hosted by BBC’s Newsnight this Thursday. The flagship current affairs program will feature footage of the Lincolnshire farmer questioning the value of Rothamsted’s ’1.28 million GM crop trial, which is designed...
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