Sunday 27 May 2012
Organic
A new report has backed up calls for an effective adjudicator to police the UK Groceries Supply Chain Code of Practice. It concludes that the international reach of some major retail chains means wider EU measures have to be considered to ensure fair play for farmers and consumers. Development organisation Traidcraft, the NFU and EU farm or...
The NFU has successfully lobbied for a new EU regulation on organic feed that will give producers confidence in the sector. The new regulation allows monogastric producers to use a five per cent allowance of non-organic protein feeds currently not available in organic form until the end of 2014. There were concerns that the original proposa...
The sixteenth edition of Europe’s leading annual trade show for the natural products, health food and organic sectors has been hailed a huge success, with both exhibitors and visitors reporting a very productive and vibrant event. Organised by Diversified Business Communications UK, Natural & Organic Products Europe featured 600 exhibito...
A speaker from expert vegetable grower Produce World has given insight into new developments in soil management at a conference organised by Waitrose and chaired by Dr Simon Bowen, Produce World’s Agronomy Director. Guy Thallon, Project Manager for Produce World’s Soil-for-Life, demonstrated some of the innovative work that is centra...
Lord Rooker, Chair of the Food Standards Agency, today announced the appointment of three new members of the independent Scottish Food Advisory Committee (SFAC). The new members, who will serve up to two years on the committee from 1 March 2012, are: Mr Andrew Murphy Mrs Alison Jones Professor William McKelvey OBE SFAC includes two membe...
Falling organic food sales in the UK reflect a growing recognition among British shoppers that benefits for the environment, healthy eating and animal welfare are not exclusive to organics. As UK organic food sales fell by a further 3.7% in 2011, Crop Protection Association chief executive Dominic Dyer said: "It’s not just price ...
Overall fresh produce retail prices were higher this quarter compared to Q4 2010, spurring dollar growth, but declining volume sales for some commodities. However, despite increased prices for value-added and organic produce, nearly all categories within those groups saw positive dollar and volume growth, according to the latest edition of Fres...
A leading player in the UK organic food sector has overcome the headache of finding skilled staff with the help of Midlands-based Network Recruitment Partnership. Organic Farmers & Growers has been at the heart of the organic sector for more than 20 years, providing inspection and certification of farming and food processing to EU and UK standar...
National charity CPRE publishes a new report into the economic and social value of local food to Ledbury just days before a crunch council meeting to decide on a major out-of-town supermarket application.’ ’ In the latest of its ’From field to fork’ reports, the Campaign to Protect Rural England published a detailed repo...
A new soil management guide from Versadrill manufacturer Sumo aims to help farmers avoid the issues that can arise from compacted soils - whether in a dry year like 2011 or in a more normal year. "Our guide, ’Best Practice for the Versadrill’, looks at the key husbandry issues surrounding crop establishment and the ways in which mini...
As this season’s spring sowing season approaches, Fury spring bean is at the top of the list for many pulse growers. It is the fully PGRO-recommended pale hilum spring bean that yields higher than current varieties with better downy mildew resistance and good standing ability. Theo Labuda of breeders LSPB says: "Fury was promoted to fully...
After a busy export season in 2011, the British seed potato industry is set to reach new heights in 2012 by expanding existing and new markets, says Potato Council head of seed and export, Mark Prentice, who will be at Fruit Logistica supporting the industry. For the second year in a row, exports to Egypt set a record, topping 40,000t of high g...
The 6th ORC Organic Producers’ Conference at Aston University, Birmingham, opens today (Wednesday) with a strong message of support from Defra’s farming Minister Jim Paice. In it, he recognises that the conference, now firmly established in the organic conference calendar and attracting more than 200 participants, provides an invalu...
The annual ORC organic producer’s conference, to be held at Aston University, Birmingham from 18-19th January 2012, will be focusing on the potential contribution of organic/agro-ecological approaches to CAP Reform and Food Security, with a focus on improving the delivery of public goods and the sustainability of UK food production systems. T...
Organic poultry farmers are being urged to carry on as normal after the European Commission announced it would not introduce immediate changes to monogastric feed and part-organic pullet regulations. The organic sector have been lobbying extensively over possible changes which would have had a devastating effect for the industry. The Commission ...
Proposed regulation changes which would have had a devastating effect for organic poultry farmers have been averted, following extensive lobbying by the NFU and the organic sector. The European Commission had intended to force the organic poultry industry to grow 40 per cent of mono-gastric and 70 per cent of herbivore feed ingredients on farm,...
Carl Gray of Grange Farm, Bredon, Tewkesbury, is celebrating all time high organic wheat yields, having yielded 7.3t/ha. (2.96t/acre) of Group 3 wheat, Invicta. The 12.5 ha field of Invicta was combined on 31st August using a John Deer 1177; and is the highest of any yields taken off the 120ha of organic cereals grown on the farm for the last de...
As sales of organic food in the UK fall for the third year in a row – a 25% drop since 2008 - and organic farmland conversion rates fall by more than two thirds over the same period, the Crop Protection Association (CPA) is calling on politicians and policy-makers to give less weight to the views of the organic sector over the future direction of a...
As the Government releases the latest UK statistics on organic food and farming a leading sector body has criticised the delay in sharing key market data which it says is stifling business planning. The outcry from Organic Farmers & Growers (OF&G) comes as Defra released the 2010 figures for organic farming - in August 2011. Traditionally t...
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