Agriculture in the national news - May 5

Parties promise to reform Cumbria farm payments

The three main parties have promised to push for reforms in the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) which distributes grants for farmers across Cumbria.

The RPA, an executive agency of Defra, has faced heavy criticism in recent years because of delays to payments.

In December, Defra said improvements had been made, but admitted further work was required.

BBC Online
http://tinyurl.com/27yuucu


UK withholds EU farm subsidy data until election

British civil servants have withheld data on 2009 recipients of European Union farm subsidies in England and Wales until after Thursday’s general election for fear the figures could be used against candidates.

Details of the main beneficiaries of the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP) were published in Brussels on Tuesday by the website farmsubsidy.org, based on data submitted by member states ahead of the EU’s 30 April deadline.

Reuters
http://tinyurl.com/22wwe3r


EU sugar and dairy companies largest recipients of farm subsidies

Larger operators dominate the payments lists, according to analysis from the campaign group farmsubsidy.org

Sugar and dairy processing companies were once again among the largest recipients of European farm subsidies last year, according to data released at the weekend.

The Guardian
http://tinyurl.com/29wegat


Demands for crackdown on quad bikes after farmer’s son, 9, killed

A NINE-year-old boy has been killed while riding a quad bike on his parents’ farm, prompting fresh calls for the law surrounding the vehicles to be tightened.

Robert McAlister died on Sunday evening while driving the high-powered machine at his home on the Isle of Bute.

The Rothesay Primary pupil was using the all-terrain vehicle on Mid Ascog farm when the accident happened at around 6:20pm.

The Scotsman
http://tinyurl.com/2enc9z2


NFU sets out its stall for reform of CAP

THE forthcoming reform of the EU Common Agriculture Policy should take the farming industry closer to the market place, according to Peter Kendall, president of the NFU in England.

Speaking in Brussels at the launch of his organisation’s policy paper on the CAP, Kendall said it must continue to steer farmers towards the market but it must also provide support to help them deal with the shocks posed by volatility.

Scotsman
http://tinyurl.com/323q3qh


Parties in Dorset rural broadband pledge

The three main parties in Dorset are in agreement that faster internet is essential for the rural economy.

Labour’s Jim Knight said BT had agreed to leave a fibre optic cable installed in the county after the Olympics but it needed to be made viable.

BBC Online
http://tinyurl.com/3ycuayn

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