Agriculture in the national news - November 19

19 November 2009

A DAILY look at how agriculture has caught the headlines across the country (Thursday, November 19).

GM crops have a role in preventing world hunger, chief scientist says
The Government should approve trials to develop crops resistant to climate change that would feed a growing population.

GM crops have a role to play in preventing mass starvation across the world caused by a combination of climate change and rapid population growth, a senior government scientist said yesterday.

The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/news/gm-crops-have-a-role-in-preventing-world-hunger-chief-scientist-says-1823219.html

Leading article: Genetically modified food for thought
The prospect of a hungry century looms. On our present course, we are caught in a pincer. Climate change is likely to turn much farmland around the globe into desert.

And the growth of the global population will increase demand for food.

Yields will fall and prices will rise. That is a recipe for starvation.

The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/leading-articles/leading-article-genetically-modified-food-for-thought-1823097.html

Are you cross about compliance?
“Don’t take Single Farm Pay deductions lying down,” is the message to farmers from rural specialists George F. White who have recently argued and won several appeals on behalf of their clients.

For farmers throughout the length and breadth of the UK subject to deductions, they can have a significant impact with subsequent breaches applied on an increasingly severe sliding scale.

Legislation is complex and can be misapplied so any decision is worth checking.

Land Gazette
http://www.landgazette.co.uk/index.php/farm-finance/739-cross-compliance

A future of mud, wet and fears
In the third of a three-part special on climate change, BBC Scotland’s social affairs reporter Fiona Walker finds out how farmers in Ayrshire are already preparing for long-term weather changes.

BBC Online
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/8364319.stm

EU Commission discusses pig welfare legislation
The better implementation of the existing EU legislation on the welfare of pigs was the main objective of a workshop organised by the European Commission on 17 November 2009 in Brussels.

The “Workshop on pig welfare” brought together experts from national administrations, non-governmental organisations and stakeholders directly involved in the implementation of the animal welfare provisions or interested in promoting high animal welfare standards.

Pig Progress
http://www.pigprogress.net/news/eu-commission-discusses-pig-welfare-legislation-3661.html

Christmas turkey webcam set-up by farmer
Now you can keep an eye on your Christmas dinner weeks before it ends up on your plate, thanks to Turkey Cam.

A farm is giving buyers of their free-range Norfolk Black and Norfolk Bronze turkeys the chance to watch the birds via a 24-hour web link.

A spokesman for Farm Park &Wild in Norfolk said: “There are 450 turkeys, free to roam to their hearts’ content… You’ll taste the difference and know your bird has had the best quality of life possible.”

The Mirror
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/11/18/christmas-turkey-webcam-set-up-by-farmer-115875-21830787/