Agriculture in the national news - September 13

Rise in Devon sheep rustling sparks security warning

Farmers are being urged to improve security following the theft of hundreds of lambs in Devon.

In recent months, more than a dozen separate incidents of sheep rustling have been reported to police in north Devon.

BBC Online
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-11277445

Ex-farmer soars with solar panels

It’s all well and good to talk about transforming our 20th century economy into a green economy for this century, but it’s not always clear what that means.

We talk about shifting from oil to other forms of energy, but much of the Canadian economy continues to be supported by oil production. We talk about moving from traditional manufacturing to a more knowledge-based jobs, but every time an auto maker announces increased sales there’s a parade in celebration of new jobs.

IF Press
http://www.lfpress.com/money/businessmonday/2010/09/10/15305756.html

We’ll fight to go ahead with badger cull, vows minister

The Government has said it will fight legal challenges to a cull of badgers as it prepares to unveil its flagship policy to halt the spread of bovine tuberculosis in the West.

Farming Minister Jim Paice said he fully expects fierce opposition when plans for a badger cull in tuberculosis (TB) hotspots are unveiled.

This is Somerset
http://www.thisissomerset.co.uk/news/ll-fight-ahead-badger-cull-vows-minister/article-2635745-detail/article.html

‘Exotic’ equine anaemia identified in Devon horse

Veterinary officials are investigating how a Devon horse became infected with a rare exotic disease.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the animal has tested positive for Equine Infectious Anaemia (EIA).

BBC Online
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-11277051

Opponents of GM Sugar Go Back To Court

When things get confusing, lawyers do what lawyers do—go back to court for directions more to their liking.

And that’s exactly what has happened when it comes to genetically modified sugar beets.

The original opponents to Monsanto’s Roundup Ready GM sugar beets—the Center for Food Safety, Organic Seed Alliance, High Mowing Organic Seeds, and the Sierra Club— went back to the Northern District of California in San Francisco last week, objecting to what they saw as permission for immediate planting of GM sugar beets by USDA’s Animal and Plant Inspection Service (APHIS).

Food Safety News
http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2010/09/opponents-of-gm-sugar-go-back-to-court/

Big agriculture is the only option to stop the world going hungry

Food riots, such as those in Mozambique, could soon be seen here too unless we overhaul the way we produce food

You have to go back to 1816 to find a serious British food riot, the year after an Indonesian volcano erupted cancelling summer and blighting the global crop.

The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/12/food-riots-farming

Wheat May Surge 17%, Regaining Two-Year High in August: Technical Analysis

Wheat may climb 17 percent and regain a two-year high of $8.68 a bushel set in August, according to a technical analysis by Commerzbank AG.

While the contract will face initial resistance at $7.73, $7.95 and $8.27 a bushel, “we suspect that the market will in fact re-test the $8.68” peak, the bank said in a report.

Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-13/wheat-may-surge-17-regaining-two-year-high-in-august-technical-analysis.html

Volatile wheat prices are as much a cause for alarm as are high prices

FEW rural pleasures match seeing a golden field of grain, rustling and ripe for reaping. But the harvest season in the northern hemisphere is being marked by turmoil on global wheat markets.

A big reason is to be found in one of the world’s largest wheat exporters, Russia.

The Economist
http://www.economist.com/node/16994407?story_id=16994407

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