Agriculture in the national news - September 7

7 September 2010

A DAILY look at how agriculture has hit the headlines across the country (Tuesday, September 7).

Mobile phone masts needed to boost economic development in the countryside

More mobile phone masts need to be put up in the countryside if the rural economy is to survive, according to Government advisers.

At the moment mobile phone coverage in remote areas of Britain is “patchy”, leaving farmers and small businesses unable to communicate with the outside world.

The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) said much of the problem is a lack of mobile phone masts in certain areas, often because it is difficult to get planning permission for aerials in scenic spots.

Daily Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/7984894/Mobile-phone-masts-needed-to-boost-economic-development-in-the-countryside.html

Red tape shackling rural firms, says watchdog

JOBS are being lost and businesses prevented from expanding in Yorkshire’s countryside as firms are held back by policies which are too focused on towns and cities, the Government’s rural watchdog is warning.

The Commission for Rural Communities today says many rural firms are struggling to obtain public money, secure planning permission or meet regulations owing to Government programmes and policies being “too often designed around majority urban characteristics and needs”.

Yorkshire Post
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Red-tape-shackling-rural-firms.6516215.jp

Man injured when run over by own tractor in Cornwall

A man from Cornwall is in hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries after being run over by a tractor he was driving.

The man was near the Nansloe Manor Hotel at Helston when he got out of tractor to open a gate and left the engine running.

BBC Online
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-11208253

London wheat closes gap, as French crop upgraded

London feed wheat played catch up once again with its Paris milling wheat peer on Monday, as the French government followed neighbouring Germany in lifting opinions over its wheat crop.

Prices in both markets firmed, helped by Friday’s strong finish in Chicago, where the best-traded December contract finished nearly 4% higher, lifted by hopes for the switch of exports from the former Soviet Union.

Agrimoney
http://www.agrimoney.com/news/london-wheat-closes-gap-as-french-crop-upgraded—2196.html

Russia’s Medvedev Forecasts Early Grain Ban Removal

Moscow on Monday gave another mixed signal about the duration of a grain export ban set initially from August 15 to December 31, but European Union grain markets continued to rise, apparently ignoring the latest twist.

President Dmitry Medvedev signaled Russia’s ban on grain exports may be lifted earlier than December 31 this year and state grain stocks may be insufficient to cover the drought-hit country’s needs.

ABC News
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=11567932

Rising global food prices a real concern for UK inflation

Food price inflation is hitting the headlines as a result of the disruptions to wheat crops in Russia this summer and because of rising demand for meat in emerging markets.

The weather is much more extreme and the drought conditions in the Russian steppes this year have caused a serious decline in wheat output and reduced grain supplies.

Portfolio-Adviser
http://www.portfolio-adviser.com/article/rising-global-food-prices-a-real-concern-for-uk-inflation

I was wrong about veganism. Let them eat meat – but farm it properly

The ethical case against eating animal produce once seemed clear. But a new book is an abattoir for dodgy arguments.

This will not be an easy column to write. I am about to put down 1,200 words in support of a book that starts by attacking me and often returns to this sport. But it has persuaded me that I was wrong. More to the point, it has opened my eyes to some fascinating complexities in what seemed to be a black and white case.

The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/sep/06/meat-production-veganism-deforestation

Rural backlash at speed camera cuts

Villages worried that they will be turned into a high speed rat-run are voicing fears that casualties will rise.

Coalition spending cuts have already led to a number of local authorities pulling out of their safety camera partnership or considering doing so.

More are expected to following the Comprehensive Spending Review in the Autumn which will result in even deeper cuts than the £6 billion imposed by the Government shortly after it took office.

Daily Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7980445/Rural-backlash-at-speed-camera-cuts.html