Farmers Guardian
October 6th 2006

  • ‘Tories in danger of losing farmer-friendly reputation’

    October 6th 2006

    DAVID Cameron’s Conservatives may have found a new zeal for the environment, but they are in danger of losing their reputation as the party of the countryside, a former Tory spin doctor has claimed.

  • 9,000gns Brecknock Hill Cheviot at Sennybridge

    October 6th 2006

    THE annual Brecknock Hill Cheviot sale at Sennybridge, Powys, saw some good top prices, a more even trade benefiting the commercial producer and the largest attendance of buyers ever seen.

  • Action-packed first day at HOYS

    5 October 2006

    The first day of Horse of the Year Show 2006 is drawing to a close (literally – it is past 11pm as I write this) and I am back in my hotel room typing away after the day’s final performance has ended.

  • Ambassador says Brazilian beef is no threat to health

    October 6th 2006

    BRAZILIAN officials rejected criticisms that their beef exports were a food safety risk but admitted incidents of slave labour and deforestation were an on-going problem.

  • An hour in the October garden

    October 6th 2006

    You might consider that the garden in October is fast falling asleep, but there is much to see and even more to do in this month where the mornings are soft and there are still one or two surprises in the garden, as PAUL PEACOCK explains.

  • Angus heifers from Ribble herd are first to be exported to Romania

    October 6th 2006

    SIX yearling heifers have formed the first ever export of Aberdeen-Angus cattle to Romania.

  • Annual Conference of European Meat Processors

    October 6th 2006

    THE Common Agricultural Policy, which was subject to major reforms in 2003, is likely to be subject to further adjustments, and may well disappear far sooner than many farmers have so far considered.

  • Arla’s new pricing mechanism and core price commitment

    October 6th 2006

    ARLA Foods UK has expanded on its January announcement that it intended to link producer milk prices more closely and transparently to market movements.

  • Belgian Blues to 6,000gns at Carlisle autumn sale

    October 6th 2006

    BIDDING peaked at 6,000gns at the Border Belgian Blue Club autumn show and sale at Carlisle.

  • Benefits of deer quality assurance

    October 6th 2006

    MORE than 40 deer farms have now been quality assurance inspected and approved, says the deer producers’ marketing association Venico.

  • Bluefaced Leicesters to £14,500 at Hawes sale

    October 6th 2006

    A TOP price of £14,500 was realised when 678 Bluefaced Leicester sheep were offered at Hawes auction.

  • Cameron puts farming at the forefront

    October 6th 2006

    DAVID Cameron placed agriculture at the forefront of his party’s war on climate change, as farming took centre stage at the Conservative Party Conference.

  • Cider becomes core business after livestock returns fall

    October 6th 2006

    Most farms have one or two trees – and for some farmers apples and pears provide a useful additional income source. BARRY ALSTON gets to the core of the matter in the Welsh Border country.

  • Consumers key to cutting carbon emissions

    October 6th 2006

    SHADOW Defra Secretary Peter Ainsworth urged consumers to buy local food to help combat climate change.

  • Cropper family affair at Nidderdale Show

    October 6th 2006

    THE name Cropper dominated the results at the Nidderdale Show sheep dog trials at Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire.

  • Dairy Farmer of the Future 2006 runner up - Rupert Major

    October 6th 2006

    The two runners-up in the 2006 Dairy Farmer of the Future competition could not be operating systems with less in common. But whether it is prioritising milk from grazed grass or pushing cows for maximum yields, Rupert Major and Stephen Cope have developed systems that suit them best. JOANNE PUGH caught up with them both.

  • Dairy Farmer of the Future 2006 runner up - Stephen Cope

    October 6th 2006

    With a purpose-built greenfield site and the cows kept indoors for the entire period of their lactation, Stephen Cope’s dairy system is very different to that of either of the other two Dairy Farmer of the Future finalists.

  • Delayed decision on badger cull ‘a disgrace’ – Ainsworth

    October 6th 2006

    FARMERS responded angr-ily at the Conservative Party conference when Shadow Defra Secretary Peter Ainsworth showed even less inclination for culling badgers than his Labour counterparts.

  • Don’t panic: Beef is tight, says NBA

    October 6th 2006

    THE beef market is in genuine short supply, claims the National Beef Association and producers must beware attempts by slaughterers to create a ‘false’ falling market.

  • Drive to simplify the CAP

    5 October 2006

    EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel has promised a drive to simplify the CAP - and Commission vice-president, Gunther Verheugen, has criticised member states that gold plate EU policies.

  • Erwood argue their case to good effect

    October 6th 2006

    THE problem of young people leaving rural areas and not being addressed by county councils – was tackled by Erwood YFC during their winning performance in Brecknock Young Farmers’ intermediate brainstrust competition.

  • EU access battle over butter

    October 6th 2006

    While New Zealand fights to maintain its butter trade access arrangements, the European Union continues to subsidise its dairy exporters to the tune of almost $3 billion.

  • EU steps up modulation battle

    October 6th 2006

    THE European Parliament’s battle to prevent Defra levying modulation cuts of up to 20 per cent on English farmers from 2007 went up another notch this week.

  • Expansion planned at dairy farms

    October 6th 2006

    A SIGNIFICANT number of larger dairy farmers are planning to expand milk production, according to two surveys conducted at the Stoneleigh Dairy Event. A survey by Barclays revealed 60 per cent of those interviewed intend to expand in next 12 months by an average 15 per cent.

  • Farming beyond home shores

    October 6th 2006

    Multifaceted New Zealand agricultural company PGG Wrightson’s optimism about South America has crystallised in the shape of a $100 million-plus project to buy and develop farms in Uruguay.

  • FG prize lightens load on busy mixed family farm

    October 6th 2006

    When Martin Dennison got a phone call in June saying he had won the tractor being given away in a Farmers Guardian cpmpetition he could hardly believe it. But once he got over the shock he soon found a way to integrate it into his family’s successful mixed farm, as ANGELA CALVERT found out.

  • Five-year high for NZ beef

    October 6th 2006

    The meat industry financial year closed on September 30 with export and domestic beef prices at or near their highest levels for the past five years.

  • From strength to strength

    October 6th 2006

    HEREFORDSHIRE Young Farmers are going from strength to strength.

  • Going back to her roots

    October 6th 2006

    FORMER Lancashire College of Agriculture student, the gardening show presenter and plantswoman Christine Walkden, went back to what is now Myerscough College to be filmed for her BBC2 series Christine’s Garden.

  • Government policy ‘killing off biofuels’

    October 6th 2006

    THE Government was in danger of ‘killing off’ biofuels made from crops because of its pre-occupation with new ‘miracle technologies’ that may come along in the future, a leading figure in the green fuel industry warned.

  • Grazing Monitor 2006 - Final Report

    October 6th 2006

    DAIRY farmers will be faced with some difficult decisions regarding making the best use of late season grazing while minimising the effect on next spring’s growth rates, according to Promar regional consultant David Burns.

  • Grovesnor Cake

    October 6th 2006

    THIS recipe is from Moira Mitchell of Inveramsay Farm, Pitcaple, Inverurie, Aberdeenshire. “It is a very old recipe which I’ve used for almost 40 years. I have always baked it in the Aga but I have also included the instructions for other ovens, given when I was at Aberdeen Domestic Science School in the 1960s. It is a lovely moist cake and keeps very well – it’s lovely for Christmas or for a wedding,” she says.

  • High level talks on Yorkshire beet

    October 6th 2006

    MIKE Blacker, ex-chairman of the NFU sugar board chairman, meets Prime Minister Tony Blair next week to discuss the future for the crop and the county after the closure of the York sugar factory next year.

  • Holstein bids reach 3,600gns at Beeston

    October 6th 2006

    A TOP price of 3,600gns was realised at the Western Holstein Club’s monthly show and sale at Beeston Auction.

  • Host rewarded with a win

    October 6th 2006

    THE Pembrokeshire Nursery series got under way on Saturday on the field used earlier in the year for the Crosswell trials.

  • i-Track ‘will also be a deterrent’ on ATVs

    October 6th 2006

    THE new ATV tracker system – i-Track – developed by Datatag ID is, for the time being, exclusive to Yamaha, and a standard feature on the new Grizzly.

  • Maize Monitor: Countdown to Harvest 2006

    October 6th 2006

    FORAGE maize harvesting is now well underway in the Midlands and is around one-third complete as far north as Lancashire. The clear message to growers is to inspect cobs regularly to ensure crops are cut as close to optimum maturity as possible.

  • Milk Marque buys health food firm

    October 6th 2006

    SOME 12,000 British dairy farmers now own a health food company after Milk Marque, the successor company to the Milk Marketing Board, purchased the entire share capital of Community Foods (Holdings) this week.

  • Milk processors’ fortunes improve

    October 6th 2006

    BOTH Arla and Robert Wiseman Dairies have reported improved half-year figures.

  • Millions of vaccine doses on order to prevent flu spread

    October 6th 2006

    DEFRA has ordered 10 million doses of avian influenza vaccine from pharmaceutical company Intervet, following a tendering process. The vaccine can be used against both H5 and H7 strains of the virus and could be used in poultry and other captive birds if a risk assessment and scientific evidence indicates it would help prevent disease spread.

  • More action from HOYS

    6 October 2006

    Action from the second day

  • MultiBib ‘offers greater wear and wider footprint’

    October 6th 2006

    Michelin hopes to incr-ease its share of the increasingly popular 65 series tyre market with the MultiBib.

  • New president for Wales YFC

    October 6th 2006

    NORTH Wales farmer, Eryl Williams, from Ruthin, Denbighshire, is the new Wales YFC president.

  • Newton take the honours

    October 6th 2006

    WELSH Newton YFC was overall winner Herefordshire Young Farmers’ annual ploughing match.

  • Nominations wanted for breeders’ award

    10 October 2006

    The prestigious Merial Meritoire award will be presented at the British Breeding Breeders’ Dinner on Saturday, January 13 2007, that are being held at The Grange City Hotel, London.

  • Overseas labour abuse could catch out UK farmers

    October 6th 2006

    OVERSEAS labour prov-iders supplying UK farmers are not being properly monitored, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) has admitted.

  • Ploughing match pulls in a crowd

    October 6th 2006

    A LARGE crowd saw Philip Allman from Stafford become North West Champion ploughman in a tight competition at the Cheshire Ploughing Match, staged at Sandbach. He also won the vintage hydraulic open event.

  • Point-to-points should jump at the chance of rate reduction

    11 October 2006

    Organisers of point-to-point races across the country should jump at the opportunity to review the non-domestic business rates payable for their courses, according to Mark Ferguson, a chartered surveyor with Berrys at Kettering.

  • Ride a mechanical horse with BETA

    11 October 2006

    Test your riding skills on a mechanical horse by visiting the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) stand at the West Country Equine Fair (October 21-22) and Devon and Cornwall Christmas Fair (December 2-3).

  • Ride a mechanical horse with BETA

    11 October 2006

    Test your riding skills on a mechanical horse by visiting the British Equestrian Trade Association (BETA) stand at the West Country Equine Fair (October 21-22) and Devon and Cornwall Christmas Fair (December 2-3).

  • Royal opening of Agco’s European offices

    October 6th 2006

    THE Princess Royal has officially opened AGCO’s new European offices.

  • RPA pays out 1 per cent interest

    October 6th 2006

    THE Rural Payments Agency has begun making interest payments to around 2,500 farmers on delayed Single Farm Payments, received after June 30.The Agency agreed in June to pay interest at 1 per cent over the base from July 1, a figure described as “derisory” by business analysts at the time.

  • Showing advice at the FG Equestrian clinic

    October 6th 2006

    Three lucky readers won the chance to attend a day showing clinic at Edward Young’s yard near Ashbourne, Derbyshire. LIZ FALKINGHAM went along to hear the advice and tips on offer

  • Skipton multi-breed sheep

    October 6th 2006

    BIDDING rose to 1,500gns at the Skipton multi-breeds show and sale of pedigree and pure-bred rams and females sponsored by Farmers Guardian.

  • Speed will contain avian flu outbreak

    October 6th 2006

    THE poultry industry is braced and ready for a potential outbreak of avian influenza.

  • Texel takes sheep fair title

    October 6th 2006

    AROUND 800 sheep converged on Masham in North Yorkshire for the town’s annual two-day sheep fair. Heading the Saturday breeds was a Texel ram from John North, Doncaster, who also won the inter-breed group of three, while Sunday’s winner was a North Country Cheviot from Marwick exhib-itors Keith and Elaine Stones.

  • The costs of ‘green’ crops for energy

    October 6th 2006

    ZAC Goldsmith, the millionaire environmentalist helping to shape the Conservative’s green policies, warned that making biofuels from crops came at a cost to food production and the environment.

  • The Soil association Organic conversion conference

    October 6th 2006

    PEOPLE should not go organic if they thought they were going to make a fortune.

  • The worthy champions are crowned after two tight contests

    October 6th 2006

    ANDREW Mitchell of Scotland, driving a Ford tractor with a Dowdeswell plough, became conventional ploughing champion in the 53rd World Ploughing Contest, staged at Tullow, Co Carlow, Republic of Ireland.

  • Trials and tribulations of a marquee wedding

    October 6th 2006

    Consider this a cautionary tale. Everyone who lives in the country must at some point have trekked to some distant hotel, washed up on the outskirts of an unattractive town, for the wedding of a niece or a cousin or some such.

  • UK ‘way behind EU on biofuels usage’

    October 6th 2006

    SHADOW Defra Secretary James Paice accused the Government of hypocrisy over its policies on bioenergy.

  • UK cattle exports to break 100,000 barrier

    October 6th 2006

    BRITISH cattle export numbers are expected to pass 100,000 by the end of the year with the trade exceeding all expectations since being reopened in May.

  • Wiltshire ploughman takes Llangattock-Vibon-Avel title

    October 6th 2006

    MORE than 60 competitors took part in the annual Llangattock-Vibon-Avel ploughing match staged at Whitehall Farm, Rockfield, near Monmouth, by permission of the Edwards family.

  • Yamaha’s Grizzly 700 has a host of new features

    October 6th 2006

    IT is not so much the ease of steering – you tend to take that for granted – as the reduced kick-back on rutted ground that makes Yamaha’s introduction of variable-assist power steering an interesting development.

  • Young handlers give impressive display at annual trials event

    October 6th 2006

    THIS year’s Sheepdog Young Handlers’ Trial – an annual event to help youngsters improve their handling skills – was held at Rainow, Macclesfield, on Sunday.

  • Young Handlers' News in Brief

    October 6th 2006

    Princess royal opens Hi-tech dairy centre

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