Wheat and oilseeds area for harvest 2015 down in favour of barley and pulses
AHDB/HGCA’s Early Bird Survey of GB farmers’ planting intentions for 2015 suggests a reduction in the area of wheat, oats and oilseeds for harvest 2015, compared with 2014. Key findings of the Early Bird Survey: • Wheat down 5% to 1.8Mha • Oats down 13% to 118,000ha • Winter barley up 12% to 476,000ha • […]
Superfast broadband rollout now one of the fastest in the world
The Government’s rollout of superfast broadband has passed more than 1.5 million premises and is now reaching more than 40,000 additional homes and businesses every week. 26% of all UK connections now superfast, up from just 6% two years ago. Every day more and more people are opting to make the most of all a […]
Light leaf spot disease risk high, says forecast
The HGCA-supported light leaf spot (LLS) service forecasts a very high disease infection risk in all regions of the UK for the 2014–15 season. The current high-risk level is due to a combination of disease build-up over recent years and favourable weather for pathogen growth over the summer. Where LLS is found in crops over […]
New intake of sheep farming ambassadors wanted
Around 75 young people in the sheep sector came together yesterday (Wednesday 12th November) for an ‘Inspiring the Next Generation’ conference and farm walk near Cirencester, Gloucestershire. The one-day event marked the culmination of the first year of the NSA Next Generation Ambassador Programme, which has seen 11 ambitious young sheep farmers from around the […]
New Holland Agriculture T3F wins TOTY® 2015
After a long process that has seen the jury of this prestigious award involved for six months in analyzing and testing on fields all the contestants, New Holland’s new T3F tractor has won the title of Tractor of the Year® – Best of specialized for 2015. The news has been announced at EIMA, one the […]
GRACE rejects Testbiotech’s criticisms of GMO feeding study
Last Friday, Testbiotech published a press release and background report on the recently published 90-day feeding study conducted by the EU research project GRACE. Testbiotech accuses GRACE of failing to evaluate the data from the feeding trials carefully and of having drawn the wrong conclusions. It claims to have found indications of negative health impacts […]
CLA vows to fight HS2 on ‘archaic’ compulsory purchase rules
The CLA, which represents landowners, farmers and rural businesses, will appear before the HS2 Select Committee next week to give evidence against the “archaic” compulsory purchase system used to deliver HS2 which damages rural business. The organisation said its appearance in front of the Select Committee was a considerable investment on behalf of its members […]
Two of the UK’s leading waste processing facilities open their doors to the public
Europe’s leading food waste recycling specialist, SARIA, is throwing open the doors to two of its processing facilities for the first time. The ReFood Widnes gas-to-grid anaerobic digestion (AD) plant and SecAnim animal by-product processing facility both welcomed guests on 11-12 November for its stakeholder open days. The ReFood Widnes AD facility opened in […]
LEAF conference calls for greater diversity for more resilient farming
Greater diversity in crops, livestock, biodiversity, our markets and diets was the key message and subject of debate at the annual LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) President’s Event on Tuesday 11th November. Dr Gordon Jamieson – Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation Director, John Innes Centre, focused on the increasing global dependence on wheat, and the challenges […]
