Trees must feature in long-term local flood defence strategies
The Government needs to focus on long-term investment to mitigate the risk of future flooding, as well as allocating funding for just short-term defence strategies. Today the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee released a statement calling for the Government to take action now to prevent the repeat of the devastation caused by winter […]
Farmers given chance to Sow the Seeds for Pollinator Revival
UK arable farmers now have a great opportunity to kick-start the creation of essential new food resources for pollinating insects. The Syngenta Operation Pollinator offer, in partnership with the Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE) and seed suppliers, Kings, will provide 350 seed packs of a purpose-designed annual wildflower mix and the full agronomic support […]
Flood funding needs to recognise the value of agriculture
The NFU is calling for Defra to act on the recommendations of the Efra Select Committee’s report into this winter’s flooding which severely hit farmland across England and Wales. The report highlights the importance of watercourse and coastal defence maintenance and concerns that funding for maintenance “is at a bare minimum” and “the first thing […]
United approach on water and crop protection
Inviting closer collaboration with farmers, the water companies used the Cereals 2014 event to set out a need for greater ‘high risk’ catchment targeting, in order to protect water supplies. Hosting a stand for the first time at the event, Water UK, the policy organisation for the water industry, was supported by the Metaldehyde Stewardship […]
Poor deal for English farming
At a time when Government budgets are under increasing stress and scrutiny and the environment and wildlife are facing tremendous pressures, the RSPB is highlighting the ‘poor’ deal announced by Defra today (Tuesday 10 June, 2014), which shows that of the £11bn to be spent on direct subsidies to farmers in England, very little will […]
Stockcroft Pigs joins LEAF to benefit from environmental expertise
Pork producer Stockcroft Pigs has joined sustainable farming organisation LEAF – Linking Environment And Farming – as a corporate member. Stockcroft Pigs is looking to implement LEAF’s Integrated Farm Management (IFM) sustainable farming principles across its 50 contracted farms based in the South, West of England and Wales. IFM is a whole farm business approach […]
Student investigates the best way to feed farmland birds
22-year-old Tom Copestake is investigating how distance affects foraging for garden and farmland birds by using two types of seed mixes and three distances from the hedgerow. The study, which is for his dissertation project, aims to find out how far the birds will risk travelling from cover and whether the quality of the food […]
Restricting water access may damage UK food production
The CLA has responded to the Government’s water abstraction consultation ‘Making the most of every drop’. The organisation said the Government’s proposals to reduce access to water should exclude agriculture from the regime. CLA President Henry Robinson said: “Agriculture represents less than one percent of the total licensed volumes of water, and should be […]
Study shows invasive species in waterways on rise due to climate change
One of the most serious threats to global biodiversity and the leisure and tourism industries is set to increase with climate change according to new research by Queen’s University Belfast. Researchers at Queen’s have found that certain invasive weeds, which have previously been killed off by low winter temperatures, are set to thrive as global […]
