Category Archives: Farming

Fish feed additive banned in EU found in Tasmanian salmon at concerning levels, researchers say

Posted on by

Experts call for tighter regulations as tests find ethoxyquin exceeds maximum limits in Tassal and Petuna salmon

A fish feed additive banned in the European Union out of concerns for health impacts in animals and humans has been found in Tasmanian salmon at concerning levels, say experts who are calling for tighter regulations.

Dr Christian Narkowicz, an organic chemist, last year commissioned the National Measurement Institute to test salmon for residues of ethoxyquin.

Sign up for our free morning newsletter and afternoon email to get your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Drought threatens England’s fruit and vegetable crop next year, says report

Posted on by

Scorching summer left reservoirs depleted and unlikely to recover, as growers warn of supply chain collapse in leaked meeting

Farmers have warned they will not be able to grow crops next year if predictions that the drought will last until next summer prove accurate.

Leaked slides from a national drought group meeting, seen by the Observer, show there are concerns that because reservoirs are still empty due to record dry conditions, the fruit and vegetable supply chain could collapse.

Continue reading...

England could be in drought beyond spring 2023, say ministers

Posted on by

Rainfall levels have not been sufficient to dampen soil and refill reservoirs after scorching summer

England could be in drought beyond spring 2023, ministers have said, after record low rainfall has left the country short on water.

The news will be particularly problematic for farmers, who were hoping for a damp autumn and winter to refill reservoirs so they could plant and harvest crops into next year.

Continue reading...

Liz Truss on collision course with Jacob Rees-Mogg over solar power ban

Posted on by

PM wants to prevent panels on 58% of farmland but business secretary says renewables need to be boosted

Liz Truss is facing a rebellion from Jacob Rees-Mogg’s business department over plans to ban solar power from most of England’s farmland.

The prime minister and her environment secretary, Ranil Jayawardena, want to ban solar from about 41% of the land area of England, or about 58% of agricultural land, the Guardian revealed earlier this week.

Continue reading...

UK trade regulators struggling to cope due to poor Brexit planning, MPs say

Posted on by

Commons committee warns there are still shortages of staff to deal with UK’s new status as a third country

UK regulators are struggling to cope with the post-Brexit trading environment because of “poor preparation and planning”, a House of Commons committee investigation has found.

Almost two years after the UK quit the EU, there are still shortages of vets, toxicologists, lawyers and economists to deal with the UK’s new status as a “third country”, found the public accounts committee report, Regulating After EU Exit.

Continue reading...

Chicken farms may explain decline of the River Wye, tests suggest

Posted on by

Citizen scientists find high phosphorous levels in the soil could be polluting the river in Herefordshire

Campaigners have revealed the results of farmland testing which provides new evidence of the potential link between intensive poultry units and the decline of the River Wye.

Citizen scientists sampled farmland along public footpaths near a tributary to the river in Herefordshire. They discovered the soil with the highest levels of phosphorus, which can blight a river, were close to intensive poultry units.

Continue reading...

British lamb exported to US for first time in more than 20 years

Posted on by

US imposed ban on British meat during BSE epidemic but restriction was lifted earlier this year

British lamb has been exported to the US for the first time in more than 20 years after a ban put in place during the BSE epidemic was lifted.

US president Joe Biden committed to scrapping the ban on imports of British meat in September 2021.

Continue reading...

‘Unprecedented’ bird flu epidemic sees almost 50m birds culled across Europe

Posted on by

Poultry farmers from Arctic to Portugal reported 2,500 outbreaks in past year, with migrating birds taking avian flu to North America

The UK and continental Europe have been hit by an “unprecedented” number of cases of avian flu this summer, with 47.7m birds having been culled since last autumn, according to new figures.

Poultry producers from as far north as Norway’s Svalbard islands to southern Portugal have together reported almost 2,500 outbreaks of the disease since last year.

Continue reading...

How Truss’s post-Brexit farming policy descended into chaos

Posted on by

Rumours rife as farmers fear PM plans U-turn on financial subsidy measures to improve environment

The chaos in the English countryside began with the click of a civil servant’s mouse. At the end of last week, farmers who had been working with the government on environmental subsidy schemes saw that their regular meetings about it had been removed from their online diaries without warning.

This appeared to hint at what had been feared – that the new post-Brexit farming subsidy scheme was in danger of being scrapped.

Continue reading...

Department admits it has ‘little information’ on pesticide residue in Australian food

Posted on by

In a tender advertisement published in May this year, the agriculture department said it did not have enough data on the environmental and health effects of pesticides

Federal authorities have admitted they have “little information” about the extent of pesticide residues in Australian food or their potential environmental damage, a document seen by the Guardian shows.

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry called for tenders in May this year for a study to identify the gaps in Australia’s data collection on pesticides.

Continue reading...

Canola field selfies: Australian farmers warn tourists against ‘dangerous’ social media trend

Posted on by

In spring, Instagram is awash with people posing in yellow fields, but farmers say the fad is a risk to biosecurity and people’s safety

A social media trend where eager tourists drive out to flowering canola fields, jump fences and seek out the perfect selfie is becoming “dangerous” and a growing biosecurity risk for farmers.

Two weeks ago, Tim Condon was driving over the crest of a hill at about 90km/h near Harden–Murrumburrah in southern New South Wales when he had to slam on the brakes. He said two cars of families with little kids were spread out across the road taking photos of the canola.

Continue reading...

‘This land belonged to us’: Nestlé supply chain linked to disputed Indigenous territory

Posted on by

Investigation reveals cattle raised on Mỹky territory ended up in global supply chain including food giant

On one side of the fence, in dense forest, the Mỹky people grow their crops: cassava, pequi and cabriteiro fruit. On the other side, ranchers raise cattle on devastated land. That land is the Mỹky’s, they say.

Xinuxi Mỹky, the village elder, says this region used to be a forest where different villages thrived. Only one now remains and the farms have cut into that land as well. “This pasture, where the whites live, was also our village, but now they are raising cattle. The land belonged to us: Indigenous peoples.”

Continue reading...

Australian farmers fear exports could be hurt by new EU land-clearing laws

Posted on by

But environmental groups say changes could put sustainable producers at ‘front of queue’

Australian farmers are scrambling to understand the ramifications of new European laws on land-clearing, which could harm exports of products such as beef or paper under stricter environmental controls.

But environmental groups and some in the federal government believe the new laws could help Australian producers with more sustainable farming techniques get to “the front of the queue”, as negotiations continue for a free trade agreement with the European Union.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Chinese pork prices surge to new high prompting authorities to act

Posted on by

Pork costs in China, the world’s biggest consumer, rose an average of 22.5% last month

The price of Chinese pork surged to a new high in August, prompting authorities to take the year’s first dip into national meat reserves to ensure supply for the holidays.

Pork costs in China rose an average of 22.5% last month, compared with last year. It followed the highest recorded month-on-month increase of 25.6% in July, as CPI also hit a two-year high of 2.7%. August’s rise occurred despite an unexpected slowdown of CPI inflation to 2.5%.

Continue reading...

Farmers in England to be allowed to use ‘lethal force’ on beavers

Posted on by

Government guidance on rodents angers conservationists who say animals are a help not a hindrance to agriculture

Farmers in England will be allowed to shoot beavers if they threaten their crops, the government has revealed.

Conservationists have opposed the move, saying the animals are an “ally to farmers”, helping conserve water in times of drought, and are an endangered species that should be treasured. The rodents became extinct in the UK 400 years ago after they were hunted for their pelts, but in recent years they have been reintroduced to England and Scotland.

Continue reading...

Let them eat bugs: UK urges hunger-stricken African nations to farm insects

Posted on by

Aid projects in DRC and Zimbabwe encourage rural inhabitants to eat insects rich in vitamins and minerals

UK aid spending is encouraging hunger-stricken Africans to eat insects, with projects aiming to develop the practice in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zimbabwe.

Edible insects have long been touted as a resource-efficient source of protein, requiring less land and water than conventional livestock. However, taste and cultural resistance have proved to be stumbling blocks in extending the practice in many parts of the world.

Continue reading...

British rural voters ‘ignored’ by Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak

Posted on by

Tory leadership hopefuls ‘taking countryside voters for granted’ and neglecting pressing issues, says CLA business group

Neither of the candidates for leadership of the Conservative party has made a convincing pitch to rural voters, despite that demographic being one of the biggest sources of Tory power, the head of the UK’s biggest rural business organisation said.

Mark Tufnell, president of the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), which represents about 30,000 landowners and rural businesses, said Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak had done too little to show how they would boost the countryside economy and deal with pressing concerns such as planning, rural broadband, and farm support.

Continue reading...

UK retailers blocking moves to end the killing of day-old male chicks

Posted on by

While France and Germany have introduced bans, Britain continues to slaughter 29 million unwanted chicks every year

UK retailers are blocking moves to end the killing of millions of day-old male chicks each year, farmers and breeding companies have said.

The industrial-scale culling of unwanted chicks is common practice around the world, with 330 million males slaughtered by crushing or gassing each year in Europe, according to campaigners, 29 million of those in the UK.

Continue reading...

Irish farmers say they will be forced to cull cows to meet climate targets

Posted on by

Government plan to cut agriculture emissions by 25% by 2030 will drive many farms into bankruptcy, say critics

Donald Scully gazes at his herd of 208 cows munching grass and clover in a verdant field, as a light breeze ruffles the stillness.

“There is an enjoyment for me to come out and look and see how healthy and happy these cows are,” says Scully, 47, a third-generation dairy farmer. “Every single cow has her own personality, they’re all individuals.”

Continue reading...

India restricts wheat flour exports to ease record local prices

Posted on by

Government also cites food security after heatwave stunted domestic wheat output and drove up prices

India’s cabinet has approved restrictions on wheat flour exports to calm prices in the local market.

The government banned the export of wheat itself in mid-May as a heatwave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high. That ban boosted demand for Indian wheat flour, exports of which jumped 200% between April and July from a year ago, and lifted prices in the local market, the government said on Thursday.

Continue reading...