defra

Government funding backs scallop fishing industry breakthrough Written by Defra Press Office Today we are looking at media coverage around the development of a world-first, environmentally-friendly technique for catching scallops which was supported by the UK Government’s Seafood Innovation...

Anyone struggling to get them this yr ?

Written by William Kellett from Agriland A new £8.8 million fund to support domestic tree production in England has been opened by the Forestry Commission today (Thursday, May 19), in partnership with Defra. The funding will help tree nurseries and suppliers invest in projects which improve...

Media coverage of Government response to EAC inquiry on water quality Written by Defra Press Office There has been coverage this week in The Times, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Telegraph, BBC Radio 4’s Farming Today, Yorkshire Post, Somerset County Gazette and Western Morning News of the...

Minister Pow visits Oxford to welcome the start of the bathing water season Written by Defra Press Office There has been coverage over the weekend in the Telegraph, the Express, ITV News, Yorkshire Post and Telegraph & Argus on the launch of this year’s bathing water season. Starting from...

Written by Charlotte Cunningham from CPM Magazine The UK Cereal Pathogen Virulence Survey (UKCPVS) project has issued an urgent call for samples of yellow and brown rust in wheat. Despite reports of interesting observations in the field, the UKCPVS team says it has received a lower number of...

I don’t usually have too many problems with my audit but I do put in a huge amount of work in advance. Am I wasting my time? What is the consequence of lots of lots of non-critical failures? Sorry Mr Inspector I don’t have any grain temperature and moisture records this year but it all sold...

Tb reading of 5 IR animals on 22nd of April. 5 were repeat IR's Bugger. 2 weeks later i rang APHA to ask why i had not been contacted.. vets did likewise.. no response.. well it was a friday..! So following Monday i rang them again.. all hell breaks loose with panic almost at palpable levels...

Water resources on BBC Countryfile Written by Defra Press Office Sir James Bevan and Tom Heap at Bewl Water reservoir The pressures facing England’s water resources as a result of a growing population, climate change and ageing infrastructure was covered by BBC One’s Countryfile last night...

From about 11 minutes How can government / DEFRA continue to be so ignorant?

Hopefully this will copy across from this morning’s Sunday Times: I do tend to go through life with a general sense that everything will be all right in the end. Yes, we are told every 20 minutes that soon the Earth will be a superheated ruin that’s no longer capable of supporting even...

Written by Michael Geary from Agriland The UK has witnessed a sizeable 22% increase in sheepmeat produced for the month of April this year. According to Freya Shuttleworth of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), in April, the UK produced 24,300t of sheepmeat. This date...

High input costs are front and foremost of growers minds. UK produced Ammonium Nitrate (AN) increased 182% between Jun-21 and Mar-22, to a price of £839.00/t. With the outlook for natural gas prices (the feed stock for AN) well supported, driven by the war in Ukraine, it is well to assume that...

Written by Michelle Martin from Agriland A state-of-the art laboratory that will conduct research into tree pests and diseases has been officially opened today (Friday, May 13) by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Forestry Commission. The £5.8 million...

Written by Michelle Martin from Agriland A new case of avian influenza (bird flu) has been proclaimed, in commercial poultry at a premises near Lowdham, Newark and Sherwood, Nottinghamshire. Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 was confirmed there on Saturday (May 7), the Department...

Coverage of OEP report on 25 Year Environment Plan Written by Defra Press Office Today the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) published its first monitoring report on the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan. Coverage in the Times, Daily Mail, BBC News Online, Guardian, Western...

Adjusting fertiliser application rates to reduce costs Written by Leah Coyne © Natural England/Steve Marston In this post, I'll provide an update on the work of the fertiliser roundtable, which recently held its first meeting. I’ll also share some analysis on the impact of varying...

Meet Rose, Sustainable Farming Incentive pilot participant Written by The Team Nestled in the historic landscape of Cornwall’s north coast, Wicca Farm dates back to the Bronze Age. The associated cliff land is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) well known for its maritime grassland...

Bringing BPS payments forward Written by Alastair Walton The price of agricultural commodities has always been closely correlated to energy prices. Manufactured ammonium nitrate and urea (the most commonly used nitrogen fertilisers in the UK) require a lot of energy to produce. When the...