Farming Category
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Agri-Tech Catalyst awards £17.8m in funding
Projects to improve agriculture and food production at home and overseas have received £17.8 million under the latest round of the Government’s Argi-Tech Catalyst funding scheme. Projects include assessing the potential to commercialise the farming of lobsters; a proposal to cultivate scallops on ropes and a way of continuing to make whisky with UK wheat, by using a novel variety. The ...
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Bluetongue vaccine now available
Bluetongue vaccines for sheep and cattle are now available across Britain, with supplies approved for use in vet practices. There is a high risk of an outbreak of Bluetongue (BTV-8) towards the end of the summer as a result of infected midges being blown across the English Channel from France - the disease affects all ruminants, but particularly cattle and ...
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Online testing service helps vets and APHA tackle animal disease
Launched today (15th July 2016), the Animal and Plant Health Agency’s (APHA) new Animal Disease Testing Service will ultimately replace an old, paper-based process for sending sample data to APHA and receiving results from surveillance and diagnostic tests. It should save time and work for vets, support earlier diagnosis of diseases and improve access to sample results. Crucially, APHA will ...
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Final deadline to apply for BPS 2016
With the final deadline to apply for the 2016 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) less than a fortnight away, the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) is urging farmers to apply as soon as possible before midnight on 10th June. For those still wanting to submit on paper form, the last day to request one from the Rural Services helpline is Monday 6th June.
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Environment Agency launches soil awareness courses
The Environment Agency has launched the first of a number of planned soil awareness courses. The courses take a similar approach to a driving speed awareness course and are aimed at Farmers and Land Managers where issues associated with soil run-off and water pollution have been identified. Farmers may also be referred ...
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NFU backs remaining in EU
The NFU has announced that on the balance of available evidence, it believes that the interests of farmers are best served by the UK’s continuing membership of the European Union. The farmers' union says it recognises and respects the diversity of views among its membership but that its position is based "solely on an evaluation of the agricultural merits of the case". The NFU also gave an assurance that it will not be actively campaigning in the ...
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Countryside Stewardship scheme open to applicants
From today (14th March 2016), farmers and land managers can apply for the Mid-Tier and Higher Tier of the Countryside Stewardship scheme, which funds projects to restore habitats, improve water quality and woodland, reduce flood risk, protect landscapes, and provide year-round food and shelter for pollinators, birds and other wildlife. Natural England says it has made a number of improvements ...
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New TB measures for cattle
Further measures to protect England from bovine TB are being introduced as part of a government strategy that aims to deliver TB-free status for over half of the country by 2019. From 6th April 2016, new legislation will require farmers in the Low Risk Area of England to arrange for post-movement testing of cattle coming from the rest of England ...
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Farmers flock to take up delayed payments fund
Lloyds Banking Group says it has made an additional £120 million available in overdrafts to farmers following a delay in their annual EU subsidy payments from the Government. Each year around 100,000 farmers in the UK receive about £2 billion in EU funding via the Basic Payment Scheme. Although the “window” for these payments remains open until June 2016, many farmers expect the payments in December so that ...
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Launch of Great British Food Unit
Today has seen the launch of the Great British Food Unit which aims to support food exporters and industry growth that could create 5,000 new jobs in food and drink manufacturing. The long-term ambition of the unit is to match France and Germany, which both currently export more than double the UK in terms of the value of food ...
