WIN A TAFE TRACTOR FOR A YEAR

>Contact Editor Chris Lyddon
>Read the latest industry blogs

click here for A-Z industry contacts

markets

BeefLambMilkPigmeatPotatoes

 

WheatOilseedsBarleyPoultryMaize

The uplift in cattle prices of recent weeks slowed in week ended 11th May read more

With more new season lambs entering the market, the dynamics of the trade have started to change read more

Provisional data for April milk deliveries of approximately 1,111m litres are 93m litres (7.7%) down on the previous year read more

In April, the DAPP averaged 160.9p/kg, almost 4p up on the month. At the same time, the average retail price came down by a small amount read more

The GB weekly average price fell by £7.68/t to £295.35/t and the free-buy average fell by £22.02/t to £368.39/t. read more

The first USDA estimates for world production in 2013-14 forecast record maize and wheat production, citing larger planted areas and a rebound in yields from the US (maize) and the Former Soviet Union (wheat) read more

The USDA has released its first soyabean supply and demand estimates for the new season read more

UK malting barley export prices are at €245/t FOB (spring, South Coast) w/e 11th April. read more

The latest National Statistics produced by Defra on the activity of UK hatcheries and poultry slaughterhouses. read more

USDA’s latest quarterly stocks report, released on 28th September, estimated US maize stocks (at 1st September) at 25.1m t, down 12% on the same point in 2011 and the lowest since 2004. read more

<<

>>

 

Take5

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

PAPERS

A farmer has been fined £10,000 after incorrectly stored silage polluted a lodge and killed hundreds of fish. The Environment Agency launched an investigation after members of the public reported a large number of dead fish at Hesketh Lodge, in Astley Bridge, in May last year. Officers discovered between 800 and 1,000 dead fish and found the source of the pollution was from Harricroft Farm, in Smithills Dean Road, also known as the popular Smithills Open Farm. Farm owner Anthony Grimshaw appeared at Bolton Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to contravening the requirements of an environmental permit and failing to ensure silage was stored or placed as required. Last night, he told The Bolton News: “I’m sorry.” He was fined £5,000 for each offence, and ordered to pay £2,866 costs. A spokesman for the Environment Agency said: “We received reports from members of the public there were dead fish on the surface. “Officers investigated it and saw fish in difficulty. About 800 to 1,000 were dead. Silage is very polluting, which is why it led to such a high number of deaths. As soon as it enters the water it strips away the oxygen. We have worked with Mr Grimshaw to make sure he has got the right equipment in place so this should not happen again.”

Honeybees are taking emergency measures to protect their hives from pesticides, in an extraordinary example of the natural world adapting swiftly to our depredations, according to a prominent bee expert. Scientists have found numerous examples of a new phenomenon – bees "entombing" or sealing up hive cells full of pollen to put them out of use, and protect the rest of the hive from their contents. The pollen stored in the sealed-up cells has been found to contain dramatically higher levels of pesticides and other potentially harmful chemicals than the pollen stored in neighbouring cells, which is used to feed growing young bees. "This is a novel finding, and very striking. The implication is that the bees are sensing [pesticides] and actually sealing it off. They are recognising that something is wrong with the pollen and encapsulating it," said Jeff Pettis, an entomologist with the US Department of Agriculture. "Bees would not normally seal off pollen." But the bees’ last-ditch efforts to save themselves appear to be unsuccessful – the entombing behaviour is found in many hives that subsequently die off, according to Pettis. "The presence of entombing is the biggest single predictor of colony loss. It’s a defence mechanism that has failed." These colonies were likely to already be in trouble, and their death could be attributed to a mix of factors in addition to pesticides, he added.