Agriculture
Agriculture
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Do we Grow the Right Food: Incredible Insights
Do we Grow the Right Food in the UK? The fact I am asking the question, do we grow the right food tells you the likely answer. A traditional British diet used to comprise a lot of bread, potatoes, root vegetables, meat, eggs and a limited amount of green vegetables. Sugar was a treat having originally been used as a preservative, but grew massively in consumption. This diet was developed as a result of the British Isles geography and consequently the climate. This still forms the basis for our current agricultural production, yet whilst our food tastes and climate are changing, our agriculture is not. The UK produces about 62%…
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Sugar and the Bees
Sugar and the Bees – Sustainable Food Production The use of neonicotinoids is controversial, but we know that they are absolutely lethal to bees. They are a class of neurotoxic pesticides, banned in the EU, loved by Sugar Beet farmers in the UK. Their use has sparked intense debate among scientists, environmentalists and policymakers. As their impact on ecosystems becomes increasingly evident, the call for a ban on these substances has gained momentum. This post will explore the effect of such a ban which finally appears to be in place on the UK Statute Book. On the other hand and rather dramatically, Sugar could be described as lethal to humans.…
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Can We Build A Sustainable Future for Farming
Can we build a sustainable future for farming? We can if diet changes and farming is placed centrally by governments as part of the fight against environmental catastrophe
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Sustainability in Farming
Sustainability in farming is about growing the right food and about our diet. Just transition and education is critical for the future of our farming communities
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Feed or Save Our World ?
Feed or Save Our World; that is the question asked by farmers. The simple academic answer is we must save the world, then we can feed the humans. In trying harder and harder simply to feed ten billion we are destroying our home. It must also be pointed out that it is a shared home. We now know we cannot survive without the ecological support of stable, ancient and complex ecosystems. These ecosystems need land and water every bit as much as we do. Here are a few hard facts; Climate change is already responsible for more migration than conflict; Land is a scarce resource and becoming scarcer by the…
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Agricultural Methane Emissions Must be Eliminated as a No 1 Priority
Short term gains in the fight to save the planet can be made if we understand that dealing with methane emissions must be a priority 1st is best. Methane is rapidly heating up our world and some sources we can directly control. Its is fact that Carbon Dioxide does most of the long term damage, but it is also true that Methane is over thirty times more potent than CO2. Methane also leaves the atmosphere fairly quickly, Carbon Dioxide does not. So, where are the sources of Methane emissions? Agriculture, decomposition of waste and fossil fuels – these are under our control and account for 60% of the Methane in…
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Crofting is the Ultimate Sustainable Farming
This post explains why Crofting is Sustainable Farming, particularly on farming with beef and sheep. Why? Firstly it is important to state that crofting is a developed traditional farming system that makes best use of it’s local environment for farming. The fact it is relatively not harmful for wildlife is coincidental and crucial. The only fertiliser used traditionally is seaweed. That’s fine within reason. It is also coincidental because support of crofting is national policy in Scotland. How is it that Crofting is sustainable farming?
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A Farmers Perspective, where do we go from here
From a farmers perspective times are hard. Not least, the weather has been awful for the last two years, one too wet, one too dry. This will keep happening. However that is not the only issue. We live in changing times where the guaranteed subsidies available under the European Union are being removed. Alternative programs are being put in place such as the ……………………………. and the Welsh …………………………… This is why we are developing the Shepherds of the Trees project. A Farmers Perspective Times are changing. The weather is more challenging. Our relationship with the EU has changed. Meat consumption is falling. Certain industries, namely sheep, beef and dairy are…
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Sheep Farming in Wales, Time for Profound Change
Let’s Revolutionise Sheep Farming in Wales and continue to shape the character of the nations environment. A lot of upland Wales is unsuitable for any other type of farming. I have spent quite a bit of time in Wales over the years, working in the farming sector. I always found our Welsh farmer customers open to new ideas and far more interested in marketing and new tech than others in the UK. So here we are. Farmer protests at the Senedd. Earth and Leaf wants to work with farmers. The Sustainable Farming Scheme is a great move towards restoring habitat across Wales. This is a great article by Dr Malcolm…
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The Power of Genomics – Improve Farm Sustainability
We must grasp the power of genomics firmly to help agriculture, but not simply to raise yields. We need to be smarter than that. LINK
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Sheep Farming Reform is Long Overdue
Sheep farming reform is long overdue in the UK. We have unique system that produces about eight million lambs for slaughter each year. This system involves 18 million ewes when just 8 million should be enough. Why? Tradition. We have what is known as a stratified sheep farming system. This is rooted in traditions of upland and moorland management. Progress in the new science of Genomics means we no longer need that system which would free millions of hectares of farmed land for other uses. Sheep meat consumption is falling fast so we no longer need those eight million lambs. This is the ideal time for sheep farming reform in…
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Time for Another Agricultural Revolution
It is Time for Another Agricultural Revolution
