I'm sitting here in my office with rain, once again, splashing against the window thinking forward to when we drill the oil seed rape. We should start next week, of course, if we want optimum establishment and yields. But less than half the acres we hope to drill are, as yet, cleared of standing wheat. And most of that land which has been combined still has swathes of wet straw lying across it - saved rather than chopped as a favour to a neighbour.
But I have been listening to the weather forecast for the week ahead and it sounds better than we've had for ages. So I am becoming a bit more optimistic that we may soon have a few uninterrupted days of harvesting and that rape drilling may not be delayed for too long.
Which brings me to the perrennial, perpetual and I believe worsening problem of how to control the ever increasing number of pigeons that will certainly want to graze the crop as soon as it emerges. Regular readers of these blogs will be aware of my paranoia about pigeons and the time I spent last winter - from September to April really - chasing the pests off our crops. And I know well that those frustrations are shared by many.
I've ordered a couple of flying model hawks; I've increased the number of rotating balls with giant eyes that worked with limited success last year; and I've already reconciled myself to the need to let off more (expensive) rockets and place more bangers of various kinds across the rape fields. But all they will do (if I'm lucky) is frighten the pigeons for a few days each. What would be far better would be a more permanent solution that involved a significant reduction in the pigeon population.
I was therefore thrilled to read in yesterdays Telegraph that a contraceptive pill for pigeons called OvoControl has been developed in America.
It was developed, apparently, to feed to the pigeons in Hollywood, California, because the birds were fowling film sets and the shopping centres along Rodeo Drive. In this country Councillor Clem Walden of Stamford, Lincolnshire, heard about the pills and would like to use them to thin out the population in his town.
If they work they could half the population of pigeons in the area within three to four years, he believes. Could this also be the solution to rape growers problems? Well, not immediately because there is no license for the product in this country. Once again burocracy gets in the way of essential progress.
But it seems to me British farmers should at least initiate urgent enquiries in the US to establish whether these pills could be what we are looking for and if so mount an energetic campaign to get them legalised here as soon as possible. Even if it happens we will still have a few more years of frustration and cost. And even if the pills are successful, there will still be pigeons to be controlled. But at least here is a glimmer of hope for the future.
Comments (2)
You say ''Could this also be the solution to rape growers problems? Well, not immediately because there is no license for the product in this country. Once again burocracy gets in the way of essential progress.''
Bureaucracy (note the spelling) perhaps but what about the people who eat pigeons and how is one to know that it's only pigeon and not pheasant and partridge won't ingest such pellets which could result in untested hormones entering the human food chain. There's more to the rural economy than a good crop of rape.
Posted by Roger Shortfield | September 1, 2008 9:00 PM
Posted on September 1, 2008 21:00
Thanks for your comments, although I suspect you fail to appreciate the seriousness of the pigeon problem facing UK farmers.
Of course the safety of any product used in the countryside must be checked before use. That is why I suggested it would be a few years, at least, before the contraceptive pills could be legally used here. But presumably tests have been conducted in the US before they were used and it should not be too difficult to establish if the safety standards allowed in America are sufficient here. If there have been no US tests then they should be initiated.
I note your concern about people who eat pigeons and game and share it. Clearly this must be carefully checked by the safety authorities. I wonder if similar rigorous checks were made before human contraceptive pills were authorised? I read that there is increasing evidence our water supplies are becoming contaminated with oestrogen and that this is one of the factors affecting human male sperm counts.
None of us want that to happen from eating game, so yes, lets make sure before the pills are licensed. But if they are found to be safe their use could make many rape growers lives more bearable. And whether you agree or not, profitable crops are vital to the rural economy and to the secure supply of food for people like you.
Posted by David Richardson | September 3, 2008 11:01 AM
Posted on September 3, 2008 11:01