Food for Thought

Want to know what goes on in the Farmers Weekly office during a typical day? Here's an insight:

In a week of sunshine and showers, farming has had its fair share of good news and bad.

When Gordon Brown called a Food Summit to tackle the global food crisis many hoped for some significant signals on prices paid to farmers. They should have known better, the summit yielded warm words, but little of substance. The challenge now is for the NFU and others to use the raised awareness to drive home the fact that low prices drive low output.

Here are some of the key articles that have appeared on FWi over the past week – including a first drive of New Holland’s T6080 tractor (includes video footage), the risks of more modulation through the CAP health check, a farmer’s eye view of a McDonald’s processing plant and full listings of livestock anti-parasitic products.

Weighing in at under 6t, yet packing 155hp, we provide a first drive report on New Holland’s T6080 tractor (includes video footage).

Bovine TB – the bane of dairy farmers across the nation – is being targeted in Wales. We relay the latest developments as policies start to shift. There’s also evidence that scrapie could be passed on to lambs though ewe’s milk.

We relay expert advice on SPS form-filling in an SPS special feature and getting planning permission in our latest “So You Want To” article.

Profit is the focus of Group Arable Editor Robert Harris’s interview with Cereals 2008 event partner Velcourt, with plenty of talk about arable farming’s opportunities.

Contracting changes could be in for a shake-up if a new way of monitoring silaging operations takes off.

Yesterday we had a major announcement on badger culling and shocked reaction to EU plans for compulsory electronic sheep identification – and Wales led on both fronts.

The Welsh Assembly announced that it is to test every one of Wales' 400-000-plus bovine and camelid animals for TB, ahead of any possible farm-specific culling of badgers.

Welsh farming unions have also said their members will be shell shocked by the EU Commission's determination to impose electronic identification of sheep (EID) from 2010.

Meanwhile, the Meat Hygiene Service is closing five regional offices to improve efficiency and embrace changing technology, saving £16m by 2011/12.

NFU Scotland president Jim McLaren has become the first UK union leader to start his own blog.

“The farming industry, myself included, isn’t generally known for its computer literacy but many more farmers are these days becoming au fait with the world of emails, internet, blogs and podcasts,” he said.

“NFU Scotland must ensure that it keeps up with the times and so I have launched this regular blog to enable people to learn more about what their union and its president are doing for the farming industry.

"At the simple touch of a mouse people will be able to delve into some of my thoughts and have the opportunity to comment upon them as well as learn how their union is representing them."

Farmers Weekly editor Jane King has started a new blog to help magazine readers and users of the website to understand better how the Farmers Weekly Group operates and to get a dialogue going to inform editorial decisions.