Farming Futures Blog

July 2010 - Posts

• Could future water scarcity mean shorter not longer growing seasons for UK farmers?

  Author Name: Will Frazer Increased investment is being poured (excuse the pun) into securing water supplies for farmers and growers in East Anglia. On-farm reservoirs are flying through planning permission and food giants such as PepsiCo are investing... Posted Jul 30 2010, 06:10 PM by Blog posts Select Tags... SaveCancel Filed under: Crops, Horticulture, Potatoes, water, adaptation, growing season [Edit Tags]

• Wind of change in the uplands

  Author Name: David Hugill Read More... Posted Jul 30 2010, 12:47 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Wind, Livestock, sheep, uplands, severe weather [Edit Tags]

• My beef with soya

  Author Name: Dr Duncan Pullar When I read the newspaper, about all sorts of things of which I have only a general grasp, I tend to accept that the story presented is basically true. But when I see a piece about a subject of which I consider myself to... Posted Jul 26 2010, 12:32 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Livestock, Dairy, emissions, soya [Edit Tags]

• Climate news and knowledge#3

  Author Name: Will Frazer In the last couple of weeks there has been discussion around ways to reduce emissions from agriculture by looking at landuse overseas, evidence that Kent is realising its own climate of opportunity and debate over how to ensure... Posted Jul 23 2010, 07:03 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Crops, Horticulture, Potatoes, food security, Livestock, Poultry, Pigs, Dairy, soy, heat, peat, vineyard [Edit Tags]

• Let them eat grass?

  Author Name: Madeleine Lewis A herd of 8,000 dairy cows housed indoors all year round, fed, watered and monitored for optimal health? Is it the future of ‘low carbon’ dairy farming? Read More... Posted Jul 23 2010, 09:00 AM by Blog posts Filed under: Crops, Horticulture, Potatoes, food security, Livestock, Poultry, Pigs, Dairy, footprinting, water, carbon [Edit Tags]

• Growing up - is vertical farming the future?

  Author Name: Valcent Are high rise farms, vertical farming, and urban farming the solution to feeding our growing population? More and more architects, politicians and urban planners are latching on to the idea that something radical has to be done to... Posted Jul 21 2010, 04:36 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Horticulture, food security, footprinting, water, carbon, nutrient, resources [Edit Tags]

• Hotting up – the Renewable Heat Incentive

  Author Name: Rebecca Seaman Heating farmhouses and farm buildings already costs enough, but most experts agree that energy prices are only going one way – up. Farmers have been quick to explore the benefits from the Feed-in Tariffs introduced in... Posted Jul 20 2010, 05:36 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Crops, Biomass, Horticulture, Potatoes, Livestock, Energy Efficiency, Poultry, Pigs, Dairy [Edit Tags]

• Reduce traffic and get soil in pole position.

  Author Name: Tim Chamen Over the past decade there has been a drive towards the adoption of conservation agriculture to reduce costs and increase carbon sequestration. But this is causing concern due to the potentially negative effects of increased soil... Posted Jul 16 2010, 10:57 AM by Blog posts Filed under: Crops, Horticulture, Potatoes, nutrient, soil, nitrogen [Edit Tags]

• Miscanthus – Biomass, briquettes and BBQs

  Author Name: Tim Sedgewick I wouldn’t describe myself as an eco-warrior, in fact far from it. But on my placement year out from Harper Adams University College I have discovered a different mindset. Read More... Posted Jul 13 2010, 10:58 AM by Blog posts Filed under: Crops, Biomass, carbon, renewables, miscanthus [Edit Tags]

• Climate news and knowledge#2

  Author Name: Will Frazer In the last couple of weeks there has been talk of uncertainty about investment in AD, innovative responses to the impacts of the dry spell, spiced up sheep and super cows... Read More... Posted Jul 09 2010, 03:19 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Crops, Wind, Biomass, Anaerobic Digestion, Horticulture, Potatoes, Solar, Livestock, Energy Efficiency, Micro-hydro, Poultry, Pigs, Dairy, sheep, water, renewables, methane, cows, AD [Edit Tags]

• Could trade be the answer to the water crunch?

  Author Name: Will Frazer Read More... Posted Jul 09 2010, 12:38 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Crops, Horticulture, Potatoes, Livestock, Poultry, Pigs, Dairy, water [Edit Tags]

• Less fuel and more cash - DIY for cereal growers

  Author Name: Michael Donovan Improving the efficiency of field cultivations doesn’t have to be about big investment - as you will well know there are often simple solutions sitting right under your nose. A simple leveling board on your ‘combination... Posted Jul 08 2010, 12:41 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Crops, Energy Efficiency, soil, fuel, innovation [Edit Tags]

• Should British consumers only eat British produce?

  Author Name: Angharad Evans Last month at the Cereals show, I was asked to compete in a Royal Agricultural College team to debate the motion ‘This House Believes that British Consumers do not need to consume only British Produce.’ Read More... Posted Jul 05 2010, 01:16 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Crops, Horticulture, Potatoes, food security, Livestock, Poultry, Pigs, Dairy, carbon [Edit Tags]

• Water, water all around, and not a drop to drink!

  Author Name: John Allwood Rainfall in the first five months of 2010 the lowest in 45 years this blog reported last week ! Read More... Posted Jul 02 2010, 03:54 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Wind, Biomass, Anaerobic Digestion, Solar, Energy Efficiency, Micro-hydro, Dairy, PV, water, resources [Edit Tags]

• Vertical farms and hydroponics for Qatar

  Author Name: Will Frazer Bold plans have been set out by Qatar to achieve national food security in the wake of the food crisis two years ago. Read More... Posted Jul 01 2010, 04:30 PM by Blog posts Filed under: Crops, Wind, Biomass, Anaerobic Digestion, Horticulture, Potatoes, food security, Solar, Livestock, Energy Efficiency, Micro-hydro, hydroponics, vertical farming, Poultry, Pigs, Dairy [Edit Tags]