FARMERFOCUS
FARMERFOCUS
Paul Warburton
Paul Warburton farms
208ha (514 acres) of
mostly chalky loam at
North Farm, Shillingford
Hill, near Oxford. He is an
owner-occupier, running
the business in partnership
with his wife Hilary.
Cropping includes feed
wheat, feed barley
and oilseed rape
MARCH comes in like lion and out like a lamb. Result? Good progress on all fronts.
All first nitrogen and sulphur top-dressing is done and all cereals have had a 1.25litres/ha dose of Meteor (chlormequat + choline chloride + imazaquin) plus 0.5 litres/ha of Route. Oilseed rape is due Caramba (metconazole) and with mildew, eyespot, septoria and gout fly present in wheats I can see agronomist Graham Inions next visit will be a long and expensive one. October-drilled Chablis spring wheat is looking as good as any of the winter crops, having kept growing throughout the winter.
Our county NFU chairman David Orpwood, with the help of Brian Edgley, produced an excellent and constructive response to the Curry Report. Last week we, the members, had the opportunity to hear Sir Donalds proposals first hand.
Despite having been at No 10 all day he came to speak at an evening meeting. I expected one of "Tonys Cronies" and certainly not one of us. However, he is not that at all. He is an amusing, extremely knowledgeable cereal and stock farmer with a complete grip on farmings current problems. Among the many pressing items addressed, the key ones seem to be: No option over match funding from the Treasury; optional euro payment of IACS; control of illegal meat imports; reduced duty on biofuels; clear labelling; easing of Office of Fair Trading or Monopolies Commission constraints for organisations such as marketing co-operatives. A show of hands saw 90% of those present supporting his proposals. We shall have to see what Chancellor Gordon Browns reaction is come July.
I have seen some unusual sights in the countryside, but last week I saw one of the strangest – not an abandoned car on the side of the road with a "Police Aware" sticker on it but a dead horse labelled with the same notice. There was no sign of a collision so I am at a loss as to how it got there. *