Royal Smithfield Show – update

29 November 2000



Royal Smithfield Show – update

• Best of British meat on show
  (29 November 2000)
  CARCASSES from the Royal Smithfield Show will be displayed at a special Festival of Meat held at Londons Smithfield Market on Saturday (2 December).

  
  

• 11,500 for Smithfield champion
  (29 November 2000)
  THE Supreme Champion at the Royal Smithfield Show, a 13-month-old crossbred Limousin-Aberdeen Angus bullock, has been sold for 11,500.

  
  

• Lifeline means nothing, say abattoirs
  (28 November 2000)
  GOVERNMENT plans to help small abattoirs mean nothing unless a new law designed to prevent the spread of BSE is dropped, meat-plant owners have warned.

  
  

• One-sixth of farmers bank online
  (28 November 2000)
  USE of electronic banking by farmers has more than doubled to 16% in the period from December 1999 to August 2000, according to Barclays Bank.

• Kennedy warns against beef war
  (28 November 2000)
  A TIT-FOR-TAT ban on French beef is not in the best interests of Britain, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy has warned farmers.

• Countryside awaits White-Paper boost
  (28 November 2000)
  RURAL communities are expected to receive a boost from the governments Rural White Paper, which will be published on Tuesday (28 November).

• Farming still strangled by strong Pound
  (28 November 2000)
  WEAK commodity prices and a strong Pound coupled with a weak Euro are still proving a deadly cocktail for farmers and the UK farm machinery industry.

• More management, less muck
  (28 November 2000)
  FARMERS have been advised to follow the lead of big business and adopt mission statements so that they have a clear direction for the future.

  
  

• Export scheme holds us back – Curry
  (27 November 2000)
  MARKETING effort from the Meat and Livestock Commission is being held back by the Date-based Export Scheme, chairman Don Curry told farmers on Monday (27 November).

  
  

• Rate relief on diversification?
  (27 November 2000)
  THE governments Rural White Paper may extend rate relief to diversification projects, so long as they are based on a working farm, landowners believe.

  
  

• Get closer to the market, farmers told
  (27 November 2000)
  FARMERS have a bright future there for the taking – the key is to have clear goals, cooperate and be determined, listeners heard at the Royal Smithfield Show.

  
  

• Low milk prices give youth a chance
  (27 November 2000)
  PLUMMETING milk prices have created a rare “window of opportunity” for young people to start farming, a seminar at the Royal Smithfield Show heard.

  
  

• Yeo predicts action on French beef
  (27 November 2000)
  THE government will be forced to restrict imports of French beef before Christmas, shadow agriculture minister Tim Yeo has predicted.

  
  

• Farmers stampede for British beef
  (27 November 2000)
  FARMERS cleared a stand selling hot beef rolls made with prime British beef within hours of the Royal Smithfield Show opening on Sunday (26 November).

  
  

• Suppliers cut staff, dont invest
  (27 November 2000)
  FARM suppliers are slashing sales staff and making too little investment in systems to manage the customer relationship, a leading consultant has warned.

  
  

• Consumers want traditional pork
  (27 November 2000)
  HALF of consumers want pork to taste like it did before production efficiency lead to lean pig meat, reveals a survey by the Bristol Meat Institute.

  
  

• Sheep men urge headage flat rate
  (27 November 2000)
  NATIONAL Sheep Association chief executive John Thorley has called for the introduction of a flat-rate 25 ewe headage payment.

  
  

• Date set for pig restructuring
  (27 November 2000)
  THE government plans to open its long-awaited scheme to allow farmers to leave the pig industry from 4 December, said agriculture minister Nick Brown.

  
  

• Protest threat against Irish beef
  (27 November 2000)
  BRITISH beef farmers are threatening new protests against imports of Irish beef entering the country after failing to find a market in France.

  
  

• Organic? Easier to buy Chinese
  (27 November 2000)
  ONE of Britains most successful organic farmers is importing wheat from China for his food-processing company because supplies are so scarce nearer to home.

• Sugar plan sours kit-makers show
  (26 November 2000)
  CONCERN over the future of the European Unions sugar regime has stirred up anxiety among machinery manufacturers exhibiting at the Royal Smithfield Show.

• Processing splits dairy farmers
  (26 November 2000)
  DAIRY farmers at the Royal Smithfield Show are divided over whether it is wise to invest in processing plants as a means of adding value to their milk.

• Minister steps up pressure over BSE
  (26 November 2000)
  AGRICULTURE minister Nick Brown has stepped up the pressure for a European Union-wide ban on the inclusion of animal protein in livestock feed.

• Gill warns of brave new world
  (26 November 2000)
  FARMING is about to enter a brave new world where food production will not be the mainstay for many businesses, farmers leader Ben Gill has claimed.

• Give free loans for farm machines
  (26 November 2000)
  BRITAINS crisis-hit farmers should be given interest-free loans to buy new machinery, the Royal Smithfield Show chairman has urged.

• Samaritans seek rural recruits
  (26 November 2000)
  THE Samaritans wants farmers and people with rural backgrounds to join the organisation as stress counsellors to help those suffering from the farming crisis.

• Brown announces help for abattoirs
  (26 November 2000)
  AGRICULTURE minister Nick Brown has announced plans to offset the cost of meat inspection charges that threaten the survival of Britains smallest abattoirs.

• Rural White Paper will fail farmers
  (26 November 2000)
  THE governments Rural White Paper, due to be published on Tuesday (28 November), will not tackle the causes of the farming crisis, landowners have warned.

• Renaissance for Wensleydale sheep
  (26 November 2000)
  Wensleydale sheep are becoming increasing popular, claims Yorkshire farmer Alan Duffield, who has been breeding the animals for nearly 20 years.

• NFU unveils cost-busting campaign (26 November 2000)
  The National Farmers Union has chosen the Royal Smithfield Show as the launch pad for a new cost-busting campaign.

• Final five up for Smithfield award (26 November 2000)
  Five finalists are vying for the coveted Royal Smithfield Club Bicentenary Trophy to recognise one persons contribution to the meat livestock industry.

• Farming is like athletics, visitors told (26 November 2000)
  The same qualities that make a successful athlete also make a successful farmer, visitors to the Royal Smithfield Show in London have been told.

• Farm retailers given shot in the arm (26 November 2000)
  More farmers are selling produce through their own retail outlets, claims the Farm Retail Association, whose chairman is speaking at the Smithfield Show.

• Cattle judge has 40 years experience (26 November 2000)
  Cattle judge Robert Needham will bring with him nearly 40 years of experience when he steps into the ring at the Royal Smithfield Show.

• Wheelchair makes Smithfield special (26 November 2000)
  An electric wheelchair will make this years Royal Smithfield Show a very special event for one of the events most fervent Welsh supporters.

• Forecast gives farmers little solace (26 November 2000)
  The Euro is unlikely to recover significantly against sterling next year, suggesting that farmers are in for another bumpy ride in 2001, claim analysts.

• First-rate shop window for sheep (26 November 2000)
  The Royal Smithfield Show is the perfect showcase for British lamb, according to Northumberland sheep producer John Campbell.

• Not farming but still showing cattle
  (26 November 2000)
  The Sellers family from Derbyshire have fallen under the spell of the Royal Smithfield Show despite leaving full-time farming.

• Farmers son faces ultimate test (26 November 2000)
  Cumbria farmers son James Whiteford, 17, has the primestock showing bug but believes the Royal Smithfield Show will be his biggest challenge so far.

• Family hopes for another Royal win (26 November 2000)
  A Devon family which has shown livestock at Royal Smithfield for over 30 years is hoping for another win at the first show of the new millennium.

• Project boosts Welsh national flock (26 November 2000)
  A unique project is helping improve the quality of sheep at the Royal Smithfield Show, writes Farmers Weekly Wales correspondent Robert Davies.