NFU vice president Guy Smith was a worried man at the AEA Conference expressing his concern that widely used herbicide glyphosate might be banned by the EU. In the event, the following day MEPs granted a licence for a further 7 years (instead of the requested 15 years). ADAS had estimated that a total ban on glyphosate would reduce UK production of winter wheat by 12%. Mind you the MEP’s resolution saying that it should only be used for professional use and not for gardens and parks was passed by 374 to 225 votes but was described as ‘non-binding’. Which means the debate is still very much still on the table I guess.
‘Non-binding resolution’ what’s that all about? BP shareholders voted in their numbers yesterday about the £14m pay package for CEO Bob Dudley. The vote was deemed ‘non-binding’ and in any case Mr D had already had the money. Hopefully however the message will get through in the current climate.
Farming is cyclical. Encouraging views therefore from The Economist “After centuries of lay-offs, employment in agriculture, forestry and fishing is up by a fifth from it’s low-point in 2002”. It says that big-name investors are predicting a resurgence. Financier Jim Rogers is quoted as saying “Farmers are the ones who are going to prosper over the next 30 years, not fund managers”
What is it about lawnmowers that turns on the crazies? A couple of weeks ago, we reported on a Georgia man who videotaped himself shooting a semi-automatic rifle at a lawnmower packed with explosives. Flying shrapnel from the exploding mower took his leg off. Now last week, a pickup truck collided with a lawnmower-pulling-a-wheelchair on a road in Louisiana, killing one man. Police said a man drove the lawnmower, another man rode on the hood and a third man held onto the lawnmower from a wheelchair, A Ford truck hit the trio from behind. All three were taken to a hospital where the driver of the mower later died.
Best line at the AEA Conference came from NFU’s Guy Smith who farms near Clacton-on-Sea (“the heart of UKIP central”). He said, it’s the sort of town that boasts hand-written signs at roundabouts saying “Happy 30th Birthday Granny”!
