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Farming Today: SEMEX dairy show; Pesticides - Endocrine Disruptors; BBC Food and Farming Awards

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12/01/2015

SEMEX dairy show; Pesticides - Endocrine Disruptors; BBC Food and Farming Awards

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, SEMEX dairy show; Pesticides - Endocrine Disruptors; BBC Food and Farming Awards

Dairy farmers meet at the SEMEX trade show amidst further troubles in the industry.

Dairy farmers are meeting in Glasgow at the SEMEX trade show, and we hear about the latest troubles besetting the industry, as First Milk temporarily halts payments to suppliers.

First Milk's announcement that it will not be paying its farmers this week, has sent shockwaves throughout the dairy industry. The dairy company is farmer-owned, and takes milk from about 15% of dairy farmers in the UK. Figures released by the NFU show about 60 farmers left dairying in December alone. The SEMEX dairy conference in Glasgow - which is celebrating its 25th year - is under way. Agricultural consultant John Allen is the conference organiser. After months of cuts in milk prices, he expects the mood to be rather angry and a bit glum.

All this week Farming Today focuses on the use of pesticides in British Farming. For many years, there have been concerns that people's health may be affected by the amount of chemicals in food and drinking water. Chemicals known as "endocrine disruptors" in water have been known to affect invertebrates, and even change the sex of some organisms. Now, the European Union is discussing how to define an "endocrine disruptor", and farmers here are worried that if the definition is wide enough it could mean many of the pesticides they use might be banned. Today we compare the views on this of the NFU and PAN, the Pesticide Action Network.

The BBC's Food and Farming Awards are on the horizon. Categories include Best Food Producer, Best Food Initiative, Cook of the Year, and - this year - the Countryfile Farming Hero Award. Nominations in all except the last category are now open.

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