The Rural Bulletin: 5th July 2018

Harvest 2018 kicks off in Eastern counties

Winter barley harvest has started in the Eastern counties– two weeks ahead of schedule for some farmers – on the back of the recent heatwave.While harvest 2018 is only in the very early stages, indicators are pointing towards a very average harvest – with yields noticeably down in Suffolk. 

Despite this, the mood is generally positive, although concerns are now turning to wheat crops which seem to be suffering most in the dry, hot weather.

Petition to cancel Derbyshire sky lantern festival

A petition has been launched to cancel a sky lantern festival due to the risk of fire to local countryside and the danger to livestock. 

The northern England segment of The Lights Fest is set to take place in Derbyshire later this month but has received almost 8,000 signatures calling for it to be cancelled. 

The petition said: “Allowing this event to go ahead is dangerous and irresponsible, as the risk of starting further fires is extremely high. We ask the organisers and local MPs to work to get this event cancelled.”

Update: The Lights Fest lantern festival has been cancelled. Announced on website Change.org a campaigner wrote: 

‘Following a response from Ruth George MP, it is safe to say that common sense, for the most part, prevails.

'For now, we should keep informed of Ruth’s website for any further action and make sure that no one you know is purchasing tickets for an event that will not be allowed to go ahead.’

Red diesel prices set to rise

Concerns are mounting over red diesel prices which have returned close to their 2018 high and are set to climb even further before the end of harvest. This comes on the back of higher crude oil prices due to tight supplies.

In a report by Farmers Weekly, AF fuel trading manager Spencer Hill said the average price for 5,000 litres of red diesel over the past six weeks had been 58.47p/litre.

This was down to a rise in crude oil prices, which were trending towards US$80/barrel (£60.54/barrel), after armed conflict put a stop to Libyan exports.

NFU Scotland repeats call for Convergence Review

NFU Scotland has written again to Defra secretary Michael Gove, calling for a review of convergence funding. NFU Scotland President, Andrew McCornick said: “When we met with Mr Gove at the Highland Show we left him in no doubt that this long-running issue is critical to the future interests of Scottish agriculture. 

“The UK’s CAP budget convergence dividend issue must be fairly resolved to provide the financial base upon which to build future Scottish agricultural policy. This review must also agree the framework for agricultural spending post-Brexit and beyond the requirement of the CAP.”

This comes after the news that Scotland may impose a cap on direct payments to farmers as a result of the new Stability and Simplicity farm support policy unveiled recently by the Scottish government. The consultation paper is asking for views on how such capping should work and suggests that 5,000 businesses would be affected if payments were capped at £25,000 per farm.

To give your views or find out more about the proposal please click here. 

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