Field boundaries and bug banks have been promoted as a way to help farmers reduce their reliance on pesticides and insecticides. By providing beneficial plants around – and within – the crops it is hoped that predatory insects like ladybirds … Continue reading
A new report by the Policy Exchange think tank has been published and the news headlines are saying that wildlife is under threat from the planning system. But is it? The first thing to remember when reading the actual report … Continue reading
I’m of an age when one of the popular family days-out when growing up was pick-your-own. We’d all head off to the farm to pick fruit and vegetables on a day out. It now seems that chimpanzees in Africa have … Continue reading
A team of ecologists from the University of Pittsburg have just published a paper in Ecological Applications that demonstrate that tadpoles will change shape when the herbicide Roundup is present in the water. It’s not some Frankenstein monster though but the chemical … Continue reading
It may have happen 26 years ago and it may have been thousands of miles away from the hill farms of Wales and Cumbria but the impact of the Chernobyl accident has made a lasting impression. Now 26 years on … Continue reading
England is set to get 12 new wildlife sites following an announcement today by the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The new nature reserves is set to cover hundreds of thousands of hectares of both rural and … Continue reading
Neonicotinoid insecticides are known to have a devastating impact on bees and a new study just published has shown another way in which these chemicals are damaging the worlds pollinators. Neonicotinoid coatings around the seeds are released into the environment at planting time and find their … Continue reading
At a time when there’s lots of discussion and thought about the environment and development it’s always worth remembering that many of us have a valuable wildlife resource right on our doorstep. Gardens have become an essential resource for many species and … Continue reading
Escalating uncontrolled land reforms in Zimbabwe are taking their toll on the country’s already decimated wildlife. Now a herd of 70 elephants on the Chiredzi River Conservancy (CRC) in the south eastern Lowveld, close to Gona re Zhou National Park, … Continue reading
It’s not just UK farmlands birds that are having problems at the moment. A recently published study shows that farmland bird numbers are falling all across Europe. The pan-European bird monitoring scheme which began in 2002 uses common species of birds … Continue reading
Farmers who leave bug and beetle banks in their fields are not only helping wildlife but could also be boosting their crop productivity and reducing their reliance on herbicide sprays. New research by the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council … Continue reading
Honeybees have crashed in numbers since the 1980′s but a recent study indicates that crop productivity is still rising raising the question of ‘who is pollinating all the crops?’. The study shows that we only have a third of the … Continue reading
The UK signed up to show it’s support for the The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing yesterday (25 June 2011). Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, added her signature to that of 11 other European countries who signed yesterday. In total 36 … Continue reading
As the human population carries on growing the risks of human-wildlife conflict increases. This is a particular problem in Africa where new settlements now expand into traditional wildlife habitats and corridors. Incoming search terms:bee honey education new methodhony bee … Continue reading
Jim Paice MP the minister responsible for the latest proposed badger cull in England has encouraged farmers to be a bit more patient. Speaking at BeefExpo he said that the challenges arising from the TB consultation were proving difficult to resolve. … Continue reading
At a time of ever increasing world food prices it’s good news to see that a near 50 year old law in Brazil that restricts farmers ability to grow food has passed the first stage of being updated. If the … Continue reading
The Welsh Assembly is about to start a cull of badgers in order to try and stop the spread of TB in cattle. Farmers and livestock markets though are ignoring basic bio-security procedures that are supposed to help stop the … Continue reading
The Ethiopian government has cut an Indian multinational agribusiness land concession by two thirds – but it appears that Karuturi Global (the business concerned) are not fully aware of the cuts. The initial land concession was in excess of 311,000 ha but … Continue reading
Kenya is a fast growing flower supplier. One in three roses sold in the UK will come from Kenya. Over the last few days Virgin Atlantic has flown in 15 tonnes of roses from Kenya for Valentines Day on Monday. … Continue reading
This years Countryside Farmer of the Year Award has been given to two cousins, Brian and Patrick Barker, from Suffolk. The award was given to the cousins for their work in the farming industry including their commitment to wildlife on … Continue reading
