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Golden Valley Environment Group Minutes of the GVEG Meeting held on Thursday 24th April 2008 at Vowchurch & Turnastone Memorial Hall ‘Agriculture’ was the subject for discussion, and NFU Herefordshire Chairman David Morgan led the way with a hard headed NFU appraisal of the effects climate change will have on British farming. Already 60% of farmers reckon that climate change is affecting them, and as seasons get more extreme they will have to adapt to water shortages, and to the introduction of new crops and animals. The government has recently woken up to the issue of ‘Food Security’. This has nothing to do with terrorists, but ensuring ‘home’ production of as much food as possible. Another pressing issue is farming's vulnerablilty to new pests and diseases, with Blue Tongue a major threat, such that already since our meeting vaccination has started in the South East. Digestors are a coming phenomenon, where crops, dung, and food waste can be converted to methane to produce power. An unsettling development is that in Germany, farmers are making more money producing power than feeding the crops to cattle. As regards GM crops, he pointed out that most of the world apart from the EU is GM fed, and if we continue to want GM free food, prices will escalate accordingly. It would seem that with increasing pressures for food from the developing world, coupled with harsher climate, the way ahead is going to get tough and expensive. David Parker of Chanstone Court gave an amusing account of his path to diversification, triggered by BSE and Foot and Mouth, and his sad decision to take his ‘faithful old girls’ to the abattoir. How to diversify? He tried bottling water-‘very boring’; a fleeting idea for a ski slope; caravans-but when a rather large lady got stuck in a van doorway and a straw bale toilet collapsed on a performing occupant, the scheme was doomed! Finally as he had some 80 acres of woodland with a good variety of timber he alighted on this as a main plank to his future, and as he is replanting as he goes, seems like a more sustainable future, and as we know Chanstone Timber is now a thriving business. Finally Manu and Edi gave an update on their Community Supported Agriculture project. They explained that ecological concerns had led to a life change, the result of which was to purchase 20 acres in Long Lane, Peterchurch, 18 acres of which was pasture and the rest woodland. They had hoped to go organic, but there are many hoops to jump through for Soil Association accreditation, so have decided to be chemical free and to get manure from the best local sources possible so as to be as near accreditation standards as possible. They have held two community days. One when 850 trees were planted, and the other when many yards of much needed rabbit fencing were erected. They plan a public meeting in the next month to discuss the way ahead. Looking to the future Manu envisaged that after ‘Peak Oil’ they would phase out their tractor and introduce horse power. The next meeting of the group will be 7.30, Thursday 19th June, at Peterchurch Community Centre, when Anu van Warmelo of Blitz Café will lead a discussion on ‘Ecopsychology-the psychological challenges that face us collectively and individually’. Everyone welcome . For further details please contact Vanessa Hembling email vanessahembling@hotmail.com or phone: 01981 550377 Minutes prepared by Alan Picton, 15 May 2008 Click here to return to top of this page.
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