Forefront, will this become the next BSE?

The chemical companies have a lot to answer for.  How can they produce a chemical to be used on the land, without thinking through the consequences.  Surely someone, somewhere considered if there is no need to respray, then it clearly will not breakdown, and if it doesn’t break down where will it end up eventually.

The consequences for livestock on the farms, other animal such as horse and camelids that eat the hay and haylage and lastly the humans on the end of the food chain are very serious indeed.

Should we be eating the the meat of livestock that have grazed pasture which has been sprayed with this chemical?  If the chemical does not breakdown, will it be held in the bloodstream and muscle tissue of the animal ?

Horse owners are being advised not to allow there animals to eat hay or haylage which has been harvested from pasture treated with this chemical, which seems a senible precaution, but for how long?   This advise is given to break the chain and prevent the horse manure being used as a fertiliser on vegetable crops.  What is the chemical doing the the digestive system and health of the horses.  If you have horses, which produce quite a lot of manure, how will you dispose of your muck heaps?

The chemical companies website clearly advises that manure or compost which may contain residues of the hericide should not be used on produce which may be eaten.  The problems caused could be far reaching and land could be contaminated for years, nobody seems to know.

 Lets start the debate and put pressure on Mr Benn to look into and get some clear answers and advise on this problem.  If it works so effectively on the weeds, what is it doing to US?

Bovine TB is an unstoppable problem, or so it seems, if the government and farmers do not agree on a strategy to tackle this growing disease.

Should DEFRA be doing more to help?

What role should the government have?

Should Farmers be putting their point of view across more forcefully?

Should we vaccinate?

 Should we cull?

And whats the badger doing, snuffling around for worms, he doesn’t care at the moment.  All this indecision means he is left in peace to get on with his life.

Have your say here.

I’m just getting started with this blogging lark, I suppose everyone else is ahead of me and knows excactly how it works, nevertheless I intend to carry on and get to grips with it. 

So much of what we do now is controlled to some extent by our computers, whether we choose to admitt this fact is something else.  The long range weather forecast has enabled the silage making to get underway and in before the rain came in the early hours of this morning, it also meant I was able to get the horses in and tucked up in their stables before coming to work, so that they didn’t get too wet, Aaahh!  My teenagers are always asking ‘Mum do you know……?’, with a relatively clear conscious and without owning up to the fact that I haven’t really listened and also have probably forgotten whatever it is they are asking about years ago reply ‘Google it’.

I confidentially put new plants in over the weekend, knowing that they would receive a good watering this morning, so I haven’t had to do it.  I came up with the idea of recycling the old wheelbarrow that now has a number of wholes in the bottom, so pretty useless as a wheelbarrow, into a small vegetable garden, the snails dont seem to be able to climb up the frame, so for now my letuces are safe from their veracious appetites.  Hey, perhaps I should copyright the idea, I’m sure all you Garden Designers out there are looking for new ways of putting gardens together.

It’s really quite strange, when you are given the opportunity to say pretty much what you choose, it’s hard to come up with something that sounds reasonably interesting and amusing, no wonder I feel like Billy no mates sometimes, perhaps I’ve become just a boring old whatsit.

Has anybody got any other simple ideas for recycling old equipment?

How’s your Silage making going?