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Hungary meets German pressure with Nazi tauntsTensions between Germany and Hungary have flared over remarks by the countries' leaders, including references to Hitler's occupation of the eastern European country in 1944 and an irritated German government response condemning Hungary's allusion to the Nazi era as "deplorable derailment".
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Breaking stories
Technology gives farmer and local food producer tools to do job well
By Mike Donovan
Technology is a wonderful thing, enabling me as I write this article to also monitor the dairy crisis meeting in London — where UK farming minister Jim Paice is sitting with his head in his hands, on the back foot, unable to provide dairy farmers with any coherent answers.
British milk producers have reached the end of their very long tether, and the minister is between a rock and a hard place: between farmers who want a living, and a government that wants cheap food. He can’t deliver both at the same time, but will need to assuage some of the demands of the farmers, if he is not to find himself the undertaker of the UK dairy industry.As one farmer said — in 1985, he paid 9p/litre for diesel, and now its 79p. He paid £80 for fertiliser that is now £280. He paid £90 for cattle feed, which is now £300. Yet, he gets just 4p a litre more than in 1985 for his milk. “How do you expect me to keep going?”
While other industries, such as mine, has developed technology which makes all kinds of wonderful things happen, there’s none which will milk or feed cows, fertilise grass or do any of the other jobs.
But here’s some technology which will help farmers over the summer time, if flies are biting cow’s legs in the parlour, and the units are getting kicked onto the floor.
Systemic insecticides provide control at a price, but have limitations. If you use them too early in the season, their effect will wear off in the autumn when the really nasty biters are on the prowl. They won’t banish flies from the parlour.
The alternatives are the “insectocutors” that carry a significant capital cost.
Synergetic UVA green lamps cost around €400.
Another alternative is fly control paint, which is a mixture of non-toxic oils that you dilute and paint onto walls and equipment. Exorsect is a brand leader, and will set you back around €50 for sufficient to make up 25 litres of product.
And of course, there’s always the trusty fly paper, which has various shapes and forms to attract and stick the culprits.
On my way round farms last summer, I came across two interesting DIY ideas which the farmers said worked well.
The first is simply a ceiling fan in the milking parlour, which has a number of benefits for the cowman and for his cows. In the summer, it keeps the air moving and the flies at bay. One fan is sufficient for a parlour with 24 standings. They’re cheap to buy and run.
When the flies have all gone, you might well find yourself keeping the fan turning, as it circulates the rising air from the cows down to the floor of the pit, keeping your feet warm. Cows generate around 1000 watts each — the same as a one-bar electric fire. So there’s a lot of heat from the 20 in the parlour, but it all goes to waste. The fan recycles it.
The second fly control method is a fine spray of water outside the parlour doors. The farmer fixed an alkathene water pipe over the entrance and exit doors of the parlour and pricked some holes in it. The tap only needed to be slightly turned to get a mist of spray which was a barrier to entry by flies. You might do even better with a spray nozzle.
He found it used very little water, and kept the parlour totally clear if flies.
My guess is that flies will be around a lot longer than major dairy processors, and probably supermarkets as well.
Like the dinosaurs, the days of these huge milk plants and stores are numbered — to be counted out by the ever-increasing cost of long distance transport, the desire from consumers for bespoke local food on their table, and the developing technology which gives the farmer and local food producer the tools to do the job well.