If – like me this morning – you awake early and tune into UK radio station Radio 4, you can learn what is going on in “Farming Today”. Normally I only half listen to stories of wheat prices, tractor tyres and yoghurt making but this morning the world of farming was talking science.
First it called for support for horticultural research. The EU is stopping the use of certain pesticides, and this ban makes research into new forms of pest control vital for effective farming. Tom Taylor, chairman of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board, said spending cuts by the UK government will stop this research taking place. Plans to build a new AHDB HQ have been put on hold due to spending cuts and this in turn means that the research activity of the AHDB will suffer.
The programme also visited the Dairy Event at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. To the evident surprise of the reporter, they found a robotic milker. This robot not only milks a cow but checks her health, her milk flow, feeds her, monitors her fertility and the quality of her milk. I don’t think it can quite make cheese yet but surely is only a matter of time.
//Esther Crooks
