CSA article in today's Guardian

[Rachel Harries]

Great article in the Guardian today. Why not use this to promote your own CSA?

 

Rachel

 

Rachel Harries | Soil Association |  South Plaza, Marlborough Street |  Bristol BS1 3NX | t: 0117 987 4601 | m: 07795 528926

 

             
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“Schemes such as crowd funding cattle, "cow pooling" and bulk buying meat directly from farmers allow you to get closer to the organisations behind your dinner… You may also be able to buy shares in a cow from a farm that practices community supported agriculture. CSA is a partnership between local farms and communities designed to spread the risks and rewards of farming and to keep food local.”
Joanne O'Connell
The Guardian (19 Feb)

Farm virus 'can infect wild animals'
A livestock virus sweeping through British sheep flocks and cattle herds has infected wild deer, say scientists. The disease, which is spread by insects, causes birth defects in lambs and can reduce milk yields in cattle.
BBC (20 Feb)

Buying British: How UK sheep farmers are fleeced in supermarket price war
With prices at the farm gate falling, sheep farmers as well as consumers are suffering. The Telegraph visits a Cumbrian farm to see just how hard it is to make a living raising lambs.
Telegraph (19 Feb)

How to buy better meat
If the horsemeat scandal has left you wondering what exactly you are eating, you could consider investing in your food supply: think of it as having a stake in your steak.
Guardian (19 Feb)
Find out about Community Supported Agriculture

Pictures don't lie: corn and soybeans are conquering U.S. grasslands
The changing agricultural landscape of the northern plains see grasslands disappearing and being replaced by fields of corn and soybeans. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows actual pictures of that changing landscape. The images show that farmers in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska converted 1.3 million acres of grassland into soybean and corn production between 2006 and 2011.
NPR (19 Feb)
The Soil Association’s position on GM

U.N. offers banquet of blemished food to highlight waste
The United Nations treated government ministers and officials to a meal of blemished African fruit and vegetables on Tuesday to highlight how perfectly edible food is being rejected by European supermarkets.
Reuters (19 Feb)

UK farmers given new guidance in sustainable water management
Leading supermarket and brewer join with Leaf to develop guidance for farmers and suppliers on how to monitor and save water supplies and manage soil
The Guardian (19 Feb)

Land-grabbing firms beware: cost of ignoring people's rights is rising
A new report on land acquisition by the Munden Project/Rights and Resources Initiative brings an important angle to the land "grab" debate. Rather than focusing on the ethics of land grabbing, the report makes the business case for working with local communities, arguing that failure to inform or fairly compensate affected locals heightens the risks to investors.
Guardian (18 Feb)

Unlikely friends: The red squirrel could make a comeback in the English countryside thanks to pine martens
The predators can hunt grey squirrels more easily facilitating red cousins. University of Galway study found reds in pine marten populated areas. Experts say that pine martens could be introduced to help red squirrels
Daily Mail (20 Feb)

Bid to solve mystery of 50,000 red-breasted geese lost in migration
Scientists have fitted 11 geese with tracking tags in an attempt to find the cause of the birds' mass disappearance 10 years ago
Guardian (20 Feb)

Pig farmers are being urged to look out for signs of mycotoxin poisoning after tests revealed extensive feed contamination
Mycotoxins, which are caused by moulds and fungi and severely affect pig performance, were found in 90% of grain sampled by animal health company, Alltech UK. Straw bedding was also highly contaminated with multiple mycotoxins.
Farmers Weekly (19 Feb)

Welsh calls for Schmallenberg vaccine push
A call for a ‘big push’ to get a vaccine for Schmallenberg licensed and available for farmers to use has come from Wales in the light of bigger than expected early lambing losses.
Farmers Guardian (20 Feb)

Farming Today
As the Food Standards Agency extends horse DNA testing to include beef sandwiches, we continue our exploration of meat traceability with a butcher who runs his own abattoir. We also talk to a farmer whose online meat sales have taken off following the horsemeat scandal.A UN commissioned report warns that inefficient fertiliser use worldwide is damaging the environment.
BBC Radio4 (20 Feb)

And finally… Natural light is a beacon for the human spirit
The Telegraph (19 Feb)

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