News

Add your voice to the future of food and farming...

DEFRA has launched a nationwide consultation on farm policy after the UK leaves the European Union.  The draft White Paper makes some very sound points, but we believe is it sadly inadequate on expressing support of organic growing.
If the words ‘white paper’ and ‘consultation’ sound too boring, we sympathise.  However, this is an excellent opportunity for anyone who believes in organic growing to have a say on our future. 

The world’s most widely used insecticides will be banned from all fields within six months, to protect both wild and honeybees that are vital to crop pollination.

The European Union will ban the world’s most widely used insecticides from all fields due to the serious danger they pose to bees. The ban on neonicotinoids, approved by member nations on Friday, is expected to come into force by the end of 2018 and will mean they can only be used in closed greenhouses.

The fruitID.com project has announced that following the success of their schemes in 2016 and 2017, they are offering DNA analysis of Apple, Pear and Cherry fruit trees for 2018 at £26 plus VAT per sample. The world-renowned research organisation NIAB-EMR at East Malling in Kent, will provide the DNA analysis through their laboratory, East Malling Services Ltd: the National Fruit Collection will review the results; and Peter Laws of fruitID.com will administer the scheme.

To help address some of the common questions around the current review process of the site at Ryton, below are a selection of the questions we have been asked in recent weeks, with our responses.

If you have any queries not covered here, or want to let us know your view, please do continue to send them to questions@gardenorganic.org.uk.