It is encouraging that the Sussex Police Rural Crime squad have made some significant arrests relating to farm machinery thefts, and recovered vehicles and equipment worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Chief Constable Jo Shiner, when she stepped into Giles York’s significant shoes, committed her energies and that of the Force to keeping the public safe and catching criminals.
The dedicated Rural Crime Team is working very closely with farmers, landowners and the rural community; building a web of contacts and communications across the county. Hopefully, before long criminals, petty thieves and those dealing in drugs, will decide Sussex is a county to be avoided unless they wish to be caught and face severe consequences.
Let us also hope that Home Secretary Priti Patel, is watching Singapore closely, and picking up tips on how to keep the British public safe by introducing punishments to fit the crimes.
To remind: anyone spotting anything unusual or suspicious should email the information to: [email protected]
It seems that there are differing views in Scotland regarding the usefulness of planting trees for carbon capture. Experts at the University of Stirling and the James Hutton Institute analysed four locations in Scotland where birch trees were planted on heather moorland. They found that over decades there was no net increase in ecosystem carbon storage.
The team, led by Nina Friggens, of the Faculty of Natural Science of Stirling, identified that any increase to carbon storage in tree biomass was offset by a loss of carbon stored in the soil.
The tree-planting experiments, in the Grampians, Cairngorms and Glen Affric, were set up in 1980 and 2005.
These research sites enabled the team to assess the effect of tree planting on vegetation and soil carbon stocks, by comparing experimental plots to adjacent control plots, of original heath vegetation.
Notably, the study recorded a 58% reduction in soil organic carbon stocks 12 years after the birch trees were planted. This decline was not compensated for by the gains in carbon contained in the growing trees, nor 39 years after planting.
Despite these significant disappointing results, the Scottish Government has launched a £1m grant to encourage farmers and crofters to diversify into forestry production, under the £40m Agriculture Transformation Programme.
Launched in February, it is designed to; ‘support farming and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by capturing carbon and provide income for farm businesses.’
One has to ask why universities and other such institutions bother to do their research, when clearly governments and their departments clearly take scant notice of this important environmental research.
The US is the world’s second biggest importer of lamb but UK farmers are currently prevented from exporting into this market. Liz Truss, Secretary of State for International Affairs, is negotiating an ambitious trade deal with the US which would benefit UK farmers across the country. A positive agreement could remove tariffs up to 26% on British beef, which is already estimated to be worth £66m to UK farmers, and open the market to sheep farmers.
Despite the ongoing criticism of the Minister and Government by NFU leaders, celebrity chefs and others throwing in their penny worth, the Prime Minister and Liz Truss have made it perfectly clear they will only agree a deal that is fair to UK farmers. They have pledged repeatedly to continue to uphold our high domestic and import standards in animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards.
As we move closer to achieving a UK/USA Trade Deal opening the door for the UK’s 5.9 million small businesses to export and boost jobs, we should give our elected representatives flexibility to negotiate on our behalf.
It appears that President Trump will remain in office for a further four years, as the US electorate note what he has done, and ignore what he says.
Chief Constable Jo Shiner, when she stepped into Giles York’s significant shoes, committed her energies and that of the Force to keeping the public safe and catching criminals.
The dedicated Rural Crime Team is working very closely with farmers, landowners and the rural community; building a web of contacts and communications across the county. Hopefully, before long criminals, petty thieves and those dealing in drugs, will decide Sussex is a county to be avoided unless they wish to be caught and face severe consequences.
Let us also hope that Home Secretary Priti Patel, is watching Singapore closely, and picking up tips on how to keep the British public safe by introducing punishments to fit the crimes.
To remind: anyone spotting anything unusual or suspicious should email the information to: [email protected]
It seems that there are differing views in Scotland regarding the usefulness of planting trees for carbon capture. Experts at the University of Stirling and the James Hutton Institute analysed four locations in Scotland where birch trees were planted on heather moorland. They found that over decades there was no net increase in ecosystem carbon storage.
The team, led by Nina Friggens, of the Faculty of Natural Science of Stirling, identified that any increase to carbon storage in tree biomass was offset by a loss of carbon stored in the soil.
The tree-planting experiments, in the Grampians, Cairngorms and Glen Affric, were set up in 1980 and 2005.
These research sites enabled the team to assess the effect of tree planting on vegetation and soil carbon stocks, by comparing experimental plots to adjacent control plots, of original heath vegetation.
Notably, the study recorded a 58% reduction in soil organic carbon stocks 12 years after the birch trees were planted. This decline was not compensated for by the gains in carbon contained in the growing trees, nor 39 years after planting.
Despite these significant disappointing results, the Scottish Government has launched a £1m grant to encourage farmers and crofters to diversify into forestry production, under the £40m Agriculture Transformation Programme.
Launched in February, it is designed to; ‘support farming and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by capturing carbon and provide income for farm businesses.’
One has to ask why universities and other such institutions bother to do their research, when clearly governments and their departments clearly take scant notice of this important environmental research.
The US is the world’s second biggest importer of lamb but UK farmers are currently prevented from exporting into this market. Liz Truss, Secretary of State for International Affairs, is negotiating an ambitious trade deal with the US which would benefit UK farmers across the country. A positive agreement could remove tariffs up to 26% on British beef, which is already estimated to be worth £66m to UK farmers, and open the market to sheep farmers.
Despite the ongoing criticism of the Minister and Government by NFU leaders, celebrity chefs and others throwing in their penny worth, the Prime Minister and Liz Truss have made it perfectly clear they will only agree a deal that is fair to UK farmers. They have pledged repeatedly to continue to uphold our high domestic and import standards in animal welfare, food safety and environmental standards.
As we move closer to achieving a UK/USA Trade Deal opening the door for the UK’s 5.9 million small businesses to export and boost jobs, we should give our elected representatives flexibility to negotiate on our behalf.
It appears that President Trump will remain in office for a further four years, as the US electorate note what he has done, and ignore what he says.
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