Thanks to Philip Leicester

Loughborough Greens

for giving me this link....we in the Green Party need to be thinking more about ecology...although I guess internal democracy is going to be a very very big issue for us!

Any way...10 minutes out of the house and off to Haltemprice for the by-election, Shan Oakes campaign has energised more people especially from outside the Green Party than I have seen for years...really glad to be supporting her.

right on to the agro pain


Allotment holders and vegetable growers across the country have been reporting crops failing and being killed following the addition of manure to the land. Some crops, like potatoes are very badly effected whereas others are less affected.

It appears that the problem is linked to a new herbicide (a hormone weedkiller) aminopyralid being used by the farmers.

The most sensitive crops affected are:

Potatoes,
Tomatoes,
Peas,
Beans,
Carrots,
Lettuce
The list is not exclusive - these are just the plants most affected .

My understanding is that the product is licensed for use on grass land but is not licensed for use on wheat etc although anecdotal evidence suggests it is being used on cereal crops despite licensing restrictions.

You will appreciate that I am being careful what I say about a product that a large chemical company has spent more than $80 million bringing to market with a large and powerful legal department.

The active chemical, aminopyralid, is present in:
Banish
Forefront
Halcyon
Pharaoh
Pro-Banish
Runway
All are marketed in the UK by Dow AgroSciences Ltd