The APF is the UK’s largest woodland and forestry related show and takes place between 20-22 September 2018 at the Ragley Estate in Warwickshire.

The Forestry Commission England marquee will celebrate 100 years of the Forestry Act and the Forestry Commission. Experts will be on hand to:

• provide advice and support to the forestry sector and landowners who are looking to create and manage woodland
• explore the benefits to people, wildlife and timber of the public forest estate
• provide information on tree pests and diseases and how to reduce the threat of them
• showcase Forest Research’s innovative science and research

Forestry Skills

The Forestry Commission, Royal Forestry Society and representatives from the new Forestry Apprenticeship Trailblazer group will also be in the Forest Workers’ Zone of APF to talk career development and how to break into the industry.

Seminars

An in-depth Forestry Commission seminar programme will run over the three day event, covering topics including future incentives, timber markets, woodland creation and plant health challenges.

More information about the APF can be found on the APF Exhibition website.

In a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency, B&M Elkin & Son Ltd (the Company) of Hall Farm, Hilderstone, Staffordshire pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching environmental regulations following two pollution incidents and failing to provide adequate effluent storage.

The first incident occurred in Sept 2015 following a report of farm effluent discharging to the Gayton Brook, Milwich for several days. Investigators discovered that farm slurry had escaped from a gap in the storage pit. The incident caused effluent to run across the farm and into the brook, which was found to be green/brown in colour with a white foam, with a foul odour present. Approximately 3000 fish were killed in this incident.

A second incident occurred on 30 June 2016, when effluent entered Wheatlow Brook, which was found to be brown and frothy in appearance.

Hall Farm is within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone which means the farm must comply with strict slurry storage capacity. Environment Agency officers advised the company that there was insufficient storage capacity and that they were in breach of the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2010.

The company was fined £7,000, and ordered to pay £7,100 costs and a victim surcharge of £120.

In mitigation, consideration had been given that the business has been operating for 30 years without incident. The company had also cooperated with the Environment Agency and pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity. In addition, B&M Elkin & Sons Ltd had voluntarily paid £1,000 to the local wildlife trust and had spent over £20,000 in improvements and remediation at their site.

The Environment Agency Officer leading the investigation said:

These were entirely preventable serious incidents, which led to pollution of farmland and watercourses in the area, resulting in the death of thousands of fish. The fact that the first incident was subsequently repeated gave us little choice but to pursue a prosecution.

” I hope this case sends a strong message to the farming industry that their activities have the potential for serious environmental impacts, and we take action when necessary.

If farmers need help understanding the regulations that apply to them, the Environment Agency are available to help and can give advice on how to prevent farm pollution, just give us a call on 03708 506 506.

In a prosecution brought by the Environment Agency, B&M Elkin & Son Ltd (the Company) of Hall Farm, Hilderstone, Staffordshire pleaded guilty to three charges of breaching environmental regulations following two pollution incidents and failing to provide adequate effluent storage.

The first incident occurred in Sept 2015 following a report of farm effluent discharging to the Gayton Brook, Milwich for several days. Investigators discovered that farm slurry had escaped from a gap in the storage pit. The incident caused effluent to run across the farm and into the brook, which was found to be green/brown in colour with a white foam, with a foul odour present. Approximately 3000 fish were killed in this incident.

A second incident occurred on 30 June 2016, when effluent entered Wheatlow Brook, which was found to be brown and frothy in appearance.

Hall Farm is within a Nitrate Vulnerable Zone which means the farm must comply with strict slurry storage capacity. Environment Agency officers advised the company that there was insufficient storage capacity and that they were in breach of the Nitrate Pollution Prevention Regulations 2010.

The company was fined £7,000, and ordered to pay £7,100 costs and a victim surcharge of £120.

In mitigation, consideration had been given that the business has been operating for 30 years without incident. The company had also cooperated with the Environment Agency and pleaded guilty at the first available opportunity. In addition, B&M Elkin & Sons Ltd had voluntarily paid £1,000 to the local wildlife trust and had spent over £20,000 in improvements and remediation at their site.

The Environment Agency Officer leading the investigation said:

These were entirely preventable serious incidents, which led to pollution of farmland and watercourses in the area, resulting in the death of thousands of fish. The fact that the first incident was subsequently repeated gave us little choice but to pursue a prosecution.

” I hope this case sends a strong message to the farming industry that their activities have the potential for serious environmental impacts, and we take action when necessary.

If farmers need help understanding the regulations that apply to them, the Environment Agency are available to help and can give advice on how to prevent farm pollution, just give us a call on 03708 506 506.

Reductions in new outbreaks of bovine TB have been recorded in Gloucestershire and Somerset following the completion of their licensed four-year badger culls, Farming Minister George Eustice has announced.

The data published today shows there has been a decline in TB incidence in the first two cull areas with the rate of new confirmed breakdowns now at about half the level they were before culling began. In the Gloucestershire cull area, TB incidence has fallen from 10.4% before culling started to 5.6% in year four of the cull, while in Somerset it has reduced from 24% to 12%.

The findings are in line with expectation based on the scientific evidence from the Randomised Badger Culling Trial which underpins the approach to tackling bovine TB – and demonstrate progress is being made in delivering the 25-year TB eradication strategy in England to rid our farmers of the impacts of this terrible disease.

In a further move to strengthen the government’s 25-year bTB eradication strategy, the Minister of State has also announced the opening of a new round of applications for Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme grants.

Licences have also been published for badger control in 10 new areas within the High Risk Area, covering parts of Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Staffordshire and Gloucestershire, plus one additional licence for badger control in Cumbria to eradicate a pocket of infection in both cattle and badgers in the TB Low Risk Area. Along with six-monthly cattle testing, movement restrictions and good biosecurity on farms, this offers the best opportunity to deal quickly with this localised threat.

Farming Minister George Eustice said:

Today’s figures showing reductions in TB cases in Somerset and Gloucestershire are evidence that our strategy for dealing with this slow moving, insidious disease is delivering results.

Bovine TB remains one of the greatest animal health threats to the UK. There is no single measure that will provide an easy answer which is why we are committed to pursuing a wide range of interventions to protect the future of our dairy and beef industries and eradicate the disease within 20 years.

No one wants to be culling badgers forever so the progress reported today is encouraging.

The Badger Edge Vaccination Scheme, which was suspended for two years following a global vaccine shortage before resuming in 2017, is open for expressions of interest from today with grant funding of up to 50% of costs – worth £700,000 over four years – available to private groups wishing to carry out badger vaccination in the Edge Area.

The scheme, which funded three projects over the course of the past 12 months, aims to create a protected badger population between the High Risk and Low Risk Areas of England and prevent further spread of the disease. New projects would start in spring 2019.

TB data from the eight other cull areas that have held licences for two or three years is also published today. While it is too early to expect to see any drop in those areas, we would hope to see a similar pattern to Somerset and Gloucestershire in coming years. A full scientific paper will be published in due course.

England has the highest incidence of bovine TB in Europe and the disease costs taxpayers over £100million every year. In 2017 more than 33,000 cattle had to be slaughtered in England to control the disease, causing devastation and distress for farmers and rural communities.

Earlier this year the government announced a review of its 25 year Bovine TB strategy. The review, chaired by Sir Charles Godfray, is due to report to ministers at the end of the month.

Chief Vet Christine Middlemiss said:

Taking comprehensive action to prevent bovine TB infection of cattle from the reservoir of disease in local badger populations is an essential part of the government’s 25-year strategy to eradicate the disease in England.

Proactive badger control is currently the best available option. Supported by tighter cattle controls including in those areas seeing a reduction in cattle-badger-cattle infection, improved biosecurity and vaccination, the licensing of further areas is necessary to realise disease control benefits across England.

Five years into our 25-year bovine TB eradication strategy it is timely to reflect on the next steps and I look forward to Sir Charles Godfray and his team reporting to ministers later this month.

Read the licenses and authorisation letters.

Read the data on BT trends.

This monitoring report provides the annual TB monitoring data and results for each of the badger control licenced areas and their buffer areas up to the end of 2017. New badger control areas will be included in subsequent reports once they have at least one year of follow-up data available.