Ian Sample, science correspondent Friday May 4, 2007 The Guardian British farmers are being denied access to the most promising agricultural advances because regulators place too much emphasis on the negative impacts they have on the environment, according to a government body. Advisers urge more emphasis on crop experiment benefits . Science . Guardian Unlimited Skip to main content. Ian Sample, science correspondent Friday May 4, 2007 The Guardian British farmers are being denied access...

What the Congressman from the Big First District saw is a wheat crop that 30 days ago had the potential to produce a record-breaking yield, but that is now reduced to a below average crop with drastically lower yields. A lot of producers don't even worry about insurance on the second crop. Then if they don't have a loss on the second crop the insurance company will pay them the remaining 65 percent on the wheat crop. Farmers are left with some very tough questions to answer as they try to...

Insurance companies, it should be no surprise, like the idea of using the crop insurance program to provide disaster payments. For example, a farmer who insures 75 percent of his normal crop yield could buy a supplemental policy to cover the other 25 percent. Forty cents of every dollar the government now pays on crop insurance goes to those companies, not to farmers. Farmers wouldn't be required to give up those subsidies if they didn't want to, but they wouldn't get the protection of the...

More Stories Subscribe . Contact Us . FAQ / Help . Advertise . Disclaimer . Terms and Conditions . Cookies . Privacy Policy . Open Source . Site Map About NewScientist.com . About New Scientist magazine . Publisher Blog Copyright Reed Business Information ltd. Bad for the environment - if good for the farmer. When GM sugar beet was grown using a two-spray system to control weeds, weed biomass and seed fell by 17 and 31 per cent respectively, in comparison to conventional growing methods,...

It could be environmental with manure runoff ruining a trout stream, it could be economic relating to the type of equipment or method used to deal with the manure, and also it could impact the production of crops on land used to support the dairy enterprise. It could be environmental with manure runoff ruining a trout stream, it could be economic relating to the type of equipment or method used to deal with the manure, and also it could impact the production of crops on land used to...