Memorandum submitted by Mr A W J Bambridge
(Z08)
I wish to make the following points concerning
what we have done to ensure our use of pesticides is both responsible
and safe.
1. All pesticides are only carried out after
an assessment of real need and advice from an advanced BASIS qualified
agronomist. This advice costs our business some £16k per
annum, but is deemed to be good value as it assists us to only
make justifiable use of pesticides and help protect the environment.
2. Applications of pesticides only occur
with trained operators who are part of the NROSO scheme. This
training is on a continual basis and we estimate the costs to
us to be around £2.5k per annum for our three operators.
3. All machines used for applications have
been tested and passed as being fit for the purpose under the
conditions of the "Voluntary Initiative Scheme" at a
cost of approximately £500.
4. As farmers, we are also conservationists
and have, with the aid of the "Countryside Stewardship Scheme"
introduced a two metre and six metre margin around many of our
fields, especially adjacent to water courses. This is largely
funded by the scheme but helps to protect the environment immensely.
5. As a business we are members of five
different assurance schemes, LEAF, ACCS, Assured Produce, FABBL
and Nature's Choice. We have scored 100% on most schemes and are
Nature's Choice "Gold Status" farmers. This demonstrates
our commitment and contribution to being professional farmers
and part of this is responsible use of pesticides above and beyond
current minimum requirements. The cost to our business is difficult
to calculate, but some 50 hours per year of management time would
be required and a constant capital investment to meet moving regulations,
estimated at around £5k per annum.
Through the efforts of farmers such as ourselves
and other people involved in land and countryside management our
local river is as now as clean and pure as it has ever been. The
source of this information is the Environment Agency. We have
eight species of bird and mammal resident on our farms that are
part of the bio diversity action plans for the region and over
70 other species of birds independently identified on the farms.
Do such efforts as these, require taxation,
or praise?
4 October 2004
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