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EmailIphone Application    Posted: 15th September 2016
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New project unites beekeepers and farmers
bees
Around 70 crops are dependent on or benefit from bees, which is estimated to be worth £200 million a year.
BeeConnected allows farmers to alert beekeepers about pesticide spraying
 
A new nationwide scheme has launched to protect bees by making it easier for farmers to alert beekeepers when they intend to spray an insecticide.

'BeeConnected' is a new website that allows farmers to identify their fields and inform local beekeepers about spraying in advance. Alerts will also tell beekeepers which crop is being sprayed and the compound being applied.

Beekeepers can plot the location of their hives online in just a few clicks and will then be notified by email when a nearby farmer is planning a spraying event. This allows keepers to take precautionary action, such as moving their hives or shutting bees in for a short time.

The project is being led by Voluntary Initiative (VI), which worked closely with the National Farmers Union, British Beekeepers Association and Crop Protection Association. BeeConnected went live earlier this week following a successful pilot scheme in Herefordshire during the spring spraying season.

Bees are hugely important to UK agriculture. Around 70 crops are dependent on or benefit from bees, which is estimated to be worth £200 million a year.

Current best practice requires farmers to notify spray liaison officers (SLO) who act as a 'go between' among farmers and beekeepers. This traditional system has not always been straightforward. BeeConnected hopes to overcome these issues and reduce the risk to bees by improving communication.

Commenting on the scheme, farmer Andrew Watts, who took part in the pilot, said: "The countryside is a shared place, and beekeepers need farmers as much as farmers need beekeepers. It’s a two-way process, and anything that improves the communication there – as BeeConnected does – is a good thing."

Beekeeper Mat Smith, added: "The current SLO system isn’t always effective. The BeeConnected website is an excellent tool that can improve both bee health and relations between beekeepers and farmers.

"Honey bees are hugely beneficial to both their keepers, farmers and the larger population as a whole, and open communication between farmers and beekeepers can only be a good thing."

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Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here. 

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News Shorts
Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, Cornwall.

All poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place. Poultry and other captive birds in the 3km protection zone must be housed.

The case is the second avian flu case confirmed in commercial poultry this month. The H5N5 strain was detected in a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, in early November. Before then, the disease had not been confirmed in captive birds in England since February.

The UK chief veterinary officer has urged bird keepers to remain alert and practise robust biosecurity.

A map of the disease control zones can be found here.