Farmers look for ways to reduce chemicals

This has been around since Rachael Carson wrote Silent Spring in the early 1960s. Ms Carson’s book described the cavalier use of pesticides in the USA, which has never occurred here for the simple reason that they are much too expensive to waste.

In my experience, the vast majority of British farmers look for ways to reduce the quantity of chemicals that they use to the absolute minimum, so rarely misuse them.

I agree that the wildlife populations are changing, but I challenge the statement that pesticides are the only cause.

The agricultural world has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Farms and machines used to work the land get ever larger as the supermarkets continue to squeeze food producers way past breaking point. Efficiency is everything and so land rarely lies fallow for days, let alone weeks or months as it used to.

A block of land at Leek Wootton was recently harvested, baled, cleared, cultivated and planted with next year’s crop in four days. I remember that it used to take 10 days just to plough that land and it used to stand bare from September to March or April. The current short period without crops must significantly reduce the amount of food that is available for mammals and birds.

Increasing numbers of protected species must also have an impact. The once rare buzzard is now commonly seen, as is the red kite, and dare I say it, the badger population is at an all-time record high. These predator species are all at the top of their respective food chains and so must surely impact the numbers of their prey, which are small birds and mammals.

The current success of the predator species suggests that pesticides are not an issue as, if they were, they would be affected by any pesticide residues in their prey.

I’d like to at least share any responsibility with city dwellers who insist on the current cheap food policy and upset the natural balance of ecology by aggressively protecting predator species. - David Williams, Gaveston Pedigree Dexters, Leek Wootton.