Dairy Farm (D01.SG) heads higher as investors digest recent solid FY09 results; shares gain 5.3% at US$6.54 ($9.15) with resistance at 2009’s highest close of US$6.90.
Food retailer’s underlying net profit gained 14% on-year at US$364 million, as company says core business of “selling goods that meet the everyday needs of Asian customers” again proved resilient amid challenging economic conditions, with prospects for coming year remaining “positive”.
Net income for the year to December climbed to US$364 million ($509 million) from US$333 million, the Singapore-listed company said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange today. Sales including associates rose 4% to US$8.05 billion, it said.
Bar codes that let shoppers trace their food back to the field
DESPITE its preoccupation with hygiene, America’s dirty secret is that it is one of the most dangerous places in the developed world to eat. Every year 76m Americans become ill because they have consumed contaminated food—a staggering 26,000 cases per 100,000 population. In Britain, where people consume far fewer hamburgers, generally eat out less often and buy nowhere near as many ready-meals, there are 3,400 cases of food poisoning per 100,000 population annually. France is safer still, with only 1,200 annual instances per 100,000 people.
Most cases of food poisoning are mild, with victims recovering in a day or two. Sometimes, however, foodborne illnesses kill or cause permanent health problems. In the United States around 5,000 people die and a further 325,000 wind up in hospital each year as a result of food poisoning. The annual cost to the country, in medical treatment and lost productivity, is more than $35 billion. …
Polish police are questioning a woman suspected of fattening up dogs and slaughtering them to sell the lard as a health supplement, reports say.
The police said 28 well-fed dogs, including St Bernards and puppies, were found in cages on a farm, along with bottles of lard, AFP news agency said.
An animal welfare group tipped off the police after buying some lard at the farm near Czestochowa, southern Poland.
It said some dogs "were overfed to the point of no longer being able to walk".
New homes
The For Animals group’s undercover inspector, Renata Mizera, said the farmer had stressed the health benefits of the lard and told her that she herself added a spoonful to her daughter’s evening meal, Agence France-Presse reported.
"Half a litre of fat was being sold for 37 euros ($53, £31)," said Ms Mizera.
The police are checking whether the lard – which was found in bottles in a refrigerator at the woman’s farm – comes from dogs.
The 37-year-old farmer could face up to two years in jail for animal cruelty and distributing an unsafe substance, Poland’s TVN24 reported.
The dogs are being cared for by the For Animals group, which is looking for new homes for them.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
Farm Aid Adds Wilco, Phosphorescent, Jason Mraz and Jamey Johnson To Line Up
 Matthew Houck/Phosphorescent |
As reported earlier this month, Farm Aid is set to take place October 4 in St. Louis at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. Headlining will be Farm Aid staples Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Neil Young. Organizers recently announced the addition of Wilco, Phosphorescent, Jason Mraz and Jamey Johnson. More performers are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
The performance of experimental/gospel outfit Phosphorescent at Farm Aid will come on the heels of the band’s tribute album to Willie Nelson, aptly titled To Willie.
Phosphorescent’s Matthew Houck had this to say about playing Farm Aid:
“I’m proud as hell to have been invited to play at this year’s Farm
Aid. Phosphorescent is more than happy to join in their support for
the independent farmer and for locally and organically grown crops.
We agree fully with their opposition to the large-scale, corporate,
‘factory farm’ system – which, in the name of profit, produces mostly
genetically modified and/or chemically preserved junk – all the while
exploiting the laborers who farm, package and deliver these items by
paying them damn near slave’s wages. Of course, having the opportunity to lend our support by sharing the
stage with several true legends of American music ain’t too shabby in
itself.”
Tickets are on sale now at LiveNation.com.
Today the Vineyard Gazette’s Sam Bungey reports that the Obamas have settled on a rental for their Martha’s Vineyard vacation: the 28.5-acre Blue Heron Farm, located in the quiet town of Chilmark.
While the mechanics of renting the property …
This week a group of organic farmers is calling for a nationwide boycott of all H.P. Hood branded products because of what they’re calling “unfair business practices.” This includes organic companies–Hood products include some names you might…
Farm Aid 2009 Set For 10/04 In St. Louis
 Young & Nelson :: Farm Aid 2007 by McCullough |
Twenty-four years after the first Farm Aid, Willie Nelson, Neil Young and John Mellencamp are back with pal Dave Matthews for the annual benefit concert. Farm Aid 2009 will be held in St. Louis on October 4 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Premium seats will be sold during the ticket pre-sale exclusively for Farm Aid Members starting on Friday July 17 at 10 a.m. Eastern, 9 a.m. Central. Tickets for the general public will go on sale through LiveNation.com on Saturday, July 25 at 11 a.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Central. The Farm Aid pre-sale includes 3 levels of tickets with prices of $45, $85, and $175 each. You can purchase tickets at: LiveNation.com.
For more information on the event, visit farmaid.org.
While Mellencamp, Nelson, Young and Matthews are the only confirmed artists on the bill, past performers at Farm Aid have included: moe., Gregg Allman, Wilco, Gov’t Mule and Widespread Panic amongst several others.
Hungry for innovation, future tractors will be equipped with technology based on Intel Atom processors. Intel Atom processors are ideal for embedded computers, such as those in tractors, which need to withstand dust, heat, humidity and vibration. Tractors using Intel Atom processors also benefit from Intel Atom processor’s energy-efficient performance and low thermal characteristics that enable small-footprint onboard automation and computers. These tractors could feature GPS navigation and sensors to analyze soil conditions, as well as automated computers to control plowing, harvesting and maintenance alerts. In addition, this technology allows farmers to monitor tractors from remote locations. This is one example of the 15 billion devices expected to be connected to the Internet by 2015. Learn more: Embedded Internet.
Scotland and Dartmoor are the only places to legally wild camp in Britain. But there are a few sites that offer a more rugged camping experience. Dixe Wills picks the best.
Find more unusual campsites in tomorrow’s Guardian Travel
Ah, the call of the wild. Unzipping your tent in the morning to discover you weren’t dreaming – you really are camped beside some tranquil mountainside tarn, or in a clearing in a mighty forest, or on a cliff top high above a sparkling sea. With a proper hot summer still on the cards, what could gladden the heart more than getting out into the British countryside with a tent and soaking it all up?
Except, of course, it’s not as simple as that. The enlightened Scots, who have long enjoyed a relaxed attitude to land access, have made wild camping legal more or less anywhere (with a few sensible caveats) since 2003. In the rest of Britain, however, the practice is only officially sanctioned in one area – a section of Dartmoor.
The good news is that there’s now a growing number of campsites south of the border that have begun to offer campers the chance to savour the joys of off-piste camping. Where these sites differ from the norm is that rather than providing beautifully tended croquet-flat lawns, electric hook-ups and hardstanding, they offer chunks of topography just as nature crafted it, open fires on which to incinerate your marshmallows and, typically, a compost loo for those campers who feel no compunction to imitate what bears do in the woods. It may not be wild camping in its purest form but it’s a darn good imitation.
Wales leads the way in wilder campsites, with southern England hot on their heels. The phenomenon, it seems, is yet to catch on in the north of England.
Here’s a selection of the best sites where you can go wild in the country.
A large area around a lake is given over to camping at Gwalia, an organic farm that enjoys some quite breathtaking views of Snowdonia. Closer at hand, there are wild orchids, buzzards, kites, nightjars, glow worms, and all manner of aquatic life to look out for, including an otter. Drinking and washing water comes from a natural spring, there are earth loos in the woods and, should you wish to wander, the farm is on the Cambrian Way, Glyndwr’s Way and the Dyfi Valley Way.
• Gwalia Farm. Adult £4, child £2; +44 (0)1650 511377.
Graig Wen admits to playing host to a conventional campsite but, for four weeks a year, visitors are also given the choice of going further afield and pitching in secret meadows, sheltered glades or a high bluff with views out over the Mawddach estuary. Streams and dry stone walls forge their way over the fields and through the woods, while the facilities are suitably wild – extending only to something described as “a tree bog compost toilet”. Best not to ask, I think.
• Graig Wen. From 25 July to 21 August; adult £7 (£10 on Fri/Sat); child £3 (£5); discount offered for backpackers/cyclists; +44 (0)1341 250482.
One for high altitude campers, Gwern Gof Uchaf is an exposed site directly beneath Snowdonia’s famous Tryfan peak and is part of a working hill farm stretching for 750 acres above the Ogwen valley. The Carneddau and Glyders summits can also be tackled from this base camp which is open all year, so you can even introduce your tent to some snow (it’s wonderfully insulating, you know). Comfort comes in the form of hot showers, close by.
• Gwern Gof Uchaf. Adult £4, child £3; +44 (0)1690 720294.
The river Dulais runs through Glyn Y Mul’s 18-acre wood, making it a memorable location for a bit of communing with nature. The owners particularly welcome grub-eating survivalists to their Lone Wolf Campsite but are also happy to accommodate visitors who merely want to get away from it all. Best of all, should everything go pear-shaped with your attempt to create a shelter from mud filtered through the shells of beech nuts, you can crawl out of the woods for a hot power shower.
• Glyn Y Mul Farm. Adult £5, child £2.50; +44 (0)1639 643204
This is a site whose owners’ mission statement importunes visitors to slough off their urban selves, “strip away those outer layers and feel the breeze of freedom”, so chilling out and relaxing are pretty much compulsory. Lodged halfway between St David’s and Fishguard, just off the Pembrokeshire Coast Path, there’s plenty of room to spread out your shelter of choice or you can take refuge in one of their tipis.
• Camping Wild Wales. Adult £7, child (4-14) £3; +44 (0)1348 837892.
There are 45 acres of meadow and woodlands at Hole Station but only twelve pitches, making it a little piece of heaven for those who agree with Sartre’s maxim that hell is other people. Approached down a long private lane in a sumptuous, yet quiet, corner of Devon, it’s little wonder that Hole railway station, from which the site takes its name, has long since given up the ghost. You can also rent a tent – very useful if you’re travelling light on the Devon coast-to-coast route, for which Hole marks the halfway point.
• Hole Station Campsite. £12 per pitch (inc. 2 people), extra adults £4, U16s £3, dogs £1. Camp fire kit £5; +44 (0)1409 231266
The folk at Yellow Wood are very much in touch with their inner Ray Mears and offer all manner of courses on bushcraft and wilderness survival on their clutch of forested sites in the shadow of the Black Mountains. However, if you just want to bring along your tent, or string up a tarp or a hammock and do your own thing, that’s cool too. For that added wild touch, the precise location of their sites is not revealed until you’ve booked yourself in.
• Yellow Wood Bush Camp. Adult £5, child £3; +44 (0)7800 767519.
Proving that being within commuting distance of the capital is still no barrier to camping in the wilds, this farm near the Sussex/Surrey border provides a haven of sylvan tranquillity. It’s also a paradise for children who are free to race up and down the hill, build their own woodland wigwams, dens, shelters or fairy houses according to taste, or just idle away the hours on a tree swing. There’s also a big discount if you can arrive by public transport or under your own steam.
• Ashwood Farm. With car: adult £12; child £6. Without car: £8/£4. Fire kit £5. +44 (0)1342 316129
A small family-run farm, Dernwood has an 8-acre field in the woods in which you can pick your spot and another 60-odd acres of ancient forest to explore once you’ve set up camp. The only concessions to home comforts are a water tap and a recently installed loo in a nearby shed. For those who insist on being kept in touch with the outside world, newspapers can be delivered to the farmhouse, a ten-minute walk away. A fleet of wheelbarrows is also on hand for ferrying your gear through the woods.
• Dernwood Farm. Adult £6.50, child (5-15) £4.50, family (2 adults 2 children) £17.50; +44 (0)1435 812726.
And a final one for anyone who wants to try out a wild campsite in Scotland before heading off into the countryside beyond:
Offering what they euphemistically describe as “limited rustic facilities” (a sawdust toilet and a stand pipe), Duloch Hamlet is a mixture of clearings in woodland and meadows. There are fifteen acres of woods to get happily lost in and hides for watching badgers and deer. There’s also a herb garden if you fancy adding that final flourish to your al fresco feast, and a few pre-erected tents available if you prefer to travel ultra-lite.
• Duloch Hamlet. £6 per person; log kits £3; +44 (0)1383 417681.
