Web Site Revamp

I've thought for a while that my website home page was a bit messy and so I have spent a little time revamping it. I hope it will also make it a bit easy to find your way around the different sections. Many people stumble across the website when trying to access information about contaminated manure but it's not just about manure so visit some of the other pages too. Any ideas for improvements are always welcome.

So why do you grow your own?

For some time I have had a web poll on this blog asking why people grow their own and the results are shown below. If you click on the image a larger view is available

As you can see the top reasons given were:

• Just a general quality of life choice
• For health and the quality of food
• Enjoyment of gardening
• To avoid pesticides

Generally though we grow our own for a wide variety of reasons. Have you a different reason for choosing to grow your own fruit and vegetables?

A new poll has been added to the sidebar which links with reason four on the list - will you be using manure this year? If you are wondering why I ask this question then you must have missed all the problems caused by contaminated manure over the past couple of years. If so read this.

If you like us are not using manure what will you be using instead?

Government response to e-petition on reinstatement of aminopyralid licence?

The short government response to the above e-petition can be read here
The e-petition accumulated 2,665 signatures see here
For those of you still unaware of the problem with contaminated manure please click here

If you have any further problems with suspected contaminated manure you must inform the CRD and DOW.
Please let me know too so we can keep an eye on things

Last opportunity to sign the petition on Friday

The last opportunity to sign the petition is on Friday so if you wish to sign you need to hurry!

Click here

Email conversation with the CRD

This week I received a response to the email that I sent to the CRD in which I raised some concerns regarding the reinstatement of the licence for aminopyralid.

The full email 'conversation' may be of interest and is reproduced here

MPs table EDMs

Two MPs Paul Burstow Lib-Dem Member for Sutton and Cheam and Tom Watson Labour MP for West Bromwich East have both tabled early Day Motions asking for a debate in the House of Commons regarding the above.

Click on the name of the MP to view their EDM and the list of MPs supporting them. In order to achieve a debate sufficient MPs have to offer support so if you think the issue should be debated then contact your MP and ask them to sign up. If you don't know the email address of your MP then you can use the WritetoThem website to contact them.

The petition closes on 23 October next week so if you wish to add your name then time is running out. Click here

Enquiry to the CRD

The following information from the CRD has been received by one of our visitors. It contains information that will be of interest to all gardeners. It was in response to the following question:

One point has come up in discussion with affected growers which concerns us as revealing a loophole in Dow's stewardship campaign. We are worried about the not inconsiderable quantities of this product still in the possession of people such as stable owners and others. It is likely that its use will be resumed for spot removal of weeds in paddocks etc with the result that manure supplied to allotments and gardens will continue to suffer contamination. Has consideration been given to these residual stocks and a way of ensuring that they are not used?

The response was:

Thank you for your email.

The only aminopyralid products which may now legally be used are the two products for which approval has recently been granted; these are Forefront with approval number 14701 and Mileway with approval number 14702. Any aminopyralid product with any other approval number may now only be stored for disposal and may not be used; anyone using these 'old' products will be doing so illegally and will be subject to appropriate enforcement should they be discovered to be doing so.

I understand that Dow have taken steps through their distributors to identify and recover unused stock and that they believe that only small amounts of the products now still remain in the hands of users.

It is certainly possible that stocks of manure containing aminopyralid residues from use in 2007 and 2008 might still be available so you will, I'm sure, accept that, even with Dow's stewardship programme, anyone now obtaining manure for their garden or allotment will need to assure themselves that the manure is suitable for their needs, and not only in respect of herbicide residues such as aminopyralid, but also any other 'contaminants' such as veterinary medicine residues that they would not want.

We will, of course, continue to monitor this issue so if you do come across evidence that things are not working as anticipated - whether this is stocks of manure containing aminopyralid reaching allotments and gardens, or the incorrect or illegal use of aminopyralid products - do please let both us and Dow know.

I hope this answers your questions but if you would like clarification or further information on any point, please let us know.

***END ***

Please also let me know too so I can include your information on my website.
Additional information from the poser of the question:
I could also add a warning that straw mixed with manure could also contain residues of disinfectant - apparently I am told that some allotment holders used to get straw-based manure from a slaughterhouse until it started to distort crops. That followed new disinfecting regulations on slaughterhouses following the BSE scare.

Reasoning behind reinstatement of AP licence

The ACP have the following information on their website here

Stewardship Campaign
Following suspension of the use of the products, Dow AgroSciences initiated a major awareness campaign, reminding all those involved in distributing and using the product to follow the label instructions and only to use manure on-farm and on certain crops. At the same time, through published articles, advertisements and contact with trade associations and allotment societies, attempts were made to alert all those who use manure to the issues and how to minimise the chances of any problems. A website was established which included a simple bioassay for gardeners to help determine if manure had any herbicide residues. If manure was suspected to contain herbicide residues and the owner agreed, Dow AgroSciences arranged for its removal.
These actions have had a positive impact. Despite awareness of these issues being far higher this year, the number of reported incidents where aminopyralid is implicated has fallen.

New Information
The Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP), at its May and July meetings, considered a range of further information on the reported incidents and the properties of aminopyralid. Major changes to the way the herbicide is to be sold and used were proposed. The ACP advised Ministers that these changes reduced the risks involved and approval could be recommended.
The minutes of the ACP meetings have been published. The information considered by the ACP is in the process of being drawn together and will be published on the CRD website in due course. Ministers have accepted this advice and new approvals have been issued.

The Major Differences between the Modified and New Approvals
Two products containing aminopyralid are approved. One is for use only on grassland to be grazed, not where silage or hay is to be harvested, to control a range of common weeds. The key changes from the previous approval are as follows:
Use only on grassland for grazing will mean that the majority of manure will fall back onto the treated grassland. Small accumulations, for example with dairy herds in milking parlours, are to remain on-farm and be spread only on grassland.

• There will not be use on grassland for producing fodder, much of which is fed to cattle housed through the winter months that results in major accumulations of manure.
• The product is to be used only by those with cattle or sheep, not those with horses. A high proportion of incidents arose from horse manure where fodder was brought in and there was no or limited scope to spread the resulting manure on the premises.
• These changes are designed to prevent sale of manure from treated grassland being supplied to gardeners and allotment holders, eliminating the risks involved.

Prior to sale of the product, potential purchasers are required to receive training from qualified advisors (British Agrochemicals Standards Inspection Scheme certified) so that the risks and how to prevent these are fully understood. Checks will also be made on the proposed use and ability to meet the warnings and restrictions. Only when all these checks have been satisfied will the product be sold.

The second product is for use against invasive and pernicious weeds in amenity situations (e.g. ragwort and Japanese knotweed on roadside verges, railway embankments or industrial areas) which are rarely grazed and where there is no fodder or manure collection.

Comments are welcome

NEWS FLASH Lost Cause?

New! Information on the lifting of the suspension of aminopyralid approvals
It would appear governement ministers have accepted the ACP recommendation that aminopyralid have its licence reinstated

More information on the Manure Matters website here

I suppose all we can do now is hope that the stewardship works but manure will be off our shopping list for the foreseeable future!

So what do you think? Comments are welcome.

6 October 2009 Extract from - Minutes of the 339th meeting of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) held on 15 September 2009

11. Any other business:
Aminopyralid Letter to Allotment Holders ACP 12 (339/2009)
Aminopyralid Correspondence ACP 18 (339/2009)

Minutes have very little mention of aminopyralid other than
Agenda Item 2: Secretary’s report.
2.1 The Secretary to the Committee reported on the recommendations made at previous meetings. Members heard that Ministers were considering advice given at the last Meeting on aminopyralid.
11. Any Other Business
11.1 The Committee considered the items for information received since the last meeting.

It would seem that the matter is now in the hands of government ministers

Letter from Soil Association

Patrick Holden - the director of the Soil Assocation recently sent a letter to Hilary Benn expressing concern regarding the reinstallation of the licence for aminopyralid. Extracts from this letter have been published in the media. If you wish to read the full letter it is available here

For the Soil Association website click here

Do you have a stack of contaminated manure? DOW will remove it!

Jon, one of the website visitors wishes to share the following information recently sent to him by DOW.

"Dow AgroSciences are organising the free collection and appropriate disposal of manure that contains trace amounts of aminopyralid and would like to know if you would be interested in this service. If this is a service that you would like undertaken, then please reply back with the following information. Please note that we cannot guarantee that we will be able to arrange disposal services in all cases, although we will do our best to help you. To help in this matter, please answer the questions below and reply back to me by 16th October 2009:

1) Approximately how much manure (either bags or estimated weight) do you have that requires collection?

2) Where is the manure located?

3) Please provide precise details of access arrangements for the site where the manure is located including confirmation of whether there is vehicle access. If you are not the owner of the site, please also confirm whether the owner or another person's permission is required to enter the site:

4) Please provide your contact details: full name, address, postcode and particularly a day time telephone number:

If you do not reply it will be assumed that you do not need any further assistance with the removal of any manure.

Following receipt of this information, I will contact you on behalf of Dow AgroSciences to discuss the follow up arrangements.

Please note that any assistance offered is without admission of liability on the part of Dow AgroSciences or Stewardship Ltd in relation to any losses or damage which may have been caused to your crops.

A website has been created to provide further information. Thank you for your assistance in this matter and assuring you of our best intentions."

Please let me know if you manage to have your contaminated heap removed.

Email contact for DOW with regards to aminopyralid matters is: UKHotline@dow.com

Epetitions and verification

I was asked by a contact why when they had signed the above epetition had their name not appeared on the list of signatures.

I guess he didn't verify his account as sometimes the verification email goes into a junk folder.

If it has happened to one person then it is likely to have happened to other people. When you sign up to an epetition an email is sent to the email address that you gave. You have to verify this in order for your name to be added - it just needs you to click the link in the email. The problem is that some email accounts send the message into the junk or spam box. (Obvious don't like anything that comes from the government).

If you have signed the latest petition then please check that your name is on the list and if not check your email including junk box for a message that is from 10 Downing Street.

If you can't find an email then please sign up again.

New epetition re contaminated manure

Re: Contaminated manure.

Some of you may be interested in adding your name to a new epetition. If so visit here

Has the CRD done enough to publicise the problem with manure?

In response to a comment I made in a letter to my MP regarding the poor level of publicity from the CRD about the problems associated with manure contamination. Parliamentary Under Secretary of State - Dan Norris MP said:
"I can assure you that much is being done by the various parties involved to bring this matter to the attention of the general public. The Chemicals Regulation Directorate has publicised this issue through its website (http://www.pesticides.gov.uk/), by replying to enquiries via its Information Section, and by being interviewed on Gardeners' Question Time. They have also recently published a leaflet for garden centres and other gardening organisations".

My concern is that people only find out about the need to be careful when obtaining manure after they have been affected - i.e when they are searching for answers as to why their plants are dying! People need to be forewarned so they don't obtain contaminated manure in the first place. So where did you learn about the problem and when and do you think enough publicity is being aimed at the general public?

Please make a comment on this post to express your views. Have you seen any leaflets in garden centres etc?

Leaflets can be viewed here and downloaded from here You will need to have Adobe acrobat installed to view the file. A free version can be obtained from here

Could mushrooms remove contamination from soil?

Dylan from Farnley in Leeds emailed to say that he is yet another 2009 victim of contaminated manure. He has read an article on this website. Scroll down to the section on Mycoremediation. This seems to suggest that growing mushrooms can help decontaminate the soil. Has anyone any thoughts on whether this idea could be used by those who have fallen foul of hormonal herbicide problems? Anyone tried it? Please share your thoughts by posting a comment.

Contaminated Manure reports

The map showing locations of reports of contaminated manure instances sent to my website and blog has been updated - the map is now interactive.

Click here to view.

Please continue to send report to me for inclusion. I'm particularly interested in any reports where anyone has noticed symptoms of herbicide damage in crops where manure hasn't been used. In particular potato crops.

Advisory Committee on Pesticides discussion on Aminopyralid licence

5 June 2009 Extract from - Minutes of the 337th meeting of the Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP) held on 12 May 2009
5. Agenda Item 5: Applications for the use of ‘Forefront’ and ‘Runway’ (now known as ‘Mileway’) water in oil emulsion formulations containing 30 g/l aminopyralid and 100 g/l fluroxypyr, as an agricultural herbicide and horticultural/industrial herbicide on grassland and amenity grassland [ACP 7 (337/2009)]
5.1 Members considered the applications for the re-instatement of approvals for products containing aminopyralid.
5.2 Members agreed that the applicant had taken all reasonable steps to manage manure contaminated with residues, through the proposed stewardship campaign, training and monitoring. However, there was some concern about the practicalities of the programme which would need to be addressed and closely monitored as part of the stewardship programme.
5.3 Members noted that aminopyralid was persistent in ground water, and that further confirmation of the effect of irrigating vulnerable crops from ground water sources was required.
5.4 Members were also concerned that approval in Europe could result in UK stewardship measures being by-passed. Further information was requested from the applicant about the level of approval and stewardship requirements across the EU
5.5 Subject to satisfactory resolution of these outstanding questions, members were minded to advise Ministers to re-instate approvals.
Click here for full minutes on ACP website

Evidence that last years manure spectre hasn't completely gone away!

One bit of bad news is the sign that last year's problems caused by contaminated manure hasn't completely cleared up. Evidence that of this is the fact that sprouts from potato tubers which we accidentally left in the soil (it always happens however careful you are), are showing signs of herbicide poisoning. Hopefully this may just be in localised patches but who knows. Has anyone else noticed that their soil hasn't completely recovered.

I have already had emails from people who have been affected this year so keep any information coming in. Click here

Click here for all the information that I have gathered together.

Click here for the latest summary page - any ideas of other things to add to this page will be welcome

Manure problem in Brighton

Another victim of contaminated manure has contacted me. His experiences are described on the victim's page. (Choose victim's from the menu list). This time the problem is in the Brighton area and apparently all the manure from the same source has been collected by allotment holders in this area. If you live around Brighton and have had manure from a stable, I suggest you contact your supplier and ask if they have had any complaints or if they can check if a herbicide has been used by their hay supplier.