Keep Aminopyralid banned.

[glallotments]

Two MPs have tabled Early Day Motions re the licensing of AP.

Tom Watson UK Parliament - Early Day Motions By Details
and Paul Burstow
UK Parliament - Early Day Motions By Details

You can help by urging your MP to support one or both motions.

[tattieman]

This product is now back on the market under strict controls.
If the product is used under the new conditions then there should be no problems.
If you are buying manure you should check with the supplier that the new guidelines have been followed by the farm of supply.

[organic]

Thanks for the notice about the EDMs - I've written to my MP and asked him to support them.

In response to my first message he's replied and said he'll get back to me once he has heard from the relevant minister.
Being a pretty devout party-line type I don't expect to get anything more than the official line and a brush-off, but at least he's got to take the time to respond now. It'll be interesting to see if he pops up as a signatory to the EDMs though. I doubt it but he might.

[glallotments]

This product is now back on the market under strict controls.
If the product is used under the new conditions then there should be no problems.
If you are buying manure you should check with the supplier that the new guidelines have been followed by the farm of supply.

You are absolutely right but there were fairly strict conditions before and people didn't stick to them. I have no doubt that the product will stay on the market but the more fuss people make hopefully the more awareness will be generated, maybe the controls will be more strictly monitored and less mis-use will occur and the less likely we are to have a recurrence.

I am concerned about products being licensed for use on amenity land though and would like more reassurances about this aspect.

[glallotments]

Last chance to sign the epetition is today
Petition to: refuse to reinstate Aminopyralid as a weed killer in Britain. | Number10.gov.uk

[organic]

Go on folks - get your name on the petition so you can see just how big a raspberry Downing Street will blow in our direction.
I've never seen one of these things not come back with words to the effect of:
"We agree completely with the concerns raised and support those who have raised them. We are doing all we can to support your cause. However there are some difficult political issues that are way over your head; not least of which is we couldn't care less what you think, want, and we're going to do absolutely nothing to help but just word a response to sound supportive and win a few votes but in general... f*** off."

Go on, sign it, it's always good for a laugh!



In other news, my MP still hasn't responded to me beyond his initial acknowledgment, nor has he supported the Early Day Motions I contacted him about.

I'd pretend to be surprised, but unfortunately I'm not a superhuman actor and would be incapable of a convincing act.

Once you've signed the petition linked by glallotments above contact your MP and get them to support
UK Parliament - Early Day Motions By Details
and
UK Parliament - Early Day Motions By Details

Then just sit back and watch your parliamentary representative utterly fail to represent you.
Mine ignored my request in spite of my pointing out this directly affects literally hundreds of his constituents as allotment holders and many more as gardeners.

Ho hum.

�Viva la Revoluci�n!

[emilymup]

Signed the petition too. Sadly, I too think that AP will probably be reinstated, despite the heartache it has caused many of us who have lost allotments full of crops.

[organic]

Extra! Extra!
Scandal at Number Ten!
Response to petition completely ignores the facts, misses some howling problems and tells the voting public to get bent!
Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

I just got the official response to this petition, I reproduce it here for anyone who's interested but for one reason or another won't get the reply.

The Government acknowledges the difficulties that the use of manure containing traces of aminopyralid has caused some gardeners and allotment holders. In issuing approvals for two new products, it carefully considered the advice of the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP).

The restrictions on the new approvals are intended to ensure that manure containing aminopyralid does not leave the farm:

* The new products may only be used on grassland for grazing (not for forage) or amenity grassland.
* The labels must state that manure from animals grazed on grassland treated with aminopyralid should be returned directly to grassland - i.e. kept on farm. Similarly, labels will contain a warning that animal waste or plant material suspected of containing aminopyralid must not be used for composting or mulching.
* Only grassland grazed by cattle and sheep may be treated - not land grazed by horses.

DowAgrosciences has developed a communications and stewardship campaign for users and distributors to further reduce the risk of problems arising from manure containing aminopyralid residues.

The company will also submit regular reports to Government detailing any complaints and the action taken. These complaints and any received directly will be monitored and, where appropriate, investigated by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate.

If, despite these additional controls and safeguards, significant problems arise in future, the Government�s position will be reviewed again.

Maybe I'm missing something major here - but isn't cow manure pretty useful gear for crops? One of the best in fact?

It would probably have been a first if the official response had been anything other than "You're right and we share your concerns, we know best, you're wrong, here is why we won't do anything you've asked, get lost you irritant!" - every one I've seen so far has followed that standard format anyway.

So - be careful where you get your manure, folks - especially if there's any cattle poo in there. Our elected representatives have, again, failed to represent us, instead representing the exact kind of people we need representing against (nothing new there then).

[bluemoon]

Aminopyralidban

A while ago I signed a petition to call for the banning of Aminopyralidban. I've just received an e mail which states that the PM has no intention of banning it, but that manure produced by animals grazing on treated land may not be removed or used/sold as fertilizer. It also states that the bags containing all such manures should be clearly labelled as coming from animals grazing on treated areas (but I thought it wasn't allowed to be removed from where it was produced, so don't know how it would end up in bags which needed to be labelled ) Another case of government trying to please all the people all the time and just ending up irritating everybody?

[SueA]

I just got an email with the response in it also because I signed the petition. Must admit that if evryone stuck to the rules rigidly & nobody used cattle manure/everything was clearly labelled/ weedkiller didn't drift on the wind/ horses never got into the wrong field to graze etc etc. then it may be O.K. As we all know though things go wrong/get overlooked & from the last sentence it seems that only if everyone's crops die again will the Government reconsider their stance.

[organic]

Sue
That's exactly what I got from the last line too.

What a bunch of IDIOTS. The sooner we get rid of them the better (and I don't mean just swapping them for another load of incompetent fools either).



Bluemoon
Well - irritating everybody except the argi-chem companies that make the poisons used on the land, of course. They seem to be doing OK out of it all.

[glallotments]

You are correct about the problem of swapping one lot of MPs for another lot not helping.

It's disturbing that not one conservative MP has supported either early day motion on the subject
UK Parliament - Early Day Motions By Details

UK Parliament - Early Day Motions By Details

Also some MPs have supported one but not the other for some reason!

Also correct is the statement that if people stuck to the rules there wouldn't be a problem but they didn't earlier and that's it why we ended up in this mess.

[Headfry]

I too have received the email!

[cepgarden]

Turn around on Aminopyralid ban

It look like Dow Chemicals have put enough pressure on govenment ministers to get the ban on Aminopyralid lifted please read the following url=http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page21180
I look forward to any comment you wish to make.
I suggest that all alotment owners and all gardeners write to their MPs

[northepaul]

Thanks for the link, have done so