S.Atlantic : SARTMA DAILY (18/08/05)
Submitted by SARTMA.com (Juanita Brock) 18.08.2005 (Article Archived on 25.08.2005)
A Quick Reference to Today's South Atlantic News
SARTMA DAILY (18/08/05)
Compiled BY J. Brock (FINN)
Websites: http://www.falklandnews.com. http://www.tristantimes.com, http://www.the-islander.org.ac, http://www.sartma.com, http://www.news.co.sh
CONTENTS:
Section 1: Article by FINN
Section 2: Business News from St Helena
Section 3: Announcements
Section 4: FIRS News Direct
Section 1:
GLOBAL WARMING ON THE OTHER END OF THE EARTH
By J. Brock (FINN)
Interested people will be able to tell you the affects of global warming on the Antarctic ice sheet and some of the consequences we are experiencing right now. However, on the other end of the earth in the high latitudes the same problem occurs but with different effect. The impact of global warming in the north happens on the land, where tundra thaws earlier in the year thus changing the migratory patterns of animals that inhabit the land in the Arctic summer. Plants are blooming earlier in the season, affecting the food sources of other animals. Some environmentalists warn that the ice sheet over the Arctic ocean could be gone within a century.
Ministers from 25 countries are attending a four-day conference on global warming held in Western Greenland at Disko Bay, 250km north of the Arctic Circle. The purpose is not only to discuss global warming but to show the ministers first hand what it is doing to Greenland’s ice sheet. With this in mind, the ministers were taken to the Ilulissat Ice Fjord, a World Heritage Site, and shown the extent of the melting and some of the environmental damage already caused by global warming in the region.
Greenland is a Danish Overseas Territory and their Minister for the Environment, Connie Hedegaard in her welcoming remarks said, “Climate change is not a theoretical threat. We can already feel it in Greenland’s fragile nature.”
The informal conference will help ministers prepare for the 11th United Nations Climate Conference that will take place in Canada in December. During that conference all of the aspects of Global warming, including environmental damage it causes at the equator, will be discussed.
PASTURE IMPROVEMENT: A LAYMAN’S THOUGHTS
By J. Brock (FINN)
For the past 16 years, prices that Falklands’ farmers could realise from wool have dropped considerably. Those who had spent thousands and/or secured huge loans to purchase their own holdings had to put up with dwindling profits and sure losses if they kept wool as their main product. Some farmers diversified into tourism, truck farming, or small businesses or gave up and moved into town. However, thanks to Dr. Bob Reid, a former Director of Agriculture in the Falkland Islands, some farmers began improving pastures so they could raise meat breeds of sheep.
To help in the effort, tonnes of rock phosphate were imported into the Islands and farmers began to experiment with different types of legumes as fodder for new breeds. Normally sheep fed on white-grass, which was low on nutrition and it took five acres to feed one wool sheep. Meat breeds, however, needed higher value feed, which was expensive to import into the Falklands. It was partially due to Dr. Reid’s inspiration that farmers learned how to improve not only the fodder but to enrich the nitrogen poor soil by using legumes.
Recently FINN visited a trial pasture project at Swan Inlet, East Falkland and learned what was being done on a small holding to improve pasture and to feed more sheep on less land.
Andreas Short conducts grass trials and pasture improvement on his 900-acre farm. When SAINT arrived, Malcolm Ashworth was processing an area that was slashed and drilled. He was driving a mowing machine that had a drilling attachment on the back. The theory was that drilling lotus – a legume that brought nitrogen into the soil – would help it to establish a healthy root system and prevent frost damage during the colder months of the year. Once taken hold, the lotus will put nitrogen in the soil and gradually the white grass will disappear because it does not thrive on nitrogen-rich soil.
Last year at this time, Andreas had another area of ground mowed and he then had lotus seed hand scattered over the ground. No sheep were run on the area and this autumn there were patches of lotus clearly visible amongst the white grass. Again, when it takes hold, the white grass disappears.
A visible change of colour was present in an area where Andreas had scattered lotus seed without mowing. Sheep were run on this ground and that kept the grass clipped down. It was explained that as the grass was kept short, so their root systems shortened. This would give lotus a chance to take hold.
When Mr. Short took over Swan Inlet an area that was completely ploughed was visible, so he re- ploughed it and put lotus seed on the soil. Though this showed the greatest promise, it was not the best method for pasture improvement.
Another area that had been slashed and drilled and was now producing adequate fodder for Dohne Marino sheep that Andreas hoped would be the core of a stud flock. On hand to answer questions through the day was Andrew Pollard, Damian O’Sullivan and Neil Judd. It appeared that the slashing and drilling was the best method for the lotus and there was a difference in colour between the area that had been ploughed and the adjacent one that had been slashed and drilled.
Mr. Short explained that he now ran double the amount of sheep on his land that a normal farm of that size would have and this was all due to the improved pasture that he cultivated. Lotus has another property in that it has hairy leaves and not palatable for Upland Geese, which feed on young white-grass, and takes nutrition away from the sheep.
An experimental Swede plantation did not work so well due to dry conditions. Swede would be an ideal fodder and it could have supported more sheep per acre. Due to limited space on the farm, there will be no re-planting of Swede. The area is to be drilled or scattered with lotus.
If the trials go well, Mr. Short will be able to have a stud flock and use them for their seamen. Dohne Marino sheep have more meat and finer wool than Corriedale sheep, which are the Falklands’ main breed. Mr. Short’s sheep came from imported embryos from South Africa. He had imported 100 for £15,000.00 and achieved a result of 35 lambs. All are thriving on the lotus.
Section 2:
BUSINESS NEWS FROM ST. HELENA
Air Access office needs a shipping officer
A few weeks ago, the Access office that is managed by Sharon Wainwright, Access Manager, advertised for a Shipping Officer. The Herald met with the very busy manager to find out why her office suddenly needs a Shipping Officer.
Sharon first explained to me that Air Access is her main priority but she also says that this is unfair as you need somebody to be dedicated to the shipping services as well- hence the reason for creating this new post. Sharon is currently working with Air and Sea Access issues and finds it difficult to do both. She could not devote her time to shipping as Air Access is developing so fast. “To handle the two jobs are very stressful and hard. It’s is a nightmare sometimes,” she adds. She went on to say that the interest for the post so far has not been so great and in fact only two people have applied so far. This surprises her especially as the post is graded at level 8. She goes on to say that whoever is successful in obtaining the job will work alongside her and will have direct liaison with St. Helena line as well as Andrew Weir who manages our local ship.
The Shipping Officer will also take issues through to EXCO. Air Access for St. Helena is planned for 2010 and therefore Sharon says that shipping still needs to be a priority. She also mentioned that the last time DfID visited St. Helena, SHG put forward a proposal to secure funding for a Marketing Manager for the RMS. She adds that funding for a Marketing Manager has been approved and when the post becomes available, the Marketing Manager will be exclusively dedicated to marketing the ship including improvement to tourist’s numbers. She goes on to say that the RMS has limited advantages one of them being that she is simply a passenger and cargo carrier and some tourists do not like to travel like this. This could be a problem for the Marketing Manager but they would still have to on to say that Jackie and his son were a tremendous help and this is what kept a lot of the costs to a minimum.
The trip to Walvis Bay and all repairs to his vessel were really expensive and he says that without access the market and see what can be done to entice more people to come to the Island, she adds. I mentioned to her the cost of passage fares aboard the RMS but she made it clear that the cost of fares is unlikely to drop because of the high subsidy that is used to run the ship. However, she feels that if the ship is marketed properly in the very near future and voyages are full every time, then you never know what could happen in terms of fares. AWSL took over the RMS as the new managers in 2001 and Sharon highlighted that their contract will expire in August 2006. I asked her if the present mangers will still manage the ship once the contract has expired. She replied and said that they are interested in continuing with the shipping service but knowing that air access will only come into effect in the next five years, it’s not much point in renewing the contract, but a negotiation of some kind will take place with AWSL. She says that it is quite a hard decision to make in terms of going out and finding somebody to run the ship particularly as they will have to go through a couple years of getting use to St Helena and knowing what we want and how to cater for our needs. By the time this happens the airport will be nearly here, she adds. She also told the Herald that there is not a huge amount of interest for the ship, so therefore it might be best to let AWSL carry on with the services. “Operationally they are very good, but it is recognised that there is still some more improvement to be made in the marketing and passenger side of things. We were aware of this but there was never any funding to make improvements,” she adds. Sharon is aware that many Tourism sectors on the Island can only survive if there is a constant flow of tourists visiting and staying on the Island. She was pleased to see the views about local hotels and how their managers have seen a difference in tourists since AWSL took over the RMS. However, to be fair to Andrew Weir, they do seem to be taking it on board.
The transhipment has been a pain in the neck, as people aren’t always getting their goods on time but AWSL are working on this as well, she adds. “They have some good points about them and we should enhance that and work on the bad points.”
Section 3:
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
There are no new announcements today
Section 4:
FIRS NEWS DIRECT: 18AUGUST 2005
Compiled by Amy Johnson (AJ) and Stacy Bragger (SB)
GOVERNMENT VEHICLES WORKING GROUP COMMITTEE MEETING:
An update on the new vehicles order was one of the items discussed at the Government Vehicles Working Group held on the 4th of August. The meeting was chaired by Cllr John Birmingham. The Plant and Vehicle Manager advised the meeting that six new vehicles had been ordered. And, the group expressed their continued concern that the low level of funding allocation for replacement vehicles, allowing for only six to be replaced per annum. The Government currently own approximately 150 vehicles and it was feared that without funding, a number of these would be uneconomic in the future. The group requested that the Standing Finance Committee be made aware of these concerns.
The Post Office has requested the allocation of a vehicle on a permanent basis. At present, a Post Office Clerk is driving 3 times a week to MPA to provide a service to the civilian population, as no suitable applications have been received through individuals living at MPA. The Government Vehicles Working Group agreed that the vehicle presently allocated to the Post Office from the pool could continue to be used while the situation continues, subject to the Post Office meeting the costs of maintaining the vehicle.
DEALING WITH BOILS:
There’s an article in this month’s Wool Press dealing with boils written by Damian O’Sullivan. He says that this year 10% of sheep were infected and due to this the carcass value was reduced and boning costs were increased. Boils are caused by bacteria, which causes abscesses in the lymph nodes, lungs, meat tissue and other organs. The organism can survive in excrement and particles. Infection spreads as a result of close contact, such as shearing time. Damian says that there are several ways to reduce the occurrence of boils, including clean holding pens and shearing boards, reduction of time where sheep are in close contact, avoiding holding animals in small pens after shearing and to shear the young sheep first.
STUDENTS RECEIVE “A” LEVEL RESULTS:
Falklands Students received their AS and AT results today. Stacy Bragger asked Sylvia Cole (SC) what her reaction was:
SB: The thing that I am delighted about is that the four students who were awaiting results in order to gain entry to University have all been accepted into the University of their first choice. I got that confirmed this morning. All that I can say, really, is we have four students who gained their first choice University. We have two students deferred from last year, who are also starting University in the UK in September. And, of the ones who have gained their first choices, we have one going to the University of Sussex to study Geography, one going to Oxford Brooks to do a computing degree, another one going to Nottingham, training to study Business. I am particularly pleased with Jade Clayton, who will be going to Manchester Metro University to take initially a National Diploma in Nursing. Jade’s “A” Level grades particularly good and I want to congratulate her on that.
AJ: Jade Clayton said that she was very pleased with her results and that she hadn’t expected to do as well as she did. There were some good AS results as well, with Zoran Zuvic gaining 3 “As” and a “B.”
CHEMICAL CONTENT OF POOL WATER RESOLVED:
The Stanley Leisure Centre has recently carried out an experimental dilution procedure to correct a minor chemical imbalance. Recreation Manager, Steve Dent, says that this procedure has now been completed and the chemical balance has been resolved. But chief to the dilution process, the pool temperature has dropped off significantly, adding that the pool will remain closed until the water reaches an acceptable level. The Leisure Centre would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused and will advise when the pool can be re-opened.
ACTORS FOR MURDER DINNER:
A Murder Dinner with a medieval theme is due to be staged at the Town Hall. The event takes place on Friday, 30 September and has been written by Fiona Didlick, who will also be directing. This will be the first Medieval Dinner for a year in the Town Hall. Fiona is currently looking for volunteers to fill several acting roles, people to help run the bar and man the door and a producer to co-ordinate refreshments, publicity and decoration. If anyone is interested in taking part, please contact Fiona Didlick.
BFBS REPAIRS:
BFBS Television Service will be resuming to normal as soon as possible. Richard Huchison from BFBS says that engineers are currently working on the problem, adding that the reason repairs are taking so long is because, due to safety reasons, masts cannot be worked on when it is snowing and that the problem is not known at this time.
(100X Transcription and Monitoring Service)
(100X Transcription and Monitoring Service)
Websites: http://www.falklandnews.com. http://www.tristantimes.com, http://www.the-islander.org.ac, http://www.sartma.com, http://www.news.co.sh
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