If you didn’t know it already, we use Twitter, and we now have more than 700 followers – for this we would like to say a big thank you to all.

If you don’t use Twitter, you might not be aware of how useful it can be as a resource for information and good ideas. Here’s a collection of pesticide information from tweets from us, and tweets we’ve re-tweeted from the past few days. Enjoy!

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Via @cropprotection

News of the EU’s ‘REAL Fake’ competition to raise awareness of the dangers and problems associated with counterfeit and fake products – recognised as a great opportunity for EU agricultural schools to explore counterfeit pesticide issues.

Read more: http://bit.ly/an1svn

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Via @pdjmoo

Germany: New sensing technology from bats and insects helps farmers reduce fertilizer and pesticide use – impressive.

Read more: http://ow.ly/1bQ0D

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Via @ThePhoenixSun

An article exploring the health implications of pesticide drift, and the problems of regulating drift.

Read more: http://bit.ly/9xFbmx

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Via @pesticideinfo

Food organisations form working groups to tackle impact of pesticides legislation – a response to the UK consultation for the Sustainable Use Directive.

Read more: http://bit.ly/9F4Zqk

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Via @pesticideinfo

Food Scare Over Toxic Cowpeas Spreads in China – reporting on the detection of harmful chemical residues on Chinese produce.

Read more: http://bit.ly/cZUcmO

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Via @TheAngryindian & @GMWatch

Is WWF the only international green group to be picketed by its peers? An article describing critism of WWF for their involvement in spy production in Latin America.

Read more: http://bit.ly/c2wXPF

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Via @cropprotection

Pesticide red tape may prove ‘a blight on potato sector’. UK concern over the potential impact of new pesticide legislation on potato yeilds.

http://bit.ly/ci5RuK

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Via @pesticideinfo

Colony Collapse Disorder: the real crisis ahead, ‘agricultural collapse disorder…’. A view that bee Colony Collapse Disorder is infact casued by the nature of bee farming.

Read more: http://bit.ly/bzGcJg

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Via @canadaguy

Children in Latin American countries found exposed to DDT – a legacy of anit-malaria pesticide use.

Read more: http://www.enn.com/health/article/41028

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Via @pesticideinfo

Tomatoes that taste like Holland, farming with scorpions, & at least one goodreason why you should not taste pesticides. Actually the previous post on this blog – when you’re done here, why not have a read.

Read more: http://bit.ly/aDuR1Y

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Via @HealthandEnv

NGO facing legal challenge after apparently discovering unacceptable pesticide levels in wine.

http://bit.ly/dcUiVS

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Via @scgardeningnews

Cultural controls are best, but if you must spray, use less toxic insecticides. Some basic advice on home and garden pesticide use.

Read more: http://bit.ly/LpNYO

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Some of our followers…

Earlier this week, we attended a farm visit at JSR Farms in East Yorkshire, United Kingdom (disclosure: the event was organised by ECPA). The event was an “information day” for the press, aimed at providing a farmer’s opinion on the effects the proposed revision of the current pesticide legislation (Directive 91/414) will have on his ability to grow food. The farmer in question was Philip Huxtable, an agronomist with 30 years experience as a farmer, and currently the Managing Director of JSR Farms. Below you will see a few short clips from the visit in which Mr. Huxtable gives his opinion on what is driving the legislative process, potential impacts on yields, as well as his closing statement from, as he put it, his “political soapbox”!

Next week, we will be posting some entries in which Mr. Huxtable speaks in more detail about pest management on single crops, such as wheat and potatoes, the threat posed by plant diseases such as septoria and blight, as well as his use of integrated farming techniques, to not only protect his crops, but the environment and wildlife on his farm.

Of course, Mr Huxtable’s statements very much represent a farmer’s views. We would recommend that you listen tothis report from BBC Humberside radio by Chris Arundel, who was also present at the event, which seeks to provide a more balanced view of the issues (Mr. Arundel interviewed Elliott Cannell of the Pesticide Action Network, an anti-pesticides NGO).