There appears to be alot of cancer and ill health with our dogs,young and old in the rural area were we live,I was talking to local people today and they are saying they suspect the cause of this is what farmers are spraying there crops with and fertilizer,I cant help thinking that this may have been the cause of one of my dogs ill health..

Sheila

yes blame the farmers for yet another rural/countryside thing!!!

it would be really lovely to have the fields free of any animals or crops...they would look lovely...NOT

> yes blame the farmers for yet another rural/countryside thing!!!

A little harsh, considering Sheilas recent loss.

Yes agree Lacy a tad harsh :-)

Sheila I doubt the blame can be put down to this as the only factor as many factors could be the cause.

On a personal level I stay away from crops that I know have been sprayed of fertilised for a couple of weeks just to let the chemicals absorb as much as possible and also stop the girls from grazing or drinking or swimming in any water sources near by.

Tests will be done monitored by the Environment Agency so if you and other people do have concerns then contact them to get assurances that levels around where you live are within acceptable levels.

It is a simple way of minimising exposure whilst still enjoying living in the countryside. We have to use fertilisers otherwise we wouldn't be able to sustain the food chain and so the effect on the economy and our world would be disastrous .

It doesn't matter where you live we all live where there are risks

I'd be more likely to suspect the water supply - do the dogs go swimming in the river or a lake?

They used to swim in the lake,but I have been keeping them on the lead when near,but they paddle in streams ect,The smell of the fields has been awful,not the usual smell of years gone by,in future I will be walking somwere else.

Sheila

Our local fields have been sprayed with the waste from the sewage works (sold through the council) so the smell is different this year too.

Be fair, lexy--the OP isn't blaming the farmers but the chemicals used on the fields, and if farmers weren't in such desperate straits perhaps they'd question the likes of Monsanto etc who produce endless combinations under the guise of fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides.

not replying to anyone in particular
but this may be of interest
http://www.opin.info/fg_myhill.php

I'm sorry if anyones dogs are ill, but please don't blame the farmer, after all it's his livelihood we are talking about. I have lived out in the sticks for 11 years now so my dogs have been given free access to the fields with or without crops, all year round. As have my neighbours, and as have so many other dog walker all over the country. Yes, they can become ill after being walked in a field that has recently been sprayed, but why shouldn't the farmer spray his crops? They have the right to do so. All sprays are tightly controlled and there are times when a farmer cannot spray. I try not to walk my dogs in fields that have been sprayed recently. You have the right to walk your dog/s elsewhere, but the farmer can't grow his crops anywhere else.

> There appears to be alot of cancer and ill health with our dogs,young and old in the rural area were we live,

Unfortunately I think there is a lot of cancer in dogs everywhere now, whether that is down to better detection or the environment I don't know but I've lost 13 of my last 14 borzois to cancer. This appears to be the case nationwide so I'm not overly concerned about my immediate environment.

I believe that the EU passed regulations a few years ago to halve the pesticides used by 2013 - which will be good for those affected (or believe they are affected) by them, but not so good for those buying vegetables, cereals etc because prices will rise due to lower crop yields :)

What price health, eh?

> What price health, eh

Not sure what your point is :) :) :) ?? If farmers use pesticide, they produce more crops, more cheaply and people can (maybe) afford to buy more :) If they use less pesticide, then they produce less and the prices go up, so people (maybe) buy less. You pays your money and you takes your choice :) :) :)

There's a lot of maybes there, Daisy :-). Also, paying your money is no guarantee of choice--have a look at  http://www.cool2012.com/cool/fertilizer/ from which this quote is take:

"While fertilizer application can increase short term crop yields or keep the grass on your lawn green through November, it comes with its share of detrimental environmental and health effects. Many of the problems stem from the inability of the soil to retain all of the fertilizer applied. In fact, it is estimated that about one half of every metric ton of fertilizer applied to fields never even makes it into plant tissue, but instead ends up evaporating or being washed into local waterways."

If a true cost benefit analysis were undertaken, including health and ecological impacts, not just a linear field to table methodology, we might be surprised to find that productivity is more sustainable and affordable by using effective stewardship measures--even the Environment Agency is advocating this on its website--see http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/business/sectors/bestfarmingpractices.aspx

> There's a lot of maybes there, Daisy . Also, paying your money is no guarantee of choice--have a look at  http://www.cool2012.com/cool/fertilizer/ from which this quote is take

Oh - I agree :) I wasn't sure tho' whether you were in favour of reducing pesticides, as they plan to do - surely that's a good thing in your view then ?? So I couldn't understand why you said 'What price health ?' :) :) :) Would have thought that the EU is starting to go, a little, in the right direction :) :)

It was a weak attempt at irony born out of frustration that too many shoppers see the priority as 10p off a pack of frozen peas. More grim irony comes from the EU, whose recent attempts to curb the fertiliser industry have apparently arisen not from environmental concerns but from the Oslo bombing attack, because Breivik was able to go from one supplier to another to buy 6 tonnes of fertiliser and over 20 pharmacies to buy the rest of his ingredients.

> It was a weak attempt at irony born out of frustration that too many shoppers see the priority as 10p off a pack of frozen peas

LOL :) We have noticed here that the farmers rarely spray the crops which is also born out by the numbers of weeds amongst them (I can only remember one spray this year) :) :) The stop to stubble being burnt is also very welcome :)

They stopped stubble burning because of the risk of causing major fires if I remember.

It reminds so vividly of an arsonist that started a fire in a field that ended up causing major damage. This triggered a series of fires in our road over a couple of months which was terrifying ! We even had police in our bedroom through the night to do surveillance.

We were sleeping elsewhere of course !! It was quite an event in my life as a seven year old being questioned by the police!

They final caught and arrested one of the neighbours who was a phyciatric nurse who ended up being sectioned herself in the end .

Thankfully nobody was hurt but a lot of damage to properties including personal possessions so it left it's legacy .

I am thankful that they are not allowed to burn stubble because of this!

yes blame the farmers for yet another rural/countryside thing!!!

Very harsh, considering......

And because they're not allowed to burn the stubble they have to use more nitrates on the fields because of the depletion from the soil as the stubble rots down.

They can use rotational crops that put nitrates back naturally though but I think because of the wholesale value of certain crops dictates the increased use of fertilisers.

At the end of the day it is the consumers that are driving this plus the need to sustain the ever increasing population

I wonder this as well Sheila. My dog as alot of you know was diagnosed with prostate cancer 7 months ago (aged 6) and I really regret walking round fields that had recently been crop sprayed. No idea whether there is any truth in it. I couldn't find much to do with dogs when I tried to research it but did read that cancer incidence in people is much higher in those that live near crop sprayed fields than in those who don't (don't know where I read this - would have to look again) and it often tends to be in areas of the body that are influenced by hormones (so prostate cancer, testicular cancer, breast cancer).

Isn't cancer though more predisposition with environmental factors as a secondary in the majority of cases.

I can understand though wanting to get answers to why but until extensive research is done unfortunately nothing can be substantiated.

All we can do is avoid what we all feel could be a factor but balance that with not adversely affect the day to day living of the individual :-)

>All we can do is avoid what we all feel could be a factor but balance that with not adversely affect the day to day living of the individual 

Yes, LJS. He may well have got cancer anyway but the crop spray will always be at the back of my mind, so if I were to get another dog in the future I would certainly play it safe(r) and avoid those particular fields. A shame as it is a lovely area that goes on for some distance, but there are other places to walk with not too much bother.

At the end of the day it is the consumers that are driving this

It would be more accurate to say that the giant food retailers and pharmaceutical companies are driving this, with consumers being expertly manipulated through glossy advertising and rock bottom prices.

One way of looking at it but no consumers = no business :-)

My partner and I run a small organic farm in Devon. We have to work to subsidise the farm - we can't make enough money from selling our organic beef and lamb, even with me telling everyone that the condition of our animals is always graded as "outstanding" or "excellent" during our inspections. I don't think we can afford to stay organic :(

I'm always buying organic...it would be a shame if you had to stop.  I dread to think what we are putting in our bodies with all this stuff sprayed on crops.