Organic Wales News & Events

People are being warned to keep off a popular lake after a farm vehicle overturned, spilling 400 litres of a chemical into a nearby drainage ditch.

Tests are being carried out on the water at Llangorse Lake near Brecon after the incident involving diluted herbicide.

Public Health Wales said people should stay off the lake as a precaution until the test results were known.

Llangorse Lake is a popular location for water sports and with anglers.

Neonicotinoid chemicals in pesticides are believed to harm bees and the European Commission says they should be restricted to crops not attractive to bees and other pollinators.

A beach has been closed after a tank on a farm in Ceredigion burst, leaking 15,000 litres of slurry.

The slurry found its way into a small stream leading to the sea at South Beach in New Quay which has been cordoned off.

Fishermen on the River Towy in west Wales are being urged to join the battle against an invasive plant growing along riverbanks.

Experts say the Himalayan Balsam plant swamps native species.

Some of Wales’s most threatened birds are continuing to decline, according to the charity RSPB.

More than 30,000 people across Wales helped gather sightings of bird species for the charity in January.

The results show some of the most threatened “red-list” birds are continuing to drop in numbers.

Starlings had hit an all time low in 2012 – and that position worsened in 2013, with numbers dropping by 15%.

An investigation into the deaths of hundreds of toads along the Millennium Coastal Park in Carmarthenshire has been traced to a family of otters.

Environment Agency officials were called in after body parts of toads were found around ponds in the park which runs from Llanelli to Burry Port.

Wildlife experts have ruled out poisoning, the weather and water temperature, instead blaming otters.

Hill farmers who planted 120,000 trees and shrubs, restored neglected woods and more than 10 miles (16km) of hedges have been thanked for their work.

Pontbren Farmers’ Group, made up of 10 neighbouring farms near Llanfair Caereinion, Powys, have been working together since 2001.

One of the group’s aims has been to improve shelter for livestock.

Environment Minister John Griffiths launched a report celebrating the farmers’ achievements on Wednesday.

More than half of UK consumers have changed their shopping habits as a result of the horsemeat scandal, a consumer group survey suggests.

The survey by Which? found that 60% of 2,000 adults questioned online had changed how they shop, with many now buying less processed meat.

It also suggested that public trust in the food industry had declined.

Villagers have told a public inquiry of their concerns at plans for a “mega dairy” in Powys housing 1,000 cattle.

Fraser Jones wants a major expansion of his farm in Leighton, near Welshpool, but was told the smell from the current 300 cows was unbearable at times.

A government inspector is holding the hearing following Powys council’s decision to refuse planning for the expansion near a primary school.

The Forestry Commission Wales has apologised after it was fined £24,000 in court for polluting a 20-mile (33km) stretch of waterway in Powys.

The commission admitted causing pollution after soil and silt disturbed by heavy machinery strayed into a brook near Llanwrtyd Wells.