Go to.... Home	Dalgety Agriculture
Dalgety Agriculture Why Dalgety Agriculture? What is Dalgety Agriculture? Dalgety’s position on GM Dalgety and BSE Where is Dalgety? How feed mills work	Why Dalgety Agriculture? Dalgety probably uses uses more genetically modified (GM) crops than any other company in the UK (with the exception of its animal feeds manufacturing rival BOCM Pauls). It is therefore a valuable market for transgenic maize and soya crops grown in the United States. Taken as a whole the animal feeds industry imports over 2 million tonnes of soya per year into the UK [1]. At a time when biotech companies are losing markets across the world, animal feeds manufacturers are key outlets that they can still count on. Dalgety uses GM ingredients in almost all of its products. This includes both bulk ingredients such as soya and maize and micro ingredients such as amino acids and vitamins [2]. This briefing is a guide for activists and campaigners. It profiles the company and gives site locations, with function where possible. It also names key people within the company. It is one of a series of briefings on animal feed and genetic engineering. (details on back page).
Back to Top	What is Dalgety Agriculture? Dalgety Agriculture is the second largest animal feed manufacturer (in terms of quantity produced) in the UK after BOCM Pauls. It forms one half of Dalgety Group. The other half, Dalgety Arable, is involved in seed processing and supplying arable products. It was created in 1998 when Dalgety PLC broke up into several individual companies [3]. The company is giving evidence to the BSE inquiry, which is attempting to work out how the BSE crisis came about and who was responsible. Mr R Clegg and Dr Brian Cooke are giving evidence on the company's behalf [6]. Dalgety is a member of UKASTA (United Kingdom Agricultural Supply Trade Association), an organisation which represents the industry. It aims to achieve the most favourable economic conditions possible for its members through lobbying government, supplying business information and helping to shape public 'understanding' of the industry [7]. (More details on UKASTA available in 'Introduction and Strategic Overview', see Other Briefings, back page) The company has sold many of its mills recently as part of a restructuring programme to reduce costs and therefore its losses. It no longer has any mills in Scotland and only one in Wales. Dalgety does have the capability to supply feeds that don't contain GM crop products - but only if one of their customers (ie a farmer) requests it. Dalgety is one of the major funders of the John Innes Centre in Norfolk, a major research centre for GM crop technology in the UK. [4] It also owns Throws Farm at Stebbing, Essex, which has been used for trials of GM oilseed rape for Agrevo, Monsanto and Advanta, and was the scene of a crop action last summer [5]. As part of its marketing strategy Dalgety sponsors several livestock competitions at agricultural shows around the country.
Back to Top	Dalgety’s position on GM Dalgety uses an industry-wide position statement produced by the UK Agricultural Supply Trade Association (UKASTA) on the subject of GM ingredients in its feedstuffs. This omits all mention of ingredients such as vitamins and amino acids, which are frequently produced using genetically modified micro-organisms. However it does say: "UKASTA believes that technological advances, such as genetic modification of plants, will offer significant future benefits to consumers and play an important part in satisfying rising world demand for efficiently produced food." Dalgety employs PR company Mistral to help shape public understanding on its behalf. Mistral's Mike Evans stresses that going GM free is difficult because of the micro-ingredients issue. He also claims that supplies of 'identity preserved' (certifiably non-GM) soya and maize are so limited that if Dalgety and other companies were to switch, demand for them would far outstrip supply. This would make feed inputs more expensive, and further erode the international competitiveness of the British livestock industry. Supermarkets and consumers, demanding cheap products, would buy from overseas suppliers - who might still be using GM inputs [8].
Back to Top	Dalgety and BSE Dalgety has admitted to the BSE inquiry that it produced cattle feed containing meat and bone meal from other cattle. This is thought to be the mechanism by which BSE was transmitted through herds - and thence to humans [14]. Some of Dalgety's products Almost all of Dalgety’s products contain GM ingredients. Dalgety produce a range of feeds for dairy cows that do not contain GM soya or maize. However, at least some of these contain GM micro ingredients [9]. Some of these micro ingredients are supplied by Vitamealo Agricultural Merchants, Severn Mill, Kings Road Ave, Avonmouth, Bristol. Tel 0117 9235449 Last year the company launched a range of specially calibrated wellies that enable farmers to measure the height of grazing pastures simply by walking around their fields… [10] Head Office The Mill, Briscombe Port, Stroud, GL5 2QG Tel: 01453 732700 Managing director: Anthony Taylor Financial Details Turnover £1,241,230,000. Pre-Tax Loss £16,739,000 [1] [Note: These are the latest figures but predate the break up of Dalgety PLC] Bank Midland Bank PLC, PO Box 120, 49 Corn Street, Bristol, BS99 7PP. Tel 0117 991 6239 Key personnel - Directors Andrew Barnard Kevan Compson Richard Green Peter Hunt Paul Kirk (executive chairman) Anthony Taylor (managing director) [11] Other key people Mr R Clegg, Senior Raw Material Manager Dr Sotiris Papasolomontos, animal nutrition consultant to Dalgety Agriculture. In June of this year he was given a job at The Home-Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA), a government body which aims to improve the production and marketing of UK-grown cereals and oilseeds [12]. Dr Brian Cooke, Nutritionist David Filmer, Technical Director. Also Company Nutritionist to Unilever Animal Feed Companies. Mike Jeffes, technology development manager
Back to Top	Where is Dalgety? England - North Royal Seaforth Grain Terminal at Liverpool docks. Using facility here to import maize. [13] England - East Midlands Leicester Mill, Magna Road, South Wigston, Leicester, LE18 4ZJ. Tel 0116 2774652. (Mill) Currently without a manager. Carr Lane, Gainsborough, Lincs, DN21 1LQ. Tel 01427 612371 01427 619300 (office) Fax 01427 810321 (Mill specialising in pig and poultry but produce other feeds as well). Manager Bill Bassett England - East Anglia 71-72 Eastern Way, Bury St Edmonds, Suffolk, IP32 7AB. Tel 01284 702633. Fax 01284 756104 (Mill producing feed for various animals). Manager Peter Berrett. Bunkers Hill Mill, Egmere, Walsingham, Norfolk, NR22 6BD. Tel 01328 820809 (animal feed). Tel 01328 820321. (Arable) 2 Mills, one arable, one animal feed Manager (animal feed). Lindsay Sharp. England - South West The Mill, Briscombe Port, Stroud, GL5 2QG Tel 01453 732700 Head office and mill Managing director Anthony Taylor Kings Mill, Saunders Wy, Cullompton, Devon, EX15 1BS Tel 01884 33917 Fax 01884 33068 Mill producing pig and poultry feeds. Manager Trevor Pratt Vitamealo Agricultural Merchants, Severn Mill, Kings Road Ave, Avonmouth, Bristol. Vitamealo produce minerals to go in animal feeds. They produce minerals for Dalgety animal feeds. Tel 0117 9235449 England - South East Throws Farm Research Centre, Dunmow, Essex, CB2 4NL Tel 01371 856431 Fax 01371 856616 Formerly GM crop trial site. Holds an annual Farming Future event here in June. Wales Bridge Road North, Wrexham, Clywd. Tel 01978 660451. Mill producing pig and poultry feed. Manager Bill.
Back to Top	How feed mills work Bulk materials (eg soya, maize, wheat etc) are delivered to the mill in lorries and are transferred to a storage bin or silo. They are then transferred to blending bins where they are mixed, often with micro-ingredients such as vitamins and amino acids. These ususally come in the form of a pre-mix which arrives at the mill in bags. Depending upon the type of feed the mix may be pressed into pellets or cake before going to a finished product bin. Other types of feed go straight into finished product bins. From here the final products are despatched to farms (or occasionally to regional distribution centres) either in bags or in bulk lorries, many of which are part of the company’s own fleet of vehicles.
Back to Top	Conclusion As one of the companies behind the BSE crisis, Dalgety has forfeited any right to public confidence. Now this obscure but dangerous company is compounding the wrong by flooding the UK with GMOs - via the back door of animal feeds.
Back to Top	Footnotes 1. MAFF Report, Food Contaminants D, 11 March 1999 2. Conversation with company August 1999 3. Key Note Report: Animal Feeedingstuffs. 1999. Key Note Ltd 4. John Innes Centre Annual Report 97/98 5. Essex Chronicle 26/03/1999 6. Hermes - UK Government press release 01/10/98 7. UKASTA website. www.UKASTA.org.uk 8. Conversation with Mike Evans August 1999 9. Conversation with the company August 1999 10. The Herald 17/04/98 P27 11. Companies House appointments search 12. Hermes - UK Government press reliase 11/06/1999 13. www.merseydocks.co.uk/services/grain_afs/grain.htm 14. Transcript from BSE Inquiry day 61, evidence from Dr Cooke
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