Never mind the Chancellor and his pre-budget speech – last week brought mixed, if not good, news for farmers, writes the Western Daily Press's Farming Green cvolumnist David Parker.

Milk producers learned that UK exports of butter and cheese rose dramatically this year, by 69 per cent and 18 per cent.

Cheese exports totalled 74,720 tonnes, and for butter it was 11,973 tonnes, according to DairyCo’s latest Datum report.

Most went to EU countries, helped by the strength of the euro against sterling. In September alone, cheese exports climbed by more than 57 per cent on last year, and butter exports by 120 per cent.

On the other side of the sheet, imports are falling – butter by 1.9 per cent and cheddar cheese imports by 3.5 per cent, while speciality cheeses were 3.4 per cent below last year, although imports from New Zealand and Australia went up in the first nine months of this year, compared with 2008.

Elsewhere last week, CAP and climate change were under the spotlight. The CAP is under review – again – and a new commissioner chosen. Meanwhile, world leaders met in Copenhagen to work out a solution to the now-notorious global warming theory by limiting carbon emissions. Farmers were told that improving the carbon hoofprints of their farming businesses could help make “substantial” financial savings.

Although agriculture featured lowly – if at all – on the agenda, a strong contingent from the NFU and Soil Association was among the 300 or so farmers and food industry leaders who went to the Copenhagen environment summit to promote farming as a green industry and debunk the theory linking meat-eating with climate change.

Meanwhile, world leaders met at a summit in Copenhagen to try to work out a solution to the now-notorious global warming theory by limiting carbon emissions.

Delegates from all over the world attended an Agriculture and Rural Development Day at a fringe meeting last Saturday.

Just to remind readers: in 1974, the US looked into concerns about global cooling. In 1963, the UK had possibly the longest cold spell on record, and in 1976 perhaps the hottest and longest warm spell on record.

Another history lesson: suddenly, farmers are being given new advice on breeding animals. Apparently, cross-breeding can improve animal welfare and bring financial gains.

 Cross-breeding by the dairy industry requires more investigation and information to help address current concerns on welfare, according to David Evans, Morrisons’ head of agriculture.

Some farmers may remember trials many years ago when Jerseys were crossed with Friesians in a breeding programme that produced the Jersian.

At about the same time, the Holstein and a number of beef breeds were being imported for cross-breeding in the dairy herd.

 “It’s the first time anyone in the UK has undertaken a detailed review of what’s a contentious area for a lot of dairy farmers,” Mr Evans claimed.

What goes around comes around!