Blow as Brussels rules out use of bracken weedkiller

Scottish hill farmers were dealt a blow in the battle to control the invasive spread of bracken on news yesterday that a key weedkiller will be taken off the market after an apppeal for its continued use failed.

The ruling by the Appeals Committee in Brussels means that the sale and supply of Asulam will end on 31 December, and stocks of the product must be used by 31 December, 2012.

The National Farmers Union of Scotland is calling on the UK government to consider issuing a national emergency authorisation for Asulam. If successful, this would allow it to be use for a few months annually.

NFU Scotland president Nigel Miller, who has used Asulam to control bracken on his own Borders hill farm, said the European ruling would make the annual struggle of trying to contain bracken even tougher.

He believed the lack of alternative products, particularly those suitable for aerial spraying, would mean more of Scotland’s hills and uplands would run the risk of disappearing under a carpet of impenetrable bracken.

“Asulam has a hugely beneficial role in hillside management and, almost uniquely, its continued use had been supported by farmers, land managers and conservationists alike, who recognise the dire consequences for our countryside if we cannot keep bracken in check,” he said.

This week, the union supported a move by the Heather Trust and signed by conservation bodies asking that use of Asulam be continued. Miller indicated the union had discussed with Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs the possibility of implementing national emergency measures for its use

“While far from ideal, this may give us a three-month window each year when the use of Asulam may be permitted nationally, but only under strict supply, storage and usage terms.”

He added that the union would also continue its dialogue with United Phosphorus, the manufacturer of Asulam, to ensure it would continue producing supplies for use in the UK.

Scottish MEP Alyn Smith is also contacting the manufacturer to proceed with an application that would allow the pesticide to be used when the bracken season recommences.

The problem is the existing licence was for use in spinach and that is why the health committee of the European Commission picked up on it. But if scientific evidence can be produced to show the product is safe to use in bracken control, then this would solve the problem.

United Phosphorus last night confirmed it would continue to supply Asulam as long as there was a dispensation to do so.

Although its use in Europe will now be limited, a spokesman confirmed that Asulam was used extensively “in all corners of the globe”.

In the UK, the company sold “large volumes” of the weedkiller to a wide range on landowners, including the Ministry of Defence, which uses it to control bracken on firing ranges.