Latest from EU Member States
CAP UK: DEFRA plan for business as usual?
With UK nations having more autonomy than ever before, what is in the DEFRA consultation for England? […]
Month: November 2013
Latest from key partners
7 Ways to Save our Tired Soils
Agro-ecological farming methods can help our soils. Special guest post for ARC2020.eu from Louise Payton, Soil Association. […]
Latest from EU Member States
CAP Monologues in Greece
Is the government in Greece moving ahead with CAP reform without consulting anyone? […]
Latest from the ARC network
ARC2020 Seed Ball Action at Global Soil Week
ARC2020 was invited to participate in the Action Forum at the 2nd Annual Global Soil Week, “Losing Ground?” […]
Latest from EU Member States
Growing fears of land grabbing among Polish farmers
Agricultural land in Poland is among the cheapest in Europe, making it very attractive to foreign buyers […]
Newsflash
ARC NEWSFLASH October/November 2013
Dear friends and supporters,Shirin and Oliver here. We’re nicely settled in now into our roles, and really enjoying the challenge of keeping everyone up to date on European farming and food policy issues. The Arc2020 website is, hopefully, a little easier to use and more useful for you. We’ve added big buttons which feature our CAP and Rural Development Toolkit, agricultural campaigns across Europe, and our 2000m² project, as well as a live twitter feed. Why not pop over and have a fresh look? We look forward to hearing what you think. There’s a lot going on in agri-food politics and policy right now. Member States have been having consultations on the CAP reform process, which means they are closer to making important decisions that will effect farming, food and the environment across Europe. We’ll keep updating our toolkit and site as more information comes to hand: seehere for the latest from Spain, here for the latest from Germany, and see also what’s happening in Scotland and Ireland. The whole area of land grab to the east of the Continent has been a very hot topic on ARC2020 in recent […]
Latest from EU Member States
What will Ireland do with CAP implementation?
Ireland argued hard against flat payments when it held the presidency of the EU. But what else might happen there? […]
Latest from EU Member States
Organic and Other Farming in Ireland
Has the Irish state effectively abandoned organic farming? […]
Latest from EU Member States
Has Westminster taken E230 million of Scottish farmer’s money?
Westminster ignores convergence uplift for Scotland. […]
Latest from EU Member States
Decisions and Protests on CAP implementation in Germany
This week, German agricultural ministers agreed on the distribution of EU agricultural funds – read on for details of how CAP will be implemented […]
Latest from EU Member States
CAP in Spain: Deciding for the Farmers Without the Farmers
The measures already decided for CAP implementation in Spain […]
Latest from Brussels
What will the next Organic Regulation look like?
The European Commission is in the middle of developing a new Organic Regulation. What’s the process, and what does the organic movement think? […]
Latest from EU Member States
Smithfield Foods taken over by Chinese meat processor
Largest takeover of a US firm in history consolidates global pork: so what are the details? […]
Latest from EU Member States
UK Treasury plan to keep open food speculation loopholes
Is the UK trying to restrain the Financial Conduct Authority and keep food speculation alike and kicking? […]
Latest from EU Member States
Rainy day for UK farm incomes
The UK all-farm average business income is GBP 47000 for the year 2012-13, according to official figures released by DEFRA. However the ministry figure includes an average of GBP 25000 for Single Payment Scheme (SPS) money, which is not directly generated on any farm. So an adjusted headline figure for earnings from farming would be GBP 22000 between those working the farm: less than the average weekly earnings for an employee in a food factory (source: National Office for Statistics). DEFRA attributes the slide to a poor growing season and difficult conditions for cropping and livestock sectors alike. Higher feed costs were blamed for a 50% fall in lowland grazing incomes (average GBP 16500), while their upland counterparts in Less Favoured Areas (LFAs) suffered a 35% drop in earnings (average GBP 19500). DEFRA concedes that both categories of farming activity lost money saying they: “…failed to make a positive return from agriculture…” Yet the ministry insists on blaming the lower exchange rate for reduced CAP receipts, as if these were a direct product of farming. […]