Recommendations published by the German Ministry for the Environment echo fears that the CAP reform might not align with the environmental ambitions of the European Green Deal, and urge that regardless of the outcomes of the negotiations, Germany should use its Strategic Plan to gear the implementation of EU agriculture policy towards environmental needs. Hans Wetzels reports. […]
Although known for its beer, Germany has a long history of viticulture dating back to the Roman era. Wine markets have always been shaped by changing climate conditions such as the little ice age. The new climate reality is forcing many wine regions in Germany and across Europe to make large-scale adaptations to keep the winemaking tradition alive. Kyle Morrison reports. […]
It remains unclear how EU-member states with powerful dairy industries will take into account the interests of farming communities outside Europe. While the instruments of which the CAP is comprised focus on the primary production inside the EU, impacts are felt within countries, in Europe and further afield. […]
The new EU organic regulation, to be implemented in 2022, promises new opportunities especially for young farmers to regain control and knowledge of local conservation, breeding, sustainable use and marketing of seeds fit for organic production. As part of the team that negotiated the new EU organic regulation, ARC2020 President Hannes Lorenzen is curious about how the new less restrictive conditions for organic seed production and marketing will impact breeders and farmers. He spoke to an organic plant breeder and a young farmer about their ideas on the future of seeds. […]
If remote rural communities want to be part of the conversations that will shape their futures, the ability to connect with other projects and stakeholders is a crucial skill. For one island community, the coronavirus crisis was a crash course in online networking. Hannes Lorenzen reports on Eco-Week 2020 and the digital leap forward on his home island of Pellworm, Germany. […]
Covid-19 outbreaks in meat factories worldwide are revealing different responses for the exposed workers – and makes the case for an EU wide standard for meat factory workers. Alison Brogan highlights recent developments in Germany and Ireland. […]
While the exploitation of agri-food sector workers is a longstanding food system issue, the emergence of slaughterhouses across Europe and the US as coronavirus hotspots has brought renewed urgency and heightened awareness to issues relating to the conditions to which meat-plant workers are exposed. Alison Brogan rounds up the Covid19 news on this topic from the US, Ireland and Germany. […]
Low cost labour intensive vegetable production has been under strain in recent weeks. Tens of thousands of seasonal workers have moved from east to west – as they do each year. This year is not, however, a typical year. Covid19 has added new dimensions, while also shining a spotlight on an otherwise hidden army of harvesters. But is harvesting the white gold more valuable than the health of Romanian farm workers? […]
There is a simple explanation why I am writing as a farmer: when we as a society come under such enormous pressure that it raises existential questions, like the spread of the COVID-19 pathogen is doing, we have to reflect on what we really need in such a crisis […]
Agricultural production is on track for this year, and the EU is self-sufficient in most areas. Despite the challenges of the coronavirus crisis we have little reason to worry about food supply in the EU. This was Sebastian Lakner’s tentative conclusion in part 1 of his review of the available data. But his findings come with some major caveats. Trade in commodities must continue to flow to guarantee food supply in the context of the EU’s interconnected agribusiness model. Here in part 2 Sebastian Lakner examines another critical factor: labour and seasonal migrant workers. […]
As public life shuts down around Europe and health systems buckle under the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic, concerns over food supply are the latest scare to make headlines. In recent weeks speculation is rife as to the potential impacts on agricultural production. In part 1 of this series, Sebastian Lakner crunches the numbers to identify the real risks to Europe’s food supply. […]
Growth in organics in Germany continues on all fronts, bucking trends in conventional farming and food markets.In Germany, the organic land area has now passed 10%, having grown 50% in the last five years. Where is the growth occurring, and does the market match or exceed the land area? […]
Fully functional, healthy peatlands are the most effective long-term carbon store and sink on the planet. But what sort of state are they in, and what role for agriculture and CAP. And just what is Paludiculture? Jan Peters and colleagues assess the terrain. […]
” I could analyze Big Data sets, linking changes in the physical landscape to natural and cultural processes, but how on earth a farmer knows where, when and what to plant remained a mystery. ” And so began an archaeologist’s trip into goat farming… […]
“I think we can take a white sheet of paper and draw a new picture for agriculture.” TIlo Von Donner of Landschafft Verbindung spoke at Soup and Talk, at WHES2020. So what else did he say? […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention