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Letter From The Farm | High Nature Value in Ireland
How do you make the most of what is typically called poor land? Meet agroecologist and farmer Dolores Byrne from the north west of Ireland. And, meet a HUGE spider… […]
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re:CAP | How Farm Policy Can Attract and Keep Young and New Entrants
After a summer break, we return to our re:CAP series to talk young and new farmers. We speak to Christian Rehmer (BUND – Friends of the Earth Germany), Aurélie Catallo (Pour Une Autre PAC), Ulrich Jaspers (AbL and Die Verbände-Plattform), and Ariel Brunner and Harriet Bradley (BirdLife). […]
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#AgtechTakeback – Debate by ARC2020 and IATP
As the role of technology increases in farming and food, and corporate powers use this to extend their power, we need to strive for technological developments that are appropriate for farmers, for eaters and for the planet. Welcome to #AgTechTakeback. […]
Latest from EU Member States
Letter From the Farm | Work for the soil and the soul
We return to Chiara Garini’s agroecological farm in Italy’s Trento Province to see how she has been getting on. In this letter, she tells us of the importance of paying attention to the soil and the soul. […]
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Letter from a Lamber | Farmer’s knowledge and the fight against antibiotic resistance
Despite mounting concern about antibiotic resistance globally, parts of the UK agricultural industry remain opposed to further restriction. Could the antibiotic overuse be addressed by policymakers actively incorporating traditional good husbandry knowledge of farmers into best practice management plans? […]
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re:CAP | Risks and the Rural World
What do the most effective rural development policies look like? What role might risk management play in that? We speak to Christian Rehmer (BUND, Friends of the Earth Germany), Aurélie Catallo (Pour Une Autre PAC), Ulrich Jaspers, AbL and Die Verbände-Plattform and Ariel Brunner and Harriet Bradley (BirdLife). […]
Latest from Brussels
re: CAP | What’s the deal with capping direct payments?
In part 2 of our re:CAP series we return to Christian Rehmer (BUND, Friends of the Earth Germany), Aurélie Catallo (Pour Une Autre PAC), Ulrich Jaspers (AbL and Die Verbände-Plattform) and Ariel Brunner and Harriet Bradley (BirdLife) to talk capping. What should be the level for capping and redistribution and what should be the criteria for that? […]
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#SoilMatters – So How Did Our Authors Treat It?
Here we summarise and provide links to all eight contributions to the soil matters article series. From soil and the city to no till, humus and technical articles from soil scientists, there is much in here to cause wonder, controversy and, it is hoped, greater understanding. […]
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Letter From The Farm | Welcome to Mayo
Country girl becomes city girl with a background in climate change and environmental activism – and then becomes a cattle farmer? How did that happen? Meet Sineád from Mayo…… […]
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re:CAP | Subsidiarity – Savvy Decision-Making or Member State Carte Blanche?
The next CAP will likely give more power to Member States which may renationalise CAP. This raises questions about EU-level enforcement. Christian Rehmer (BUND, Friends of the Earth Germany), Aurélie Catallo (Pour Une Autre PAC), Ulrich Jaspers, AbL and Die Verbände-Plattform and Ariel Brunner and Harriet Bradley (BirdLife) share their ideas. […]
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re:CAP | A Series of Specific EU Farm, Food and Rural Policy Questions
ARC wants to know where the key NGOs and civil society groups stand on the particularly pertinent CAP questions of the moment. It’s all in here: Capping, young farmers, budget shortfalls, agri-environmental schemes, co-financing, risk management and subsidiarity. […]
Latest from EU Member States
Letter From The Farm | Welcome to Trento
New farmer Chiara Garini, fresh from learning about gastronomy and agroecology at the academic level, is trying to put some of her ideas into practice on a farm in Italy. Here she introduces her background, her studies, and the land she’s working on. Already, she has faced challenges and had to make decisions. […]
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#SoilMatters part 7 | Soil, Farming and Society: support mechanisms for the necessary transition
Stuart Meikle focuses on three main areas: society, farming and transitioning – all to soil-focused farming. The transition section includes seven suggestions for new farm support mechanisms. These suggestions focus on both payments and practices. […]
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#SoilMatters part 6 | What do we want of our soil? And how do we get it?
Roy Neilson and Blair McKenzie of the James Hutton Institute start with the consideration – what do we want from our soil? They move from here on a fascinating journey into the difference between soil texture and structure, into soil management, organic matter, and the impact of different practices on soil. […]
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#SoilMatters Part 5 | Stuart Meikle on Soil, Ruminants & Sustainable Food
“A sustainable food system is not about reducing animal-product consumption so to ‘free-up’ land for direct-for-human-food plants: rather, it is about using the land now used for feeds for shipping to animals confined elsewhere, for grazing livestock – be they ruminants, pigs or poultry.” Stuart Meikle outlines his position. […]