Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Richard Wright: Commission reviews farm policies in bid to tackle climate change

A new report says greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from agriculture are down 20% against the 1990 base figure.
A new report says greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from agriculture are down 20% against the 1990 base figure.

Claims that agriculture, particularly livestock production, must be curbed to tackle climate change are constant, but new research from the European Commission shows that far from getting worse the position has improved.

The report, Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Emissions, says greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) from agriculture are down 20% against the 1990 base figure.

There has however been no change since 2010, because of a 9%  increase in farm production.  The GHG figure per unit of output has however fallen.  This adds weight to claims that the concept of sustainable intensification works.

Commission

Nonetheless,  the European Commission continues to insist that the goal is an overall reduction in GHG production rather than greater production efficiency.  Policies now under consideration include ending greening exemptions for small farmers, excluding reseeded grass from permanent pasture and further moves to discourage coupled livestock production.

Meanwhile, if it is true that a rising tide lifts all boats then farmers should be in for a spell of good fortune.

Global food prices rose sharply in May and have now risen for 12 consecutive months to reach their highest level since 2011.

The increase was across most commodities and reflects improving demand, as global economies recover from the effects of the pandemic.  This is based on the United Nations Food Price Index, which rose by 4.8%  from April to May and is now almost 40% ahead of May 2020.  The cereal price index rose 6%  from April to May, despite forecasts that 2021 will see record global production.

Cereal prices are rising.

The May meat prices index rose by 2.1% , with all sectors gaining, reflecting  improved demand from China.  Dairy price gains were more modest at 1.8%, but prices were nonetheless 28% ahead of the same month in 2020.  This was led by milk powders, with the only dip being for butter because of higher export supplies from New Zealand.

However the European Milk Board action group farmers used World Milk day on June 1 to protest over lower prices in action that was coordinated across Europe, beginning with a march and protest in Berlin.

Similar protests were held in a number of member states and other European countries, including France, Italy, Norway and Switzerland.

The group’s message is that rising costs in the face of poor prices mean that dairy farmers are working harder than ever to earn less than the minimum wage in most countries on a per hour basis.

Dairy farmers in Europe are protesting about low milk prices.

The protests will continue through the month.

In the UK farm lobby organisations warned that the milk price/cost ratio is now at a tipping point where production could fall. Ironically this coincided with evidence of higher global dairy prices, suggesting the supply chain may not be working effectively in the EU.