Reading Time: 3 minutes Polish farmers blocked roads with tractors and flares on Wednesday in escalating protests against EU environmental regulations and cheap food imports from neighbouring Ukraine which the bloc provisionally agreed to prolong.
Polish farmers intensify protests against ‘executioner’ EU
Germany proposes income smoothing to reduce farmers' taxes in face of farmer anger
China expands list of GM soybean, corn variety approvals
Reading Time: < 1 minute China has approved 27 genetically modified corn seed varieties and 3 GM soybean varieties, expanding its list of approvals as it aims to increase the development and planting of high-yielding crops.
Zimbabwe goes hungry as crops wither amid El Nino drought
Reading Time: 2 minutes Residents of the Zimbabwean village of Buhera stood in groups at a primary school waiting to be called by name to receive life-saving handouts of grain, peas and cooking oil.
Farmers, oil drillers in parched Alberta brace for water shortage
Drought could cause double-digit declines in Alberta's wheat yields, data suggests
Reading Time: 3 minutes Drought in Alberta is stretching into its fourth year and farmers and oil companies are planning for water restrictions that threaten production of wheat, beef and crude.
CN train stopped by demonstrators in Winnipeg, union says
Reading Time: 2 minutes A union representing striking workers in Halifax said it stopped a CN train in Winnipeg yesterday as part of escalations against that company.
Pesticides under fire in U.S.
Recent court decisions have threatened farmers' abilities to use some herbicides
Reading Time: 3 minutes Pesticides are increasingly under attack in the United States and that is keeping farm leaders awake at night.
EU plan to ease farmers’ fallow land requirement stalls
Farmers have staged weeks of protests against EU environmental restrictions, cheap imports
Reading Time: 2 minutes European policymakers' plan to replace a requirement for farmers to leave land fallow with a voluntary scheme has been held up by disagreement on details, the agriculture commissioner said on Friday on a visit to Warsaw.
Thousands of farmers rally in New Delhi to demand higher crop prices
Allowing farmers to enter the city seen as a concession from Modi government
Reading Time: 2 minutes Thousands of farmers rode buses and trains from across India to gather on Thursday at a rally in the capital, New Delhi, pressing a demand for higher guaranteed prices for their crops, as they faced down police barricades and tough security.
Polish farmers backtrack on unblocking Ukraine border crossing, PAP reports
Protesting farmers say they will block Slovakia border against Ukrainian, Russian goods until end of month
Reading Time: 2 minutes Polish farmers increased the number of trucks they let through the Dorohusk border crossing with Ukraine on Wednesday but backpedaled on a promise to unblock it completely, state news agency PAP reported on Wednesday.
Bird flu strain raises alarm as virus kills South American wildlife
Mammal-to-mammal transmission of virus likely but unconfirmed, scientists say
Reading Time: 4 minutes The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has spread more aggressively than ever before in wild birds and marine mammals since arriving in South America in 2022, raising the risk of it evolving into a bigger threat to humans, according to interviews with eight scientists.
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
