Reading Time: 2 minutes Grain growers in western Europe will need rain to ease this month to progress with spring planting, after a wet February maintained soggy field conditions that have already put the region on course for a smaller wheat harvest, analysts said.
Europe’s grain farms await rain break after damp winter
Weak prices for maize could encourage planting other crops
France’s farmer lobby turns up heat on government before talks
French farmers have a long history of disruptive protests
Reading Time: 3 minutes French farmers' representatives threatened to expand protests on Monday before a meeting with government to address anger over price pressures, taxes and green regulation - grievances that are shared by farmers across Europe.
There’s no more money, German minister tells booing farmers
Berlin brought to near standstill by demonstrations; government attempts conciliatory tone
Reading Time: 2 minutes Berlin has been brought to a near standstill by the demonstration, which filled one of its central avenues with trucks and tractors as some 10,000 farmers arrived to cap a week of protests against taxes that have become a flashpoint for anti-government anger.
German farmers block roads with tractors in protest at subsidy cuts
Farmers' association DBV expresses concern that far-right activists may exploit the protests for own ends
Reading Time: 2 minutes German farmers blocked roads with tractors on Monday, kicking off a week of protests against plans to phase out agricultural subsidies with nationwide action that ministers have warned could be co-opted by the far-right.
German government dilutes 2024 subsidy cuts after farmer backlash
Farmers protested in Berlin's streets after the announced end of tax breaks last month
Reading Time: < 1 minute Germany's coalition government has agreed to change its 2024 budget plans, a government spokesperson said on Thursday, after subsidy cuts proposed to bring spending in line with debt rules angered farmers.
German farmers protest with tractors against austerity measures
The German government proposed to abolish fuel subsidies to meet savings targets
Reading Time: 2 minutes According to next year's budget, a partial tax refund on agricultural diesel, along with a tax exemption for agricultural vehicles, will be abolished to meet the saving targets - a measure farmers said would threaten their livelihood and the competitiveness of Germany's agricultural sector.
Germany considering withdrawal from crop-based biofuels by 2030
Lawmakers seek to boost biofuel made from wastes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hamburg | Reuters — Germany’s government is considering proposals to phase out the use of biofuels produced from food or animal feed crops by 2030, the German biofuels industry association (VDB) said on Tuesday, adding the measure could increase carbon emissions. German environment minister Steffi Lemke said Jan. 17 she will soon send proposals to […] Read more
Russia to ban some imports of seeds from Canada, Europe
Canada's Prograin soybean seed on list
Reading Time: < 1 minute Moscow | Reuters — Russia will ban imports of some seeds from several locations in Europe and Canada from Aug. 15, its agriculture safety watchdog said on Thursday, citing non-compliance by suppliers with phytosanitary requirements as the reason. Imports of tomato and carrot seeds will be banned from a nursery of Satimex Quedlinburg, in Germany, […] Read more
Swine fever outbreak in Germany’s top pork state poses lasting threat
Risk seen for spread to neighbours Netherlands, France
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hamburg | Reuters — The spread of African swine fever to Germany’s most important pig rearing region has dealt a serious blow to the sector with major markets such as China likely to maintain import bans for years to come, analysts said on Monday. The outbreak on a farm in Emsland, Lower Saxony is the […] Read more
Grain exporters tap EU supplies as war shuts Ukraine ports
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hamburg/Paris | Reuters — Grain exporters are looking for alternative sources of wheat and corn as a Russian invasion cuts off Ukrainian supplies, with European Union producers Romania and France being used to cover some nearby loadings, traders said Friday. The conflict has rattled grain markets, with European wheat futures surging to a record high […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
