Easier access to market information for Europe’s farmers

The European Union’s Commission is making available a series of new tools – to be known as the agricultural dashboards - to support farmers and other interested parties to make informed choices about their marketing decisions.
“The EU agri-food sector is ready to meet the growing world demand,” said Commissioner Phil Hogan, on presenting the new tool to EU Agriculture Ministers in the Council on November 16. “Our challenge as policymakers is to give our farmers and agri-business the tools and freedom to be all they can be.”
Access to accurate information, transparency and prompt publication are key elements to take better advantage of the market possibilities and face volatility, and the dashboards offer full access to all available market data through a single page, according to the press release.
Dashboards can be accessed online for five different sectors: dairy, beef, cereals, pig meat and poultry. They are made and updated almost daily on the basis of the latest national, European and international data, for example, on EU prices, monthly slaughterings and significant weather events in one screenshot. Building on experience with the dairy market and the Milk Market Observatory’s dashboard, the Commission has now added similar tools for pig meat, poultry meat, beef, cerealsand sugar.
The new tools can be seen as part of a package of measures to support the EU farming sector during a period of challenging market conditions.

European veterinary antibiotic use on the decline

European sales of antibiotics for use in animals fell by approximately 8 percent between 2011 and 2013, data from the latest European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial (ESVAC) group report reveals.
Of the 23 European countries that provided data over the period, 11 reported a decrease in sales of more than 5 percent, while the greatest decrease stood at 51 percent. However, six countries reported an increase in sales of more than 5 percent with the highest individual increase standing at 21 percent.
The report contains standardized sales data gathered annually on veterinary microbials by class, and is produced in cooperation with national authorities, coordinated by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
“With the new sales data collected and experience gained in the process, we are getting a clearer picture of the sales of antibiotics in animals in Europe,” said David Mackay, head of the EMA’s Veterinary Medicines Division.
“As data collected through ESVAC becomes increasingly robust, we hope they can support European countries in promoting rational use of antibiotics in animals.
“Collecting accurate data on the sale and use of these medicines in food-producing animals is an essential step to inform policies for responsible use of antibiotics.”
The report, now in its fifth edition, also includes more detailed graphs and trends on sales of flouroquinolones and 3^rd and 4^th-generation cephalosporins, giving further information on the use in animals of some of the most critically important classes of antimicrobials for humans.
Alongside the report, ESVAC also has launched an interactive database, allowing users to access specific data and search for a specific country or sales of a particular class of antibiotic.

New EPRUMA guide

Several publications relating to antibiotic resistance and reduction of antibiotic use have been published in Europe over recent months including the European Commission’s Guidelines for the prudent use of antimicrobials, along with Best practice framework for the use of antibiotics in food producing animals –Reaching the next level issued by the European Platform for the Responsible Use of Medicines in Animals (EPRUMA), a broad industry coalition.
The document combines a holistic and a specific approach to help in the optimization of animal health at farm level.
If offers guidance on indoor and free-range production, housing and biosecurity, and it includes a decision tree on the use of veterinary antibiotics in food-producing animals.

As little as possible, as much as necessary

“Veterinary medicines, including antibiotics, need to be used responsibly to main their efficacy. All animal health stakeholders are committed to responsible use,” said Gwyn Jones, EPRUMA chairman.
EPRUMA, which was set up 10 years ago and whose partners include the groups European Farmers and Agri-Cooperatives and the European Feed Manufacturers’ Association, works with policy- and decision-makers and concerned parties at European and national levels to promote responsible antibiotic use as part of a holistic approach to disease prevention and control and to support animal health and welfare.
Its latest publication, which builds on the group’s 2008 best practice framework document, covers all major livestock species from poultry to cattle, addressing areas including animal-specific factors affecting animal health, husbandry systems and management practices.

France, Germany to gain most from European farm support

All 28 Member States of the European Union (EU) are set to receive substantial aid worth EUR420 million (US$470 million) allocated in a fair, targeted and effective way to address problems in the dairy and pork sectors, while allowing Member States maximum flexibility in targeting the aid, said EU Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan, when he presented the details of the package announced recently to support European farmers. Other measures include new Private Storage Aid schemes for dairy and pig meat and the possibility of advancing direct payments.
"This is a comprehensive, decisive and robust support package. It is a significant statement of support by the Commission for European agriculture,” he told EU agriculture ministers. “The difficulties being experienced throughout the EU differ in emphasis from Member State to Member State and so the package is constructed in such a way that it responds to those different challenges and, at the same time, provides Member States with the maximum flexibility to tailor aid to their particular needs.”
Of the targeted aid, Germany and France are the main beneficiaries of this targeted aid, receiving sums of EUR69.2 million (US$77.6 million) and EUR62.9 million (US$70.6 million), respectively. Explaining how the amounts for each country – the so-called “national envelopes” - were arrived at, Hogan explained that 80 percent is aimed at the dairy sector to reflect the significant drop in dairy prices over the past year and that it was allocated based on the milk quota for each member state in the last quota year. The remaining 20 percent will ensure additional assistance for farmers hit by the fall in pig meat prices, the impact of the Russian ban, very low milk prices and this summer's drought.
EU members are to be given maximum flexibility on how they allocate their own national envelope. Additional state aid will also be allowed to help farmers’ cash flow, Hogan said, as long as it supports the measures taken under the targeted aid.
Hogan went on to explain the proposed private storage aid to stabilise affected markets for skimmed milk powder, cheese and pig meat. The aid rate for skimmed milk powder will be increased by over 100 percent and the storage period will be fixed for a year. The new PSA scheme for cheese will provide for a total amount of 100 000 tonnes to be broken down by EU member state, based on their respective cheese production;  any unused allocations will be available for redistribution after 3 months to those members that wish to make greater use of the scheme.
Originally foreseen as a ‘classical PSA scheme’, the new scheme for pig meat will include some low-value cuts, including fresh lard, according to Hogan. He added that efforts will be stepped up to address with Russia what he called “the unjustified ban” on some products on SPS grounds.
As well as announcing that EUR30 million (US$33.7 million) will be devoted to ensuring that EU milk will made available for the nutritional needs of refugees and an investigation of the operation of the whole food chain, Hogan confirmed that additional funding will be provided for the promotion of dairy products and pig meat. The new promotion policy, which enters into force on December 1, 2015, will make it easier to access funding for promotion.

European Parliament supports proposed clone ban expansion

The European Parliament has called for a ban on cloned animals proposed by the European Commission to include the cloning of all farm animals, their descendants and products derived from them, including imports into the European Union.
The original proposal covered only bovine, porcine, ovine, caprine and equine species, however the parliament wants the ban adjusted to cover all species of animal kept and reproduced for farming purposes.
The ban should also cover animals which are already derived from clones in certain third counties, says the parliament. Imports into the EU should only be allowed if the import certificates show that animals are not clones or their descendants. The ban should also apply to imports of animal germinal products and food and feed of animal origin.
During the debate, environment committee co-rapporteur Renate Sommer commented that the technique of cloning animals was not fully mature and that many cloned animals born alive die within the first few weeks of life and that their deaths are painful. To date, she continued, the European Union has been able to import reproductive material from third countries, letting others “do the dirty work”.
Findings by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) show that the health and welfare of clones are adversely affected.
The low efficiency rates in cloning – 6-15 percent for bovine and 6 percent for porcine species – make it necessary to implant embryo clones into several dams to obtain one cloned animal. Furthermore, clone abnormalities and unusually large offspring result in difficult births and neonatal deaths.
The issues of animal and human health were also raised.
Agriculture committee co-rapporteur Giulia Moi said: “This report sends the message to our trade partners that we are not willing to put our own health, our families’ health, and future generations’ health at stake using products of dubious quality of this nature.”
The co-rapporteurs will now start negotiations with the council of the EU on the final shape of the law.

European Commission ag committee rejects GM feed draft law

The European Commission’s agriculture committee on September 3 rejected the commission's draft law that would give member states the power to restrict or prohibit the use of EU-approved GM food or feed on their territory. It fears that arbitrary national bans could distort competition on the EU's single market and jeopardize the Union's food production sectors which are heavily dependent on imports of GM feed.
The agriculture committee's opinion, adopted by 28 votes in favor to eight against, with six abstentions, will now be scrutinized by the environment committee, which has the lead on this file, before the Parliament as a whole votes on the matter.
"Today's vote in the agriculture committee sends a clear message: the Commission's proposal to allow member states to decide whether or not to restrict or ban the use of GM food and feed on their territory must be rejected. We have not been building the EU's single market to let arbitrary political decisions distort it completely," said the draftsman of the opinion, Albert Dess (EPP, DE).
"The Commission's approach is completely unrealistic. We have many sectors in the EU that rely to a great extent on imports of GM feed and would not be able to survive if it is banned. If we allowed this, then all animal food production in the EU would be at stake, which could make us much more dependent on food imports from third countries that do not necessarily respect our high production standards. And we certainly want to avoid this," he added.
 The environment committee, the lead committee for this draft law, will adopt its position at its meeting in October. Parliament could then scrutinize the proposal at the plenary session in Strasbourg.

Europe’s struggling livestock farmers gain support

In Brussels on September 7, Europe’s agriculture ministers agreed a support package worth EUR500 million (US$559.3 million) as an immediate aid to EU farmers experiencing serious economic difficulties.
“This package will allow for EUR500 million of EU funds to be used for the benefit of farmers immediately,” said Jyrki Katainen, vice president, after an extraordinary Council of Agriculture Ministers. “This is a robust and decisive response. This response demonstrates that the Commission takes its responsibility towards farmers very seriously and is prepared to back it up with the appropriate funds. This is particularly important, given other competing budgetary demands.”
Although the scale of the difficulties varies between Member States, the Ministers recognize the difficulties being experienced by European farmers in some sectors, particularly in dairy farming, as the result of the ban on imports from the EU, the end to milk quotas, and drought across much of the continent in recent months.
Their response aims in the short term to address the cash flow difficulties farmers are facing, stabilize markets and, in the longer term, to review the functioning of the supply chain.
Most of the package will be provided to all Member States in envelopes to support the dairy sector, with regard to the states and farmers that have been most affected by the market developments.
Copa and Cogeca -- the associations representing European farmers and agricultural cooperatives -- have reacted to the proposed aid package by saying it falls far short of the requirements to remedy the drastic situation hitting agriculture markets caused mainly by the Russian crisis, which is costing EU producers EUR5.5 billion (US$xx billion) annually.

Support for the pig meat sector

With the aim to stabilise the European pork market, the Commission is to propose a new Private Storage Aid (PSA) scheme for pig meat.
Furthermore, a specific part of that enlarged promotion budget for 2016 will be reserved for the pig meat sector. There is a proposal to reform the promotion policy to raise the co-financing rate and to include generic pig meat promotion in the internal market among the products eligible for this support.
Copa and Cogeca welcomed the PSA scheme for pig meat but called for higher compensation and the inclusion of pig fat and lard. They also want export insurance covering trading risks to be included in the new promotion programme.
Germany’s pig producers’ organisation, ISN, is highly critical of the new PSA proposal, saying the previous scheme last year did not work as it held back price rises when the market began to recover, and that it was a waste of money and devalued the product.

EU outlook positive for pork, poultry markets

A report on the short-term market outlook for EU arable, dairy and meat markets has been published by the European Commission. The report shows favorable conditions for both the poultry and pork sectors. Pig meat production is expected to increase further in 2015, driven by low feed prices and a slightly higher breeding sow herd.
Poultry meat production continues its steady development. Throughout 2015, the increase in poultry meat production could reach around 2 percent or 240,000 metric tons more compared to 2014 and the increase could continue into 2016 as well, provided that no major market disturbances – such as diseases or higher feed costs -- would occur.


EU grains
For grains, after the 2014 record crop (329 million metric tons of cereals – some 14 percent above average), exports are estimated close to 60 percent above average. Moreover this year's grain harvest is forecast to be higher than average levels for the third year in a row.


Other proteins
Beef production is also likely to rise in 2015, boosted by cow herd developments and export opportunities. Relatively good prices and favourable forage conditions support an increasing herd and production in the sheep sector. This extra meat on the market translates in an average 1.4 percent (1 kilogram) increase in per capita consumption this year, after the strong recovery already observed in 2014.


EU dairy outlook
EU dairy deliveries are expected to finish the calendar year just 1 percent higher than in 2014, despite the end of dairy quotas at the start of April. With the continuation of the Russian import ban, more milk is likely to be channelled into SMP and butter and less in cheese.

First delivery of EU flood assistance comes to Serbian farms

European Union assistance to flood-affected Serbian farm households got underway with a first delivery of animal feed on September 3. Financed by the EU and delivered in partnership with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the assistance forms part of the EU's overall flood recovery package to Serbia valued at EUR30 million (US$38.9 million).
Farmers in Trstenik are among the first to receive the EU assistance.
Present for the official launch of the EU operations were Freek Janmaat, Head of Economic and European Integration Section at the EU, Trstenik municipality president Miroslav Aleksic and other high-level officials from municipality.
Mr. Zoran Rajić, State Secretary with the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection attended on behalf of the national government.
"I am extremely happy to be in Trstenik today to launch the third component of the 'European Union's Support for Flood Relief in Serbia' project which is aimed at helping individual farmers recuperate from the damages and losses their livestock production suffered during the floods in May and June this year," Janmaat said.
"The EU has secured a total of EUR8 million for agricultural support, with which our partners from FAO will deliver animal feed, plant seeds, fruit and vegetable sprouts, greenhouses to small farmers in 24 municipalities worst affected by floods. The households are assisted to restart their orchards and crop fields, to replace destroyed agricultural equipment, repair damaged facilities, re-stock lost animals and keep the existing animals healthy and productive," he said.
FAO's current recovery effort under the EU grant targets about 2,100 small-scale, family-operated farms in Obrenovac, Cacak, Lazarevac and Trstenik that suffered significant losses as a result of unprecedented spring flooding and landslides. Animal feed is procured within Serbia, following issuance of public tenders.
The activities are closely coordinated and implemented in partnership with Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection, Government of Serbia Office for Reconstruction and Flood Relief and local governments. "The overall aim of the agricultural component of EU's EUR30 million flood relief package is to assist around 15,000 small farming households which provide life subsistence to over 30,000 people and which we hope will help them to restore the livelihoods and improve quality of life," Janmaat said.

European Commission publishes new organic food production regulation proposals

The European Commission has published new proposals for a new regulation on organic production and the labeling of organic products which seek to address the shortcomings of the current system.
The proposals focus on three main objectives: maintaining consumer confidence, maintaining producer confidence, and making it easier for farmers to switch to organics.
In particular, the Commission proposes to:

• Strengthen and harmonize rules, both in the EU and for imported products, by removing many of the current exceptions in terms of production and controls
• Reinforce controls by making them risk based
• Make it easier for small farmers to join organic farming by introducing the possibility for them to sign up to a group certification system
• Better address the international dimension of trade in organic products with the addition of new provisions on exports
• Simplify the legislation to reduce administrative costs for farmers and improve transparency
To help organic farmers, producers and retailers adjust to the proposed policy changes and meet future challenges, the Commission has produced an action plan on the future of organic production in Europe.
Commenting on the proposed changes, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Dacian Ciolos said: "The Commission is looking for more and better organic farming in the EU by consolidating consumer confidence in organic products and removing obstacles to the development of organic agriculture. This package is good for consumers and good for farmers. Consumers will have better guarantees on organic food made and sold in the EU and farmers, producers and retailers will have access to a larger market, both within and outside the EU."

European Parliament votes for more detail on poultry, meat labeling

Members of the European Parliament voted in early February 2014 for consumers to be given more information on where their meat comes from.
Under European Union rules now being enforced, cuts of meat must be labeled with the country of origin. However, the question remains how extensive that labeling information should be.
Glennis Wilmott, MEP, said: "Consumers want the full picture of the meat supply chain, which is why I am calling for the place of birth, rearing and slaughter to be labeled. Many people want to know whether animals have come from places with good welfare standards and how far they have been transported, for ethical and environmental reasons.
We already have these rules in place for beef, and I don't see why we shouldn't have the same for pigs, sheep, chicken and other meat."
Although the parliament has approved the resolution, EU governments have already agreed to include on labeling simply the place of rearing and slaughter, and the European Commission is under no obligation to take note of the parliament's decision.
Wilmott continued: "The battle for honest food labeling continues, and I will now focus my efforts on ensuring we get country of origin labeling for meat in processed foods. Consumers want to know where the beef in their lasagna and the chicken in their curry come from.
"A year on from the horsemeat scandal we should be making some fundamental changes. Making country of origin rules mandatory will force manufacturers to get a better grip on their supply chain, and could avoid another scandal."
Industry position
The UK National Farmers Union has also said that mandatory rules should extend to include where animals were born, reared and slaughtered, which would increase consumer confidence at a time when the industry is still reeling following the horsemeat scandal. 

EU air quality policy review to have severe impact on agriculture?

Possible plans to cut ammonia emissions by up to 30 percent in the upcoming review of EU air quality policy have been criticized as unrealistic, not cost effective and not backed by science by Copa-Cogeca. The umbrella organization for European farming unions adds that the plans fail into take into account the achievements in cutting emissions made to date by the farming industry.
"We believe that the commission should recognize the reductions and investment already undertaken by the farm sector," said Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen. "For example, ammonia emissions fell by 22 percent between 1990 and 2009 to 288,000 [metric tons] in the UK, excluding natural emissions from wild animals and humans, in Italy by 25 percent in poultry rearing, and in general by about 20 percent since 1990 in Germany. This is a big step forward and at a big cost to the farm sector."
He added: "Copa-Cogeca urges the commission to revise the proposals to find a workable balance between the viability of farming and the contribution to world food security as well as climate change mitigation, air quality, biodiversity, flood risk management and water quality."
A review of EU air quality policy is expected to be announced at the end of 2013.

Farmers say EU regulations threaten crop quality, yield

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) warns that tightening European Union regulations on crop protection, plant breeding and genetic technology is threatening European crop yields and quality. The NFU represents farmers and ranchers across England and Wales.
NFU crops board vice-chairman Mike Hambly told European Commission officials, member state experts and industry stakeholders that regulations would also lead to an increased reliance on imports from areas of the world where standards of production cannot be guaranteed.
"Where technology is denied to European farmers, waste will increase because we cannot protect our crops, yields will fall and we won't be able to compete with imports," Hambly said. "The impact will be that Europe will have less influence on how its food is produced and the EU's already substantial net imports will grow.
"A recent German study estimated the EU net imports of food would take an area the size of the entire territory of Germany to produce. Further to that more land will be needed as European yields decrease and crop losses pre- and post-harvest increase."
Hambly said the union's recent decision to restrict the use of certain neonicotinoid seed treatments and the decision of feed producer Monsanto to give up on developing biotechnology in crops for Europe were two examples of where the European institutions were failing agriculture.
"We also have concerns over the management of mycotoxins," Hambly said. "Without crop protection products that can help limit the formation of disease, yields are going to fall and at the same time levels of mycotoxins could rise. Farmers have an excellent record of managing the risk of crop contaminants and keeping them out of the supply chain but the commission is not making our lives any easier when tools in use elsewhere are denied to us here" he said.
However, Hambly added that the commission was putting science first in developing new regulation on mycotoxins, particularly the presence of T-2 and HT-2 mycotoxins in food and feed.
"Investments in understanding and controlling mycotoxins are being made through improved understanding of fusarium and other plant diseases, but not as fast as crop protection products are being removed by regulators. We remain concerned that with restricted plant genetics and the loss of active ingredients against disease, control of mycotoxins will be compromised and then the threat of regulation could return," he added.

EU cereal, oilseed harvests expected to rise

Autumn sowings increased overall for EU cereals and oilseeds and weather conditions remain favorable, creating expectations for a slight relief in the marketing year 2013-2014, according to the European Commission's latest report on the short-term outlook for arable crops, meat and dairy markets. These developments occur against the background of a 2012-2013 cereal usable production of 272 million metric tons (-4.7 percent against 2011-2012 numbers), which tightened the EU cereal balances and resulted in a low stock-to-use ratio of 11.6 percent.
Cereal production
The 2012 EU cereal harvest turned out almost 5 percent lower than in 2011, with a usable production of 272.3 million metric tons. The sharpest drop was in corn, with usable production declining by 12.7 million metric tons (-18.6 percent) to 55.4 million metric tons, due to much lower yields caused particularly by the drought in Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria.
Common wheat usable production is estimated to have declined compared to the previous year by 5.4 million metric tons (-4.2 percent) to 123.2 million metric tons, mainly due to lower yields (down 3.4 percent). On the other hand, barley usable production increased by 2.5 million metric tons (+4.9 percent) to 53.9 million metric tons, the result of a combined effect of increased sowings (+3.7 percent) and yields (+1.2 percent).
In autumn 2012, reported sowings for the 2013 harvest have increased by 2.2 percent for wheat, 7 percent for winter barley, 4.4 percent for rye and 4.6 percent for triticale in the EU-27, according to the report. In contrast the figures for the UK and Ireland see a considerable reduction in autumn sowings due to adverse weather conditions. On the basis of this information, an assumption of average yields, and the addition of 3.5 million metric tons from the Croatian harvest, cereal usable production in 2013 is expected to increase to 291.1 million metric tons (+6.9 percent).
Oilseed production
In 2012, EU harvests of oilseeds and protein crops were reported at 27.1 million metric tons and 2.3 million metric tons, respectively, both considerably below the previous harvest of 29.1 million metric tons and 2.9 million metric tons. In the case of rapeseed, reduced sowings and considerable winter kill occurred in the major production regions. Sunflower seed was affected more than corn by the drought in Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria, reducing the EU yield by 21.3 percent.
Similar to most other winter crop sowings, rapeseed sowings for the 2013 harvest are considerably increased by 8.4 percent for the EU-27, despite declines in the UK (-7.7 percent) and France (-5.7 percent). Due to large increases in autumn sowings, some reduction in sunflower area can be expected, according to the report. Nevertheless, production of oilseeds is expected to increase by 7 percent, to 29.2 million metric tons in 2013-2014. Half of this increase would be due to increased area (mainly rapeseed) and the other half would be the gain from a recovery of yields (mainly sunflower).

Poultry thresholds remain unchanged after EU emissions review

The European Commission has decided not to amend thresholds for poultry and pigs or to include cattle in the Industrial Emissions Directive. However, there are fears that measures on manure spreading could still impact on the livestock industry.
The directive, published in 2010, brought together seven previous directives and came out of a review of industrial emissions legislation, aiming to ensure clearer environmental benefits, the removal of ambiguities, promotion of cost effectiveness and encouragement of technical innovation.
At the time of publication, it was envisioned that some topics relevant to the directive would be reviewed. These included review of the thresholds for poultry, mixed pig and poultry farms and whether there was a need to control emissions from cattle, but these will not now be implemented.
Despite leaving the thresholds unchanged, the report states that the European Commission will be further investigating whether EU measures should be introduced for manure spreading and for combustion plants less than 50 megawatts.
Dr. Diane Mitchell, chief environmental advisor with the UK's National Farmers Union, commented: "This is a great relief for the livestock sector and we are pleased to see that commonsense has prevailed. The National Farmers Union has remained convinced that the directive is ill-suited to the agriculture sector and argued that the costs of extending the scope of the directive would have far outweighed the environmental benefits."

Poultry, ag interests doubt EU trade deal will materialize

As negotiators from the U.S. and the European Union continue trade talks, agriculture industry leaders are not overly optimistic a mutually-beneficial trade agreement will be reached.
Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, likes the idea of open trade with European nations, but he knows that is easier said than done.
"From USAPEEC's perspective, and the U.S. poultry industry, there is nothing we would like to see more than a successful agreement with Europe," said Sumner. "However, the likelihood of that happening is a long stretch. They've got so many issues, and from what I can see we're miles apart. It's nice to dream and fantasize about it, but I can't see our interests getting excited about the prospects of starting to export poultry to Europe. We all agree it would be nice, we wish our government and their government success, but we're not holding our breath."
Sumner said that the U.S. poultry industry has been out of the European market since 1997, and to date, little progress has been made in those 16 years.
The trade talks, which were introduced to the world during U.S. President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address on Feb. 12, seek to open trans-Atlantic commerce. But sources have said that agriculture may be the deal breaker. EU leaders do not want the negotiations to include their restrictions on genetically modified crops or other regulations that keep U.S. farm products out of Europe. However, Americans are adamant that all aspects of agriculture trade remain a part of those talks.
"Any free trade agreement that doesn't cover agriculture is in trouble," Cathleen Enright, executive vice president at the Biotechnology Industry Organization, told the Associated Press.
Some European leaders have even suggested that more sensitive issues, such as those posed with agricultural trade, be discussed after a major trade deal is completed. But Obama, speaking to his export council, balked at the idea, the Associated Press reported. "There are certain countries whose agriculture sector is very strong, who tended to block at critical junctures the kinds of broad-based trade agreements that would make it a good deal for us," said Obama. "If one of the areas where we've got the greatest comparative advantage is cordoned off from an overall trade deal, it's very hard to get something going."
Agricultural issues have for a long time hindered attempts to expand trans-Atlantic trade. The U.S. protests EU restrictions, while Europeans want the U.S. to reduce agricultural subsidies. Because of all of those existing trade barriers and hurdles, combined with the influence of European agriculture interests, Sumner said it would be very difficult to get a meaningful agreement.
If an agreement is achieved, Sumner said the U.S. poultry industry would still have some challenges getting into European markets, as Brazil currently dominates European imports. China and Thailand have also recently gained access, which would offer more competition.

EU may lift byproduct ban for poultry, pig feed

The EU may lift its animal byproduct ban for poultry and pig feed in the hopes of lowering costs, according to reports. The ban was initially imposed during a mad cow disease outbreak over ten years ago; its retraction would come with stricter safety rules imposed to prevent things such as cannibalism through the feed given to animals.
The cost to industry of implementing the new rules as well as consumer wariness of the risk of another mad cow-type outbreak are two factors still being considered. "We are currently discussing with member states the potential re-authorization of processed animal proteins in feed for poultry and pigs from 2014," said a spokesman for Tonio Borg, the EU's health and consumer policy commissioner.
In Europe, processed animal proteins can currently be used in pet food. As of June they will also be allowed in EU fish feed. The next planned step would be to allow them in poultry and pig feed, which would bring Europe back in line with many other countries, including the U.S., China, Thailand and Australia. The proteins would stay banned in the EU's ruminant sector, which includes cattle and sheep and was most closely linked to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease).
The EU hopes lifting the ban would ease a shortage of cheaper domestically produced protein. In 2011, the EU used around 49.9 million metric tons of protein source in feed but only half of it came from Europe. The rest was imported, with soymeal accounting for 80 percent of those imports, and soymeal prices doubled over a few months in 2012 due to the significant U.S. drought.

Grain additive approved by EU

Kofa Grain pH5, which is a patented composition of sodium benzoate, propionic acid and sodium propionate, can now be used in all grains and complete feeds for pigs, ruminants, poultry and horses. The product has been granted approval by the European Union Commission until March 2023. The grain additive has been in use worldwide for the past year.
German-based Addcon produces Kofa Grain, as well as other feed additives, grain preservatives and silage additives.
“In the beginning, we were aiming at finding a unique product for stabilizing moist grain. Today we are marketing a product that is safe, non-corrosive and very effective in preventing microbial spoilage also in complete feeds, and in improving digestion at the same time,” said Kurt Wegleitner from Addcon's marketing team.
Kofa Grain has multiple applications. It can be used in grains and compound feeds as well as in the preservation of silages, high-moisture hay and by-products from the food industry.
The product is available to all EU member states and other European countries. In addition, Kofa Grain pH5 has been used in China for a number of years. Addcon has also announced the successful registration of the product in Russia.

EU commissioner seeks to negotiate free trade accord with US

European Union Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht has asked for a mandate to negotiate a free trade accord with the United States.
EU governments must approve De Gucht's request, the first formal step in the process for beginning negotiations on an agreement that U.S President Barack Obama first announced during his February 12 State of the Union Address. Former U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said on February 13 that "everything's on the table across all sectors," including agricultural issues and genetically modified products, Bloomberg News reported.
A free-trade accord would remove tariffs, ease regulatory barriers and expand access in investment, services and public procurement, according to the EU, which predicts a deal will boost trans-Atlantic gross domestic product by between 0.5 percent and 1 percent. Investment and trade in goods and services between the United States and Europe amounted to $4.9 trillion in 2011, EU figures show.
France has voiced concerns that the free-trade talks will affect agriculture and food safety and EU governments may take time to weigh the request to start discussions. But De Gucht has said he expects to get the green light from the 27 member states.
Talks with the EU may help Obama meet his goal of doubling exports by the end of 2014 as World Trade Organization negotiations stall and China expands its role internationally.

England, Wales crop planting survey released

Results from the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and the Home-Grown Cereals Authority Planting survey for England and Wales, conducted in December 2012 to January 2013 is now available. For Scotland, the Scottish government continues to produce December planting estimates with 2012 results expected on March 14.
The survey information, which measures autumn crop planting up to December 1, 2012, is based on 2,900 responses from a representative sample of farm businesses.
The survey shows a 19 percent fall to 2.417 million hectare in the total area planted to winter cereals (wheat, barley and oats) and oilseeds in England and Wales, compared to 2011. The results reflect an extremely difficult autumn planting season for 2012 and do not account for plantings post December 1, 2012.
For winter wheat, the planted area is estimated at 1.394 million hectare, down 25 percent on December 2011. However, some freezing conditions through the winter and drier weather in late February may have allowed further plantings – though in less than ideal conditions.
For winter barley, the planted area is estimated at 0.279 million hectare, down 19 percent on December 2011. However, a noticeable increase in the spring barley area is expected due to the wet autumn diverting land towards spring cropping.
For winter oats, the planted area is estimated at 56,000 hectare, down 30 percent on December 2011. It is possible that some plantings have occurred beyond December 1 and that spring oats may capture some of the extra cropping land available this spring.
For winter oilseed rape, the planted area is estimated at 0.688 million hectare, down 1 percent on December 2011. However, it is expected that crop abandonment will be higher than usual so the year-on-year decline in harvest area is likely noticeable.
Jack Watts, Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board senior analyst, said, “Given the poor weather through the summer and autumn of 2012, markets have been expecting a decline in winter cropping areas, which is reflected in new crop wheat prices.
“Since late 2012, November 2013 feed wheat futures have been trading at equal levels with the French milling wheat equivalent. In a more ‘normal’ season, the UK futures would be at around a 10-15 pound per ton discount.”
On top of the decline in area, winter wheat crops are likely to be poorly established this season. “This may make crops less resilient against any extreme weather into spring and summer,” Watts added.
For barley, the scale of spring barley plantings will be the critical element in supply, according to Watts. “Traditionally, following difficult autumn planting, spring barley is the most popular ‘go to’ spring crop. However, the availability of seed could be a limiting factor.”
For oilseed rape, a noticeable decline in harvest area year-on-year is expected due to crop abandonment but whether this has an effect on prices remains to be seen. Watts said, “When considering rapeseed price direction it needs to be looked at from a European perspective. In this context, the UK – and to a smaller extent, France – are the only major producing member states with crop condition issues so far.
“This spring, UK arable farmers face a significant backlog of field work. For many farmers, the first priority is likely to be establishing crops on remaining bare land before re-planting poor oilseed rape crops. It is important to keep this in mind when considering abandonment rates.”
Watts urged caution when looking at plantings in the context of prices. He said: “It is important to remember that despite the condition of UK crops, UK grain and oilseed markets operate in a global market. It is critical to monitor the global situation, which will be the main price driver, while the UK situation will influence the relationship with the world/EU market.”
Full analysis of the England and Wales planting results, plus data from the Scottish government, will be published in the next issue of "Prospects," due out on March 20.
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and the Home-Grown Cereals Authority Planting will carry out a full planting and variety survey this spring, with results released in the summer. 

European horse meat scandal spreads

Fraud, criminal activity, tip of the iceberg — the language surrounding the contaminated beef scandal is getting worse by the day. And just as the language is getting worse, so has the number of products and countries involved increased. Suppliers are losing contracts and processors are required to carry out more testing.
In the latest revelation, French supplier Comigel warned that a number of products it had made for sale in the UK could be contaminated. As a result, Findus UK announced that it had withdrawn certain lasagna products. The UK Food Standards Agency published that of 18 beef lasagna products tested, 11 meals contained 60 percent and 100 percent horse meat.
In a statement, the Food Standards Agency said: “This is a very serious issue. The evidence we have about the two cases, of the significant amount of horse meat in burgers and lasagna, points either to negligence or deliberate contamination of the food chain. This is why we have involved the police, both here and in Europe.”
Findus’ UK website now simply displays an apology rather than its normal product information.

More countries affected
The French Ministry of Agriculture said: “As far as we are concerned, this is an issue of fraud, rather than food safety. For us, the most important thing in this case is the lack of transparency, which constitutes fraud.”
In addition to the withdrawals in the UK, seven French supermarkets have now withdrawn products supplied by Findus and Comigel. Food products in a further 11 EU countries may be affected. The origin of the mislabeled horse meat is now thought to be Romania, prompting a statement from Romania’s president and meetings between the country’s and EU officials.

More testing agreed
New testing measures have been agreed in the UK. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said: ”I called the major retailers and food distributors in today to agree to a clear path of urgent action to deal with the problem of horse meat in processed beef products.
“People should have absolute confidence in what they are buying. The responsibility for that lies with the retailers, who need to be absolutely sure that what they are selling is what they think it is. We agreed that more and tougher testing will take place. I asked them to agree to publish test results every three months through the Food Standards Agency.
“The retailers and industry bodies agreed to my proposal that they work with the FSA on making checks further down the food chain.”
While the authorities across European countries insist that the issue is one of labeling and not food safety, the UK Food Standards Agency has nevertheless ordered some companies to test for the veterinary drug phenylbutazone. Animals treated with phenylbutazone are not allowed to enter the food chain as it may pose a risk to human health.

Contracts lost
Supermarket chain Tesco, hit by contaminated product supplied by Silvercrest, has posted a video on its website in which group technical director Tim Smith says: “This is such a breach of our contract with them that we’ve made the decision today not to continue to take product from that supplier. In the future, we are going to launch a new program of activity which will test on a DNA fingerprinting basis all the meat and meat products that we source from our suppliers.”
A number of other companies are thought to have delisted Silvercrest.
Contamination was first discovered in burgers. In the UK, the Food Standards Agency has two classifications for burger products — standard and economy. A standard beef burger can only be classified as such if it comprises a minimum of 62 percent beef. Similarly, a chicken, or other poultry, burger must contain a minimum of 55 percent meat. The percentages are lower, however, when it comes to economy products. An economy beef burger must contain 47 percent beef, while a chicken burger must contain 41 percent chicken.
Other products have now been found to be contaminated with horse meat, and the list is expected to grow. In the UK, concerns have now been raised that meat used by catering companies to supply schools could have been similarly contaminated.