Threat Of Intensification Of Land And Land Abandonment
EU - Confirming the need for a strong Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a new EU Commission study reveals that a cut in EU farmers direct payments under the CAP would result in intensification of land use in some areas of the EU and cause vast areas...

Commission Says Members Can Choose Over GM Crop Cultivation
EU - The European Commission has announced its upcoming proposal on choice for Member States to cultivate or not genetically modified organisms (GMO) and approves five decisions on GMOs.

EDF Conference In Italy
EU - For the first time, the European Dairy Farmers' annual congress will be held in Italy.

Agriculture MEPs Back Study into New Quality Logo
EU - At its meeting on 23 February, MEPs on the Agriculture Committee back a study launched into a new 'European quality logo', which would be reserved "exclusively for agricultural goods resulting entirely from production in the EU".

BSE Testing Back On European Agenda
EU - The European Commission has announced that it is working on a new TSE road map, which is likely to see the age limit for BSE tests revised.

EU Council Agrees In Principle On Better Welfare Labels
EU - At its meeting yesterday (22 February), the Agriculture and Fisheries Council agreed that consumers need more information to make purchasing decisions based on animal welfare but Ministers disagreed over the details.

Calls For A Milk Market With Volume-Regulation
EU - Stable prices and fair incomes for dairy farmers are crucial to ensuring the supply of high quality dairy products and preserving a vibrant rural environment in Europe, says the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) opinion on the future...

Threat Of Bovine Besnoitiosis
EU - Recent epidemiological data has confirmed an increase in the number of cases and geographic expansion of Besnoitiosis in cattle herds in some EU member states.

Farm Leaders Speak With Ciolos On Future CAP
EU - EU Farm Leaders exchanged views in Brussels today with new EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Cioloş on the future CAP, agreeing on the need to maintain CAP direct aid payments to farmers in a bid to safeguard a viable and competitive EU agriculture...

Call for Action of Shaping EU's Milk Market
EU - The European Milk Board (EMB) has called on the new EU Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Çiolos to quickly enter into in-depth dialogue with the European milk producers.

New Organic Logo
EU - A new logo for organic EU pre-packaged organic products has been chosen by the public and will be used from 1 July 2010.

EU Farmers' Group Welcomes Debate on Welfare
EU - European Farmers organisation, Copa-Cogeca, has welcomed the public hearing on Animal Welfare organised by European Parliament, and emphasised the need to ensure that EU legislation is based on good scientific evidence and that the EU's high welfare...

EDA Warns Against Intervention In Dairy Supply Chain
EU - The European Dairy Association (EDA) has warned that intermediaries and standardised contracts are not the answer to concerns about imbalances in the dairy supply chain.

Agriculture Can Help Slow Climate Change
EU - Agriculture can help to slow climate change, but should be ready to adapt to the impact of global warming, said Agriculture Committee MEPs and scientists at a public hearing on yesterday (27 January).

EU Dairy Fund Consultation Launched
EU - Dairy farmers are being asked for their views on how best to distribute England’s £16m (€18m) share of the EU Dairy Fund in a consultation launched by Defra on Wednesday.

Marketing Dairy Products
EU - The European Commission has approved 13 programmes in 11 Member States to promote milk and milk products in the European Union. Funding of €35.8 million will be provided over a period of three years.

European Dairy Industry: A Look At 2009
EU - The European Milk Board takes a look at what the dairy industry has achieved over the last 12 months.

BLUETONGUE: Voluntary Vaccination in 2010
EU - Keep up-to-date with the latest Bluetongue outbreak news across the European Union.

Council Discusses Animal Welfare Labelling Scheme
EU - At the 2986th Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries earlier this week, progress was discussed in the development of a labelling scheme describing animal welfare.

Caution Advised Over Use Of Cobalt In Feed
EU - The FEEDAP Panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recommended modifying the authorisation of cobalt compounds in feedstuffs on the grounds worker safety.