All posts tagged: Agriculture

Not to Alarm Anyone, but Flesh-Eating Screwworms Have Entered the US

Not to Alarm Anyone, but Flesh-Eating Screwworms Have Entered the US

Published by skeptic

A case of New World screwworm has been confirmed in South Texas, the US Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday night. It marks the first detected breach of the US-Mexico border by the ravenous flesh-eating flies, which have been making their way up through Central America for the past several years. In a social media post on Wednesday afternoon, the USDA revealed that a sample from Texas had been sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, Iowa, for confirmatory testing of a screwworm infection. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins later posted that the testing had confirmed the infection, which was found in a three-week-old calf in Zavala County, Texas. Chatter of a screwworm detection had already been building this week, rattling the US cattle industry. Although many animals, including humans, can be victims of the parasite, the screwworm is especially dangerous to livestock. Female screwworms lay hundreds of eggs in the wounds and openings of warm-blooded creatures, allowing their larvae to feast on the living animals, causing deep, festering, life-threatening wounds. Although the screwworm …

Why restoring soil health is a win-win for farmers and the environment

Why restoring soil health is a win-win for farmers and the environment

Published by skeptic

More than half of Europe’s soils are degraded. Researchers are showing that restoring soil through better farming makes both ecological and financial sense. Soils feed us, filter our water and support most of the food chain on Earth. But they are also among Europe’s most neglected resources –quietly degrading beneath our feet while we look elsewhere. Andrés Rodríguez Seijo from the University of Vigo in Spain is one of the researchers working to change that. He first noticed how little attention soil receives while working on microplastics, at a time when the issue was just beginning to gain traction. “Everyone talked about microplastics at sea, but ignored the fact that, before they get there, they’re on land, polluting our soils,” he said. Soils in trouble European soils are in bad shape. They contain far too much nitrogen, largely due to the overuse of fertilisers, and are heavily eroded and polluted. More than 60 % are currently classified as unhealthy, and climate change is set to make matters worse. The bill for this damage is already steep. Soil …

Phil Hogan emerges as front-runner in EU race for world’s biggest food agency – POLITICO

Phil Hogan emerges as front-runner in EU race for world’s biggest food agency – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Hogan, Planas and Martina did not respond to requests for comment. The danger of dithering The EU’s agriculture ministers tried to settle which of the three should represent the bloc, but couldn’t agree. For six months, Cyprus, which has chaired the meetings, pressed them to coalesce around one name, but Cypriot Agriculture Minister Maria Panayiotou told POLITICO that no decision had been made on how to move it forward. The choice will now be made by EU leaders, possibly folded into a broader deal over other top international posts. That pushes any decision to a European Council summit, with the FAO race playing only a small part in the late-night horse-trading. The risk is that the deadlock holds and the EU enters the 2027 vote divided. “The most important thing is to pick one from these candidates,” Polish Agriculture Minister Stefan Krajewski told POLITICO. “Because otherwise, we may lose, and a candidate from outside the EU could win.” Three African contenders are already in the field, including Morocco’s Ismahane Elouafi, the FAO’s former chief scientist, …

Ro Khanna takes economic message on the road. Will it lead to White House?

Ro Khanna takes economic message on the road. Will it lead to White House?

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna visits Ultium Cells, an electric vehicle battery manufacturing plant in Warren, Ohio. Garrett Downs | CNBC PENNSYLVANIA, OHIO and MICHIGAN — U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna was riding shotgun in a black Chevrolet Suburban hurtling down an Ohio highway. His mind was on the economy.  “I do think I have the right economic vision for this country,” Khanna, D-Calif., told CNBC, taking a break from answering one of the hundreds of text messages he receives each day. “The question is just whether I will get behind someone who can help adopt it, or whether I’ll do it myself.” The Silicon Valley representative had just left Magnet, a nonprofit industrial consulting firm and talent incubator and a stop on his three-day tour through the Rust Belt. He was speaking to the question that many were asking here: whether the former co-chair of the 2020 Bernie Sanders campaign would mount his own bid for the White House in 2028.  “It’s a natural question, and the truth is that I’ve said I’m going to consider …

Top EU prosecutor complains to Brussels about Greece amid farm fraud probe – POLITICO

Top EU prosecutor complains to Brussels about Greece amid farm fraud probe – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

In a letter to the European Commission on Friday, Kövesi said that the “hasty” move by the government in Athens “has a negative effect on the EPPO’s ability to effectively investigate and prosecute offences under its competence in Greece.” She also has sent a formal complaint regarding the amendment to Greek Justice Minister Giorgos Floridis. In her letter to the Commission, Kövesi said the Greek Supreme Judicial Council recently refused to renew the mandate of three European Delegated Prosecutors for five years, as requested by EPPO, which “has a negative effect on the EPPO’s independence in Greece.” The prosecutors are currently investigating the farm fraud scandal and have sent case files to the Greek parliament requesting the lifting of the immunity of several lawmakers accused of involvement. More cases are expected in the future. Earlier this month, the Judicial Council renewed the terms of the delegated prosecutors for just two years. Kövesi said these developments “cast serious doubts as to the Greek authorities’ compliance with their obligation of sincere cooperation” with the EPPO. A Commission …

How Singapore scientists are nurturing a climate-friendly rice revolution with some regional farmers

How Singapore scientists are nurturing a climate-friendly rice revolution with some regional farmers

Published by Sam Flores

DECARBONISING ALL FOOD Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA), an initiative by Temasek Trust and one of the Decarbonising Rice Project’s backers, hopes to see such low-emission rice widely accepted by the community. “We want to make sure that the climate-friendly rice, (which is) less deleterious to the environment, will eventually be actually bought in supermarkets,” said PAA’s CEO Shaun Seow. Rize is also registering with the Indonesian national registry network platform for carbon offset credits, said Dr Sheetal, which should go a long way towards further boosting farmers’ income. “Once that is done, we aim to share around 70 per cent of the revenue that we make from the credits with the farmers.” TLL’s CEO Mr Chia attributed the successes of the Decarbonising Rice Project so far to the scientists’ painstaking research work, a network of partners pitching in to work  on “hard problems” together and a common vision that the long-term benefits “should accrue back to the people”. He also sees scope for extending this beyond rice growing to other crops and aquaculture. On the …

10 EU countries want open season on fish-eating bird – POLITICO

10 EU countries want open season on fish-eating bird – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The demand comes in a joint letter to Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall and Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis, seen exclusively by POLITICO. Sixteen agriculture and environment ministers from Estonia, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Croatia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania want the cormorant added to the list of huntable species under the EU’s flagship nature law, the 1979 Birds Directive. They are also pressing Brussels to set coordinated population targets across the bloc and to make it easier to shoot the bird outside hunting season. Estonian Agriculture Minister Hendrik Johannes Terras, who helped coordinate the letter, argued that the EU should be as willing to control cormorants as it is to control other predators. The bloc has loosened protections on wolves in recent years, and several countries cull invasive mink and raccoon dogs to protect ground-nesting birds. “If we are prepared to limit the number of smaller predators to protect bird species, then why shouldn’t we reduce predation pressure to protect fish?” he told POLITICO. “Nature should be viewed as a whole.” In the May …

Horizon Europe Cluster 6 opens €210m call for green projects

Horizon Europe Cluster 6 opens €210m call for green projects

Published by skeptic

The European Commission has opened a new €210m funding call under Horizon Europe Cluster 6, targeting breakthrough environmental and sustainability research projects. The call supports initiatives focused on biodiversity, circular economy innovation, and pollution reduction across Europe. Under the latest Horizon Europe Cluster 6 funding package, €76m has been allocated to biodiversity and ecosystem services research, €101m to circular economy and bioeconomy projects, and €33m to clean environment and zero-pollution initiatives. Applications are open until 17 September 2026. The programme is designed to accelerate research that supports the European Green Deal and broader climate objectives. Successful proposals are expected to contribute to restoring biodiversity, improving food security, reducing environmental damage, and advancing low-carbon economic models across urban and rural regions. Focus areas for Horizon Europe cluster 6 Horizon Europe Cluster 6 targets research and innovation connected to food systems, agriculture, natural resources, forestry, oceans, and environmental protection. The programme also supports projects linked to bio-based industries and circular production systems. Key areas eligible for funding include environmental monitoring, biodiversity protection, sustainable agriculture, forestry management, marine …

EU looks to cow manure to keep food prices down

EU looks to cow manure to keep food prices down

Published by Sam Flores

Brussels’ answer to a looming fertilizer crisis is to make more use of cow dung. Grocery price spikes are on the horizon amid the unending war in Iran and the rising cost of fertilizer. Yet the European Commission’s plan to shore up Europe’s supply, due out Tuesday, centers around a long-term regulatory push to recycle more manure and farm waste into fertilizer.  It’s not the quick fix some were hoping for. Farmers “expected bold action,” said MEP Veronika Vrecionová, who helms the European Parliament’s agriculture committee. “Roadmaps don’t pay the bills. Farmers need action, not intentions.” Farm lobbies are pushing the same line. “European farmers cannot wait for another long-term roadmap while production costs continue to rise and European fertilizer capacity keeps disappearing,” said José María Castilla of ASAJA, Spain’s largest farmers’ organization. “The current crisis is not only about prices, it is about strategic autonomy, food security and the survival of European agriculture.” Europe makes most of its own fertilizer from imported gas. When the Strait of Hormuz closed at the end of February, gas prices …