At issue is the EU’s announcement of a two-year suspension of neonicotinoid applications on all crops judged attractive to bees, including canola and corn, which one think-tank says
could cost 50,000 jobs
by NORMAN DUNN
European farmers generally try to avoid butting heads with the beekeeping community. After all, bees boost yields by up to 30 per cent of some 90 commercial crops, including canola, corn and soybeans.
While the British and Irish reacted with outrage, continental Europeans like the Germans were noticeably less scandalized. But there is a silver lining; regional beef is booming as consumers turn more to meat products made at home
by NORMAN DUNN
Milk shortages in Norway, Sweden and Finland took butter completely off the market at times during 2012, and in Denmark the government introduced a “fat tax,” later abandoned, to cut down consumption
by NORMAN DUNN
What’s happening in the European butter market? “Plenty” is the short answer. In fact, in the last two years, there have been more changes in demand and consumption of this high-fat dairy spread – in northern Europe at least – than has been seen for a generation.
Danish experience is showing that, faced with static prices and increasing cow welfare pressure, the key to profitability is management skills and, in particular, computer know-how
by NORMAN DUNN
Agrochemical companies are joining forces with universities, environmental protection bodies and amateur and professional beekeepers to help protect honey bee colonies from an increasing range of predators and threats
by NORMAN DUNN
Close attention and quick reaction is what big herd management is all about nowadays. A big batch of innovations in electronic monitoring of livestock coming onto the market this winter that will help that task
by NORMAN DUNN
Having to cruise the calving pens watching that problem cow that never starts birth until you’re in bed could be a great excuse for splashing out on a video monitoring system. But isn’t it a fact that when something really starts happening on-screen, you’re usually somewhere else?
Time seemed to be running out for the most traditional of European beef breeds – Longhorns, Highlanders and Galloways – until robust, rough grazers were needed for landscape maintenance and conservation. What’s more, the meat they produce is still some of the tastiest in the world
by NORMAN DUNN
Robotic milking is now a feature of many new dairy barns in the main European milk producing countries. But processors are getting nervous about the effects on milk quality. Switzerland is the first country to consider penalizing farmers who choose to go automatic
by NORMAN DUNN
There’s no argument that robotic milking has changed dairying completely, especially on family farms throughout Europe. But have side-effects on milk quality been ignored too long?
The Israeli government is helping its dairy farmers by subsidizing modern cattle housing and encouraging labour-saving robot milking at the same time
by NORMAN DUNN
A visit I took to Israel this spring showed how a government can bring radical farming change with the right incentives for environmental protection and automation. The last few years have seen millions of dollars invested in new dairy setups in a sector that is already well supported through long-term production quotas plus an annually adjusted guaranteed price system.
Farmers see energy cropping for biogas as the right way ahead in Europe. But should biomass really be grown on the best land? Let’s forget about corn and the like, and take another look at grass, say some researchers
by NORMAN DUNN
Solid political support is in place, the technology has been optimized – and the money is right. Biogas production from energy cropping now has European farmers in their tens of thousands investing in climate-friendly electricity output.
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