Only Seven Countries Ready for Sow Stalls Ban
EU - Only three member countries — United Kingdom, Sweden and Luxembourg — are already compliant with Europe's partial stalls ban due to enter into force in January 2013, according to the European...

European Pig Prices Starting to Fall
GLOBAL - Following the end of the dioxin crisis in Germany at the end of January 2011, the EU cull sow market gradually recovered and prices increased steadily through most of the year.

Views Sought on How EU Can Produce Sustainably
EU - By 2050 the global population is set to reach 9 billion people and worldwide demand for food, feed and fibre is forecast to increase by 70 per cent. To thrive in that context, economies will need...

Why Should Spain Call for Moratorium of EC Rules?
ANALYSIS - This week the Spanish farmers issued a plea to their ministry of agriculture to intercede on their behalf to gain time with the European Commission over the introduction of enriched cages for...

Salmonella Cases Reduced by Almost One-half
EU - Salmonella – a bacterium causing salmonellosis in humans – was until 2005 the most common food-borne disease in European Union (EU) with almost 200.000 reported human cases that year. It is estimated...

EU Pig Prices: Scarcity Continues to Raise Prices
EU - Like last week, this week too sees that the supply of slaughter pigs available on the European markets is insufficient for the most part to cover demand.

Guidelines for Risk Assessment of Animal Welfare
EU - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published pioneering guidelines laying out, for the first time, a standardised methodology for the risk assessment of animal welfare.

EFSA Guidance for Food & Feed from GM Animals
EU - The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published guidance for the risk assessment of food and feed derived from GM animals and on related animal health and welfare aspects.

Less Boar Taint with TOPIGS Nador Concept
GERMANY & NETHERLANDS - TOPIGS introduces the Nador concept. With Nador it is possible to select and use finisher boars that produce offspring with 40 per cent less boar taint. With this innovation one...

Animal Responses Effective for Evaluating Welfare
EU - Animal-based measures to assess the welfare of dairy cows and pigs are effective and should be used wherever possible, according to recent scientific advice from the European Food Safety Authority...

CAP Celebrates 50th Birthday
ANALYSIS - This year, the Common Agricultural Policy celebrates its 50th birthday.

EU Pig Prices: Scarce Supply Makes Prices Go Up
EU - In line with the German quotation, which went up by 9 cents on Friday, the prices in other EU member countries also increased.

Reforms & Health on Agenda at Ag Council Meeting
EU - The 3140th Agriculture and Fisheries council meeting took place yesterday (23 January). The council discussed the agriculture and fisheries work programme, the CAP reform proposal, the EU strategy...

Measures to Manage Markets Needs Strengthening
EU - In the wake of increased market volatility, Copa-Cogeca welcomed yesterdays EU Farm Ministers debate on measures needed to manage agricultural markets, and called for them to be strengthened. In particular,...

Launch of 50th Anniversary of CAP Campaign
EU – The European Commission has launched the CAP@50 communication campaign to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Common Agricultural Policy, a cornerstone of European integration, that has provided...

Does the Animal Welfare Strategy Go Far Enough?
ANALYSIS - Today, the European Commission has adopted a new four-year strategy that aims to further improve the welfare of animals in the European Union, writes Charlotte Johnston, editor of ThePigSite....

Animal Protein Feed for Fish Only, Says FEFAC
EU - Last year, the European Commission put forward a proposal to lift the 11 year old feed ban for non-ruminant processed animal proteins (PAPs) to non-ruminant farm animals on scientific and sustainability...

EU Must Learn from Cage Ban, Say Pig Producers
EU - NFU Scotland has met EU Commission animal welfare staff asking that lessons be learned from the debacle that surrounded recent laying hen legislation ahead of the deadline for implementation of similar...

EU Pig Prices: Pig Prices Reach Bottom
EU - It seems that the bottom has been reached on the EU markets with regard to pig prices.

EU Pig Prices: Markets Strongly Uncertain
EU - This current week, the slaughter companies are in the position to have clear price reductions being enforced on almost all European markets.

EU Extends Organic Diet Derogation
ANALYSIS - In a unique case, the EU has decided to extend the derogation allowing five per cent non-organic feed ingredients within organic pig and poultry diets, writes Charlotte Johnston, editor of ...

Cautious Outlook for EU Meat Industry from Rabobank
EU - The outlook for the region's meat industry is improving for 2012, according to a new report from Rabobank, but it warns that market conditions are fragile.

EU Pig Prices: Little Movement at Start of the Year
EU - Only slight changes are reported from the European slaughter pig markets this first week of the New Year.

EU Pig Prices: Uncertainty in Slaughter Markets
EU - On almost all European markets, the quotations went down considerably at the turn of the year this week. The German quotation is the unfortunate leader with an eight-cent downward correction.

Agricultural Incomes - Not as Bright as They First Appear
ANALYSIS - The figures released by Eurostat this week on farm workers incomes and farm production in the EU on the surface appear to make happy reading, writes ThePigSite Editor in Chief, Chris Harris...

Feed Training at TOPIGS Danubia, October 2011
CENTRAL EUROPE - In the middle of October, TOPIGS Danubia organised seminars for the Central European Region about the new TOPIGS feeding recommendations.

€14M for EU Reference Laboratories in 2012
EU - The European Commission has adopted the proposal endorsed by the Standing Committee of the Food Chain and Animal health held on 6 December 2011 to earmark €14 million for the support of EU Reference...

EU27 Real Agricultural Income Per Worker Up In 2011
EU - EU27 real agricultural income per worker has increased by 6.7 per cent in 2011, after an increase of 12.6 per cent in 2010, according to first estimates issued by Eurostat, the statistical office...

EU Pig Prices: Steady to Weaker Quotations in Europe
EU - Now, just before Christmas, the slaughter pig market varies across Europe.

€236 Million Reallocated for Disease Control
EU - The Commission has today adopted the Commission's proposal endorsed by the Standing Committee of the Food Chain and Animal health held on 6 December to reallocate €236 million among Member States...