Germany | A Modern Subsistence Farm in a Postcard Landscape
Cycling through this beauty of soft hills, yellow-green meadows, scattered forests, small lakes, finely carpentered wooden houses, small villages with cows and horses grazing side by side,...
View ArticleMarburg Food Dialogue – Putting more regional produce on the menu
How can restaurants serve more regional produce? A networking event at the Creativity and Social Innovation Hub Marburg (CIM) brought together local restaurant operators, suppliers, civil society...
View ArticleNews Roundup: Brussels plays musical chairs, responsibility reshuffle, and a...
With the dust yet to settle after the European Parliament elections, political groups are scrambling to secure top jobs in parliamentary committees. Meanwhile over at the Commission, rumours abound...
View ArticleLetter From A Future Farmer | Rethinking The Farm From The Ground Up
For Matthew Hayes, a flying visit to Groundswell 2024, the UK annual festival for regenerative agriculture, provides a brief period off the farm in mid-season, and a moment for reflection. There he...
View Article25 years of LEADER – What impacts?
The Austrian Local Action Group (LAG) Styrian Volcanic Land (Steirisches Vulkanland) wanted to know the impacts of its local development efforts over the last quarter-century. To find out, they...
View ArticleBrussels – Who’s Got the Top Jobs and What Will They Do?
As the dust settles after the elections, what will the Commission focus on? Which politicians have secured the key roles? Who is at the helm in shaping agricultural and environmental policy over the...
View ArticleRe-CAP: Breaking down the breakdown of the EU’s green farming measures
The last few months have been a rollercoaster ride for the EU’s farming subsidy programme, which has seen its green ambitions sacrificed on the altar of food security and politics. As this mandate...
View ArticleLetter from the Farm | Wild Geese and Tamed Farming – is it All for the Birds?
Is farming for the birds? Like mountain farmers, some lowland farmers have trouble keeping economically afloat due to growing production costs, difficult market access, and the impact of climate...
View ArticleLetter from Christiansen Farm – Breeding Time
Time waits for nobody - but it seems to travel quickly or slowly depending on circumstance. Organic breeding techniques have a different relationship to time and place than genetic engineering methods;...
View ArticleStrategic Dialogue on Agriculture – what’s in it, what’s next?
The EU strategic dialogue on agriculture has finally spoken – and plenty has emerged. After 7 months of talks, this group of agrifood stakeholders presented a hefty 100+ page document including...
View ArticleCAP Strategic Plans: A European Food and Agricultural Policy for Times of War
The EU's recent decision to tax Russian cereals over Ukrainian ones, and the maintenance of solidary lanes with Ukraine despite protests, highlights the relationship between policy and geopolitical...
View ArticleAn Agrifood Stakeholder’s Guide to the EU’s New Power Structure
There’s a lot of new faces in new places this week in Brussels as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has finally revealed her picks and priorities for her new team of Commissioners over this...
View ArticleBrussels News Roundup – Ombudsman Launches Inquiry into CAP Fast-Track
While all eyes this week have been on the nomination of the new crop of Commissioners, there have been plenty of other developments worth watching in Brussels this week. From the EU’s watchdog...
View ArticleLuxembourg | A Good Gardener is a Teacher and Politician
A master gardener and co-founder of the SEED association for the preservation and use of the region's traditional seed varieties, Frank Adams has long been involved in the legislative battle waged by...
View ArticleFood from Somewhere – IPES Food report on key role local food resilience plays
"Food from Somewhere" is a recent report from IPES-Food on territorial markets - localised food systems and chains. So what's in it? This report finds a disaster prone, not fit-for-purpose food system...
View ArticleGermany | To Reduce Pesticides, Start with Nutrient Management
NGOs and governmental institutions have many proposals for approaches to pesticide reduction in Europe. Almost all exclude nutrient management. But if we want to reduce pesticides, that is where we...
View ArticleCAP not Matching Europe’s Green Ambitions, say Auditors (again)
CAP 2023-2027 is greener than the previous CAP - but plans "do not match the EU’s ambitions for the climate and the environment". That's according to the ECA - the European Court of Auditors - which...
View ArticleOctober is Here – That Means European Days of Action!
Every October, farmers, consumers, activists and citizens come together to celebrate food and farming – and demand political change! For the seventh year in a row, the European Days of Action are...
View ArticleFrom Farmers for Farmers – and for Healthy Societies on a Planet Conducive to...
The European Alliance for Regenerative Agriculture (EARA) is an independent, farmer-led coordination and political advocacy organization of the movement of regenerative agriculture at the European...
View ArticleOp-Ed: Time for a Rethink to Reverse the Rapid Decline of Farming in Europe
A new study from the Greenpeace European Unit - Go Big or go Bust shows just how rapidly farming in Europe is going in a particular trajectory. Simply put, small farm are disappearing, and large farms...
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