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NFU’s director of strategy asked for review of EU-derived protections as part of post-Brexit loosening of rulesThe National Farmers’ Union lobbied to increase the amount of pesticides allowed in the UK’s drinking water and to allow farmers to spread manure more frequently as part of a post-Brexit loosening of environmental regulations, it can be revealed.Nick von Westenholz, the director of strategy for the lobby...

Union cites extreme wet weather and post-Brexit phasing-out of EU subsidies as main reasons for slumpFarmers’ confidence has hit its lowest level in at least 14 years, a long-running survey by the biggest farming union in Britain has found, with extreme weather and the post-Brexit phasing-out of EU subsidies blamed for the drop.The National Farmers’ Union warned there had been a “collapse of confidence”...

Annual watchlist raises concern for native chicken, duck, geese and turkey populations as well as rare pig breedsAll of the UK’s native breeds of chicken, duck, geese and turkey are under threat because of bird flu, a report from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) has found.The disease, which has swept the globe after it originated in poultry farms in Asia, has caused devastating...

Environmental and animal welfare groups call on lender to phase out support for ‘industrial’ livestock operationsThe private sector arm of the World Bank is facing claims that it contributes to global heating and the undermining of animal welfare by providing financial support for factory farming, including the building of pig farming tower blocks in China.A coalition of environmental and animal welfare groups is calling...

Schemes to replace EU subsidies will not plug gap left by loss of EU subsidies for most farmersFarmers are calling for the government to grant them a universal basic income, saying the post-Brexit agriculture subsidy scheme has left many poorer.Delays to the sustainable farming schemes put in place after the UK left the European Union, to replace the common agricultural policy (CAP), have meant...

Fancy a plate of fangers and mash? Some researchers say python farms on a commercial scale could provide sustainable alternative proteinGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcastDr Daniel Natusch has eaten python in almost every way imaginable.“I’ve had it barbecued. I’ve had it in satay skewers. I’ve had it in curries. I’ve had it with Indigenous people in...

Campaigners say decision against Danish Crown, Europe’s largest pork producer, sends resounding messageEurope’s largest pork producer misled customers with its “climate-controlled pork” campaign, Denmark’s high court has ruled in the country’s first climate lawsuit.Campaigners argued that Danish Crown greenwashed its meat with round, pink stickers on its packaging that said pigs were “climate-controlled”, along with a marketing campaign that claimed its pork was “more...

Demonstration against Welsh Labour policy included No Farmers No Food campaign calling for end to climate measures, and Welsh Tory leaderRishi Sunak attended a protest alongside a group which has posted conspiracy theories about climate change, and which campaigns against net zero, the Observer can reveal.The prime minister has been accused of “pandering to extremists” by farmers and wildlife groups, who have asked him...

Demonstrations expected to continue in several countries as European parliament will hold exchange with stakeholdersThe Greek prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is set to meet with two groups of farmers in Athens today to discuss protests and proposed relief measures, Kathimerini reports.Here are more photos from the farmers’ protest in Antwerp. Continue reading...

Inspired by French action, British campaigners say they will continue slow tractor protests after Dover roads were blockedFarmers say there will be further French-style blockades following a slow tractor protest at Dover against low supermarket prices and cheap food imports from post-Brexit trade deals.Around 40 tractors and other farm vehicles blocked roads around the Kent port for several hours on Friday evening by driving...

Civil claim relating to alleged killing, rape and attacks by guards at pineapple farm should be struck out, claim firm’s lawyersFresh Del Monte has claimed it should not be held liable for a civil lawsuit alleging killing, rape and violence by security guards at its Kenyan pineapple farm because it is domiciled in the Cayman Islands.In the high court in Thika on Thursday, lawyers...

Exclusive: Rothamsted Research is having to pause ‘non-essential’ work, according to a letter from its directorThe UK’s leading agricultural research facility is facing a funding crisis with its future work in jeopardy, it can be revealed.Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, is one of the oldest agricultural research institutions in the world, having been founded in 1843, and its research has been credited with preventing...

French government set to respond after being surprised by scale and fury of grassroots demonstrations in agriculture sectorPierre Bretagne woke at 4am to feed the cows on his organic farm near the coastal town of Pornic in western France, then did something he had never dared to before.He made a cardboard protest banner about the nightmare of French bureaucracy and went to cheer on...

European Commission president says policymakers have to find a way forward to find lasting solutions for farmersHere are photos from France this morning, where farmers are continuing to block roads.Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission’s president, said today there was a “sense of urgency” that things had to improve for Europe’s agriculture sector.I think we all sense that there is an increasing division...

Three people questioned on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter after collision in Pamiers, south of Toulouse A woman and her teenage daughter have died in southern France after a car hit a roadblock where they were standing. The blockade had been set up by farmers taking part in growing anti-government protests.The 35-year-old woman and her 14-year-old daughter were killed at 5.45am when a car went...

Exclusive: NFU warns blanket import checks from April could fuel long delays and damage future cropsThe UK’s fruit and flower growers face an “existential threat” from new post-Brexit border checks that could damage business and affect next year’s crops, the country’s biggest farming body has said.The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) warned that changes to import rules in April, which will impose checks at the...