Resolution approved by EU Parliament for a long-term EU fertiliser strategy
In a resolution approved in February, the EU Parliament has urged the EU Commission to take action to bring down prices and increase the EU’s strategic autonomy in fertilisers.
Following Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine the prices of fertilisers and energy increased sharply with prices for nitrogen fertilisers increasing by 149%, and the largest fertiliser manufactures registering record profits.
While acknowledging that the EU cannot become self-sufficient in mineral fertilisers they asked as a short-term measure to increase the availability of fertilisers for farmers and stabilise prices, MEPs proposed using part of the agricultural 2023 budget to provide immediate assistance to farmers and to extend the temporary suspension of import duties to all mineral fertilisers apart from those coming from Russia and Belarus.
Irish Farmers Protest over Sheep Income Crisis
Sheep farmers in the Irish Republic protested on the 13th February to highlight the deepening income crisis they are facing.
The protest, organised by the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA), which took place at Roscommon called on the Irish Government to address the concerns highlighted by protestors.
Price cuts for sheepmeat as well as high input costs have meant that margins have been cut by over 80% which includes a €12 per ewe payment from the Irish Sheep Improvement Scheme.
The IFA are asking for the payment to be increased to €30 per ewe.
Australia’s Sheep Flock set to hit 15 year High
Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA) has said that the Australian national sheep flock is set to hit its highest number since 2007.
After years of drought the national sheep flock fell to 64 million in 2020 but is set to reach 78 million in 2023. MLA also expects 2023 to see record lamb production and exports and are looking towards improved opportunities within the European markets.
Australia is the world's largest exporter of sheepmeat, followed by New Zealand.
EU sees growth in Organic Farming
The European Commission has released a report ‘Organic farming in the EU – a decade of organic growth’. The report shows that the share of EU agricultural land under organic farming increased by more than 50% over the period 2012-2020 reaching 14.8 million hectares by 2020.
The retail sales of organic products in the EU doubled between 2015 and 2020 reaching €44.8 billion. The largest share of the area farmed organically in the EU was dedicated to permanent grassland at 42%, followed by green fodder at 17% and cereals at 16%.
Despite significant growth, organic animal production across member states still accounts for a small share of total EU animal production, ranging between 1% and 7% with about 6% of the cattle herd and 7.2% of the sheep and goat flocks raised organically.
The report also shows that on average organic farms tend to be bigger than conventional farms and are run by younger farm managers.