The threat of antibiotic resistance to human and veterinary medicine from the excessive use of antibiotics in livestock is moving up the agenda. In March McDonald’s unveiled their Global Vision for Antimicrobial Stewardship in Food Animals. Key goals for this vision include aiming to eliminate the use of medically important antimicrobial (defined by the WHO) for growth […]
The debt crisis in the Euro zone, and volatility in other major currencies is likely to have a significant impact on agricultural trade during 2015. Euro depreciation will have a positive impact on EU agricultural exports, with improved prospects for exports of beef, arable crops and pig meat. This is also being helped also by […]
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GM Wheat Trial Results
The results of controversial field scale GM wheat trials in the UK have been published this week. The experiment conducted in 2012 and 2013 aimed to show that wheat with a genetic modification to produce aphid disrupting pheromone EßF could play an important role in aphid control. EßF is an alarm pheromone released by […]
SRUC (Scotland’s Rural University College) has launched a new course aimed at agricultural professionals. The course is designed to meet current demand for well trained and suitably qualified personnel within the agricultural industry, and a need for specialists who not only have an understanding of their sector, but have the skills to interact professionally with their clients. “There […]
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Positive outlook for wool
With the shearing underway on UK sheep farms, The British Wool Marketing Board reports a positive outlook for UK wool in 2015, with wool prices set to increase for most breed types. UK wool prices have risen over the past decade, with producers in 2015 expecting to receive over a £1 per kg, compared with […]
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US continues to battle Avian Influenza
The US continues to battle Avian Influenza, with 15 States now reporting outbreaks of the Highly Pathogen H5N2 virus within domestic poultry, and another 5 reporting the presence of the disease in wild birds. Four more outbreaks were confirmed in the last week. Some States are taking drastic action to combat the disease – Indiana […]
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Dairy Market Update
New dairy data from the USDA shows the extent to which milk prices have fallen in the US and elsewhere in recent months, as increased production and higher stocks of processed products are putting pressure on prices. The farm gate price for class III milk (for cheese) in March was 33.3% down on March 2014, […]
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EU Aims to Compromise on GM Crops
The European Union is to apply the principle of “subsidiarity” and allow individual member states a greater say on the regulation of GM Crops. The move will allow member states to decide whether or not GM crop varieties can be grown or used for food and feed on their territories. The European Commission will still […]
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Slower Growth In China
The Chinese government is continuing to take steps to fight against a slowing economy – with an announcement to stimulate growth, by cutting the reserve requirement ratio for banks. This it hopes will boost lending by adding more liquidity into economy. The latest IMF economic outlook figures (April 2015) forecast that GDP growth in China is expected to […]
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Oilseeds Market Update
A bigger than expected oilseed crop in Latin America is likely to offset a poor harvest within India. The USDA also report that US farmers will plant an extra 1 million acres of soyabeans in 2015/16 compared with 2014/15, mostly replacing corn across the corn belt, and cotton across some of the Southern States. US […]