Paris | Reuters — France is to use a new European opt-out scheme to ensure a ban on the cultivation of genetically modified crops in the country remains in place, it said on Thursday. The European Union’s largest grain grower and exporter has asked the European Commission for France to be excluded from some GM […] Read more
France bolsters ban on genetically modified crops
French court upholds Monsanto poisoning ruling
Lyon/Paris|Reuters — A French court upheld on Thursday a 2012 ruling in which Monsanto was found liable in the chemical poisoning of a French farmer, who says he suffered neurological problems after inhaling the U.S. company’s Lasso herbicide. The decision by an appeal court in Lyon confirmed the initial judgment, the first such case heard in court […] Read more
France says livestock crisis putting thousands of farms at risk
Paris | Reuters –– A downturn in France’s livestock sector has put thousands of farms close to bankruptcy, the government said Friday, as it seeks to contain a crisis that has undermined a flagship pledge to improve the livelihood of livestock producers. Farmers say a deteriorating international market, marked by a Russian food embargo, slowing […] Read more
Baking, parched fields set to trim EU wheat harvest
Paris | Reuters — A heatwave in Western Europe is adding to stress on wheat crops after a dry end to spring and reducing what had been very high yield potential only a month ago. Record temperatures for early July at around 40 C in parts of France unnerved traders in the European Union’s top […] Read more
OIE cuts six European countries’ BSE risk level
Paris | Reuters — The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) has lowered to the safest level the official risk of six countries for BSE, a move expected to open international market access for their beef exports. These countries are France, Ireland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Cyprus and Liechtenstein. OIE members in Paris last week eased […] Read more
China’s wine growers beat France into second place
Paris | Reuters — China overtook France last year as the world’s second largest wine grower by area under cultivation as it continued to plant vast fields of mostly imported grape vines to meet growing demand. The world’s second largest economy, which since 2013 consumes more red wine than any other country, has more than […] Read more
France says EU orders repayment of $1.5B in ag subsidies
Paris | Reuters — The European Commission has asked France to repay 1.1 billion euros (C$1.54 billion) of farm subsidies dating back to 2008-2012, the French agriculture ministry said Tuesday. The Commission’s claim, which mainly relates to inaccurate declarations of farm area, initially amounted to around 3.5 billion euros before being negotiated down by France, […] Read more
France says Russia to lift ban on live pigs, some pork products
Paris | Reuters –– Russia’s veterinary services has agreed to lift a ban on French live pigs, offal and fat imposed a year ago after an outbreak of African swine fever in the east of the European Union, the French farm ministry said. Russia imposed the ban on EU pork products early in 2014 following […] Read more
French farmers cry wolf over sheep killings
Paris | Reuters — French farmers, who regularly bring livestock into Paris to punctuate their protests, drove some 250 sheep into the shadow of the Eiffel Tower on Thursday to highlight an unusual concern — that a growing wolf population is killing their flocks. Wolves were reintroduced to France in the 1990s under an international […] Read more
A French adventure for young Alberta shepherd
Reading Time: 2 minutes Adriane Good now has a lifelong distinction — the first Canadian to participate in the World Young Shepherd’s Challenge. The 20-year-old travelled to France this fall to compete against other young shepherds from around the world — although it was friendly competition. “Honestly, the best part of it was meeting all these people from around […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
