Research News
Business news
September
New CAP payments website goes live
A new web service detailing payments made to beneficiaries under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has gone live.
Organic empire to open cafes
The leading 'vegetable box' supplier wants to bring a neighbourhood feel to a national chain of restaurants
Russia: No legislative basis for organic agriculture
According to experts, there are many opportunities for organic agriculture in Russia due to the vast land areas. But still, there is no legislative basis for organic agriculture in Russia, according to fruit-inform.
Research reveals shoppers' priorities
Research findings published today by the FSA show that shoppers are more likely to consider cost, quality and healthiness over environmental factors when buying their food and groceries. But 53% of consumers said that they did consider at least one environmental issue when food shopping.
Managing director of Waitrose: "Food prices coming down"
Shoppers can expect to see the price of food coming down over the coming months, the head of a leading supermarket has said.
Turkey set to become ‘organic food basket’ of Europe
A rising demand from European markets has led Turkey to rapidly boost its organic agriculture. With the sector's growth rates multiplying year after year, experts agree that the country could soon take a leading role among the world's most important organic food suppliers.
Organic supply squeeze tightens (US)
Farmers in the US are being forced to leave the organic market because it is too costly, compounding supply shortages already faced by food manufacturers, according to a new report.
Supermarkets accused of taking advantage of food inflation to increase prices
Supermarkets are increasing food prices for customers at a faster rate than their costs are rising for the first time since the economic downturn took hold reports the Telegraph.
Organic food sales in Ireland soar 82% to €104m
The sale of organic food in Ireland has increased by 82 per cent in the last two years and is now worth €104 million, Bord Bia's national organic conference in Waterford heard yesterday.
Fresh and Wild closes store as consumers reject organic for cheaper deals
The organic grocer Fresh and Wild has been forced to close one of its flagship stores as hard-pressed consumers opt for cheaper food.
Organic food to be cheaper than other produce
Organic food could become cheaper than other produce as a result of the rising cost of oil, according to a report.
Price war looms on organic produce
The UK's biggest grocers will try to reinvigorate sales of organic food next week, following evidence that the organic market has suffered its sharpest fall for a decade.
August
Root manoeuvre
Article on Guy Watson and Riverford in the Sunday Times
Shoppers lose their taste for organic food reports the Guardian
Organic food sales have fallen more than at any time in the last decade as shoppers try to cut costs and experts warn that consumers are more confused than ever about whether it is worth paying the higher prices.
Was the organic food revolution just a fad? Fear for farmers as shoppers tighten belts
From new mums worried about their children's health to foodies seeking the very finest products, consumers have embraced organic food with more enthusiasm than most environmental trends.
Organic consumers in the US yet to be shaken by troubled economy
Shoppers in the US are continuing to buy natural and organic foods despite difficult economic times, according to research, but experts question how long it can last.
Tesco sees local produce sales up
Tesco has said that sales of local produce are expected to increase by more than £500m this year.
Home or Away – The Role of Provenance
New IGD report on consumer attitudes to local food is published. How place of origin, local food and food miles are affecting shopping purchase decisions.
Norway: farmers are leaving organic agriculture
Even though the market for organic farm products is expanding, many of Norway’s farmers are leaving.
Germany: Growth of organic land and of the market continued in 2007
Organic food sales in Germany grew again at a two-digit rate in 2007 and increased by 700 million to reach 5.3 billion EUR.
Region's organic food sales hit
The rise in inflation over the last year is hitting one industry in the eastern region very hard.
Organic vegetables more expensive in British groceries
Comparison shopping by a United Kingdom newspaper showed that organic veggies cost 22 percent more in British supermarkets than those sold by box delivery schemes and local grocers.
Crop news
September
Greenvale launch new potato variety
Vales Sovereign: the new king of Great British potatoes
Search soils for compaction now before next year's potato crops
This is the best time of year to get out and look at soil conditions for potato crops, urged Mark Stalham of Cambridge University Farms at last week's East Anglian Potato Event.
Defra grants a suspension from waterlogged soil regulations to help farmers complete their harvest
Following a request from farming representatives Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has granted a temporary exemption from the cross compliance standard to enable farmers to use mechanical equipment and vehicles on waterlogged soil and access their crops in England.
Potato growers warned of high black dot risk
This season promises to be a bad one for potato blemish disease black dot, potato growers are being advised. “Black dot levels after harvest and throughout storage tend to be lower when a crop is harvested early,” said Dr Jeff Peters of the CSL Plant Health Group. “So the longer the crop is in the ground and the wetter the season is, then the higher the risk is from black dot.”
Dr Peters pointed out that for a main crop pre-pack variety such as Maris Piper, that is susceptible to black dot, there is a higher risk of economic loss from black dot when crops are grown for more than 130 days duration (from 50 per cent emergence to harvest).
For susceptible second earlies such as Estima, then 120 days duration puts the variety in the danger zone, he said.
August
A new biopesticide for the organic food boom
Biopesticide developed from an extract of giant knotweed being developed in the US
General news
September
Soil Association calls for urgent ban on dangerous pesticides linked to honey bee deaths
A group of insect-killing sprays known as neonicotinoids that are widely used in UK farming have now been banned in four other European countries because they are thought to be killing bees
BASF GM crops' European future uncertain
CHEMICAL giant BASF may abandon research into GM crops for the European market should it fail to gain approval for its genetically-modified Amflora potato.
Organic Farming Reduces Net GHG Emissions
A team of scientists in Germany carried out a comprehensive review of existing studies relevant to comparing the net greenhouse gas emissions from conventional and organic farming systems in Europe.
Environmental Stewardship Handbooks revised
New revised editions of the Environmental Stewardship Handbooks for the Organic Entry Level Scheme, Entry Level Scheme and Higher Level Scheme are now available from Natural England's website.
Organic approval for Restrain
Restrain, the natural anti-sprouting system, is now approved for the storage of organic potatoes and onions.
Green challenge to new pesticide residue rules
Green organisations are instigating legal action over the new maximum legal limits on the level of pesticides allowed in food items sold in the European Union.
Soil Association Organic Food Award Winners 2008
The Soil Association Organic Food Awards 2008 winners have been announced
August
Soil Association chief calls for organic change
The Soil Association should consider abandoning the use of the term "organic" because it risks putting too many people off, Monty Don, the organic certifying body's new president has said. Instead, the term "sustainable" should be used.
Mustard seed meal suppresses weeds in container-grown ornamentals
MSM shows promise as herbicide for ornamentals
Bayer on defensive in bee deaths
German authorities look into allegation that RTP maker's pesticide harms environment
USDA Gift to Monsanto
The US Department of Agriculture’s give-away insurance rates for GM crops risk bankrupting the public coffers.
Why Prince Charles is Right
We Need GMO-Free Food and Agriculture for Food Security say Dr. Vandana Shiva and Dr. Mae-Wan Ho
Prince Charles hits GM nail on head
Commenting on Prince Charles' concerns over the impacts of GM crops on the environment and farmers, expressed today, Friends of the Earth's Campaign Director Mike Childs said:
General news news
September
Experts call for organic farming to be the future model for European agriculture
European Seminar on organic food and farming and its political framework was delivered by the IFOAM EU Group in Hungary
Research news
European research project CERTCOST started
On September 1, 2008, the European research project CERTCOST, Economic analysis of certification systems for organic food and farming, started.
Innovative crop and weed management strategies for organic spinach
Papers added to Organic Eprints
Soil Fumigation with Allium Sulphur Volatiles and Allium By-products
Paper added to Organic Eprints
Possibilities for breeding to improve responsiveness to arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in onion
Paper added to Organic Eprints
Monitoring of click beetles (Agriotes lineatus and A. obscurus) in organically managed farms in Northern Germany
Paper added to Organic Eprints
Organic vs. conventional field trials: the effect on cauliflower quality
Paper added to Organic Eprints
Evaluation of active ingredients and nematodes against slugs and snails on organic lettuce
Paper added to Organic Eprints
The use of organic certified compost to control soilborne diseases
Paper added to Organic Eprints
Effect of composts on growth and on yield quality of two crops, in a organic experimental farm of Southern Italy
Paper added to Organic Eprints
Nitrogen from hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth) as winter green manure for white cabbage in organic horticulture
Paper added to Organic Eprints
Weed management in organic echinacea (Echinacea purpurea) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa) production
Paper added to Organic Eprints
Effects of Conservation Tillage on Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense) in Organic Farming
Paper added to Organic Eprints
Brassica cover crops for weed control in organic vegetable production
Paper added to Organic Eprints
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