EU Licence For Bluetongue Vaccine
EU - With effect from 15 January 2010, Fort Dodge Animal Health has been awarded an EU Licence and marketing authorisation for its range of Zulvac® vaccines against serotype 8 Bluetongue (BTV).

Threat of Land Intensification and Abandonment
EU - Confirming the need for a strong Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), a new EU Commission study reveals that a cut in EU farmers direct payments under the CAP would result in intensification of land use in some areas of the EU and cause vast areas...

EU Beef Production
EU - Beef production in the EU continues to be dominated by a small number of key producers, says Peter Duggan from Bord Bia.

Commission Says Members Can Choose Over GM Crop Cultivation
EU - The European Commission has announced its upcoming proposal on choice for Member States to cultivate or not genetically modified organisms (GMO) and approves five decisions on GMOs.

Agriculture MEPs Back Study into New Quality Logo
EU - At its meeting on 23 February, MEPs on the Agriculture Committee back a study launched into a new 'European quality logo', which would be reserved "exclusively for agricultural goods resulting entirely from production in the EU".

BSE Testing Back On European Agenda
EU - The European Commission has announced that it is working on a new TSE road map, which is likely to see the age limit for BSE tests revised.

EU Council Agrees In Principle On Better Welfare Labels
EU - At its meeting yesterday (22 February), the Agriculture and Fisheries Council agreed that consumers need more information to make purchasing decisions based on animal welfare but Ministers disagreed over the details.

Threat Of Bovine Besnoitiosis
EU - Recent epidemiological data has confirmed an increase in the number of cases and geographic expansion of Besnoitiosis in cattle herds in some EU member states.

Farm Leaders Speak With Ciolos On Future CAP
EU - EU Farm Leaders exchanged views in Brussels today with new EU Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Cioloş on the future CAP, agreeing on the need to maintain CAP direct aid payments to farmers in a bid to safeguard a viable and competitive EU agriculture...

New Organic Logo
EU - A new logo for organic EU pre-packaged organic products has been chosen by the public and will be used from 1 July 2010.

EU Farmers' Group Welcomes Debate on Welfare
EU - European Farmers organisation, Copa-Cogeca, has welcomed the public hearing on Animal Welfare organised by European Parliament, and emphasised the need to ensure that EU legislation is based on good scientific evidence and that the EU's high welfare...

Agriculture Can Help Slow Climate Change
EU - Agriculture can help to slow climate change, but should be ready to adapt to the impact of global warming, said Agriculture Committee MEPs and scientists at a public hearing on yesterday (27 January).

Acquisition Of Seara By Marfrig Approved In EU
EU - The European Commission has approved the acquisition of Seara by Marfrig.

BLUETONGUE: Voluntary Vaccination in 2010
EU - Keep up-to-date with the latest Bluetongue outbreak news across the European Union.

Council Discusses Animal Welfare Labelling Scheme
EU - At the 2986th Council meeting on Agriculture and Fisheries earlier this week, progress was discussed in the development of a labelling scheme describing animal welfare.

Lower EU Beef Output Expected In 2010
EU - The results from the latest European beef forecast working group showed declining herds across the majority of the key European producing states this year, which is putting some downward pressure on net production of beef. This situation seems set...

Caution Advised Over Use Of Cobalt In Feed
EU - The FEEDAP Panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has recommended modifying the authorisation of cobalt compounds in feedstuffs on the grounds worker safety.

Beef Self Sufficiency Decreasing
EU - Total EU-15 beef production in 2009 is forecast to fall 1.6 per cent to 7.1 million tonnes cwt year-on-year, according to the latest Common Market Organisation Forecasting Working Group data.

Commission Authorises GM Maize
EU - The European Commission adopted today a Decision authorising genetically modified (GM) maize MIR604 for food and feed uses and import and processing.

EC Approves €275 M for Animal Health Programmes
EU - The European Commission has adopted a financial package of €275 million to support programmes to eradicate, control and monitor animal diseases in 2010.