EU protein balance sheet
Tradition and modernism in agriculture by Chris Jackson, Export Manager UK TAG Following on from last months column I have been visiting some of the family farms in Australia, where farm visiting is a constant reminder to me of the importance of farming and food production - something that in the western world our political leaders take for granted. Without food and water not one of us can exist, something our political elite should be reminded of before their complacency causes a real problem. When I am visiting established farms it is a salutary reminder, that apart from the New World, the same land has been tilled and farmed through many hundreds of generations. This practice will continue to be so through future generations, so it is imperative that each generation of farmers leaves the land in good condition for future generations. This must be a primary focus, but at the same time we need food so we have to look to science and genetics to improve yields. This will allow farmers and their advisers to be the final arbiters on their production techniques. After all, they are the ones with the vested interest in efficient production. This can be done quite successfully without the need to destroy precious rain forests, however we will need a more enlightened political elite to overrule political lobbyists. Those who would have us farming with 500 year old technologies, no fertilisers and no crop protecting sprays, meaning of course most of the world would then be hungry. Of course we must be sure that toxic chemicals do not enter the supply chain. Farmers have an overriding responsibility to ensure safe food; criminals will be unscrupulous for money so efficient policing is essential. Going back to my farming background 36 | May 2017 - Milling and Grain
also serves as a useful reality check in this world of high technology. Whilst I was in Australia, Queensland was hit by a devastating tornado. Much was made in the media of damage to houses and property, but for a country, whose agricultural industry is key to the economy not a lot was said about crop losses. Houses can be mended quickly but when a crop is lost it takes another year to replace, in national terms the losses were quite small but devastating to the farmers. It reminded me that one thing that the world’s food producers have in common, is that they are all at the mercy of the weather. Without sunshine and water nothing grows. However with technology farmers are able to reduce time taken for growth, both in livestock and crops with a commensurate reduction in inputs, all good for the environment, production and food security. As I left Australia the rice harvest was in full swing with average yields, but of course, the scale of operation is vast in field sizes. Thailand and Vietnam still have far greater outputs grown on very small family holding’s using manual labour, but even here we are seeing small machines being developed, taking some of the drudgery from the workers. In the vast fields of Australia I was introduced to modern farming with the tractors using satellite navigation to steer them up and down the fields, cutting out wasted energy by having no overlap. I was also reminded as I fly often how the pilots use the computers. In the dust I could not see anything of the land that needed work, but the SatNav kept me on course and the tractor straight, something I found quite bizarre but the younger generation often take this technology for granted! As I come back to the UK I will leave autumn behind and come to spring with all of growth beginning again. We do live in a truly remarkable world. @AgrictecExports
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he European Commission published for the first time on April 10, 2017 a comprehensive EU protein balance sheet. The sheet, 2015/2016 is an overview of total EU production, consumption and trade of all marketable sources of proteins used in animal feed production. Next to well-known protein-rich materials such as soybean meal, rapeseed meal and pulses, the balance sheet includes sources with lower protein content like cereals. It also shows the total protein needs in the EU, with EU production of cereals and oilseeds (i.e. derived rapeseed and sunflower meal through domestic crushing) providing the bulk of raw protein requirements. Also confirmed is the strong need to import protein-rich sources such as soybean meal and soybeans for EU crushing. It should be clear that the different vegetable protein sources have different nutritional profiles and cannot be substituted for each other. Reacting to the publication, COCERAL, Copa-Cogeca, FEDIOL and FEFAC appreciated the Commission efforts to develop a dedicated, independent tool to monitor the balance of demand and availability of protein crops in the EU, which will contribute to market transparency and help operators to better understand market developments. This allows for informed discussions and an assessment of potential changes to the agricultural sector and the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), non-agricultural uses like biofuels, phytosanitary and trade and antidumping policies which could affect the availability of protein sources for EU livestock farmers as well as increase dependency on imports. Assured and predictable access to a strategic supply of proteins to meet demand and to feed farm animals is crucial for the competitiveness and resilience of the EU feed and livestock sector. The Commission has indicated that a second EU protein balance sheet will be published after the summer of 2017 once data are available for the whole marketing year 2016/17, which will contribute to the discussions within the scope of the European cereals, oilseeds and protein crops market observatory.