The EU-funded SQAT project is developing a mapping service to tackle soil quality and sustainability issues in the agricultural industry. There has been a large uptake of precision agriculture applications in the past two decades. However, the way most farmers collect information about their soils remains mostly the same. Better data on soil properties would […]
Short-term outlook of agricultural markets: uncertainty remains a constant feature of EU farming
Agriculture remains impacted by several events outside of farmers’ control, such as climate and geopolitical crises, which continue to exert pressure on farmers. These have implications on productivity, trade, consumer demand, prices and ultimately on farmers’ income. Since the last short-term outlook (autumn 2023) and despite some favourable but limited developments in input costs, their […]
CORDIS: Boosting Europe’s wine sector with artificial intelligence
The introduction of precision farming in vineyards could help winegrowers to increase production efficiency and the competitiveness of this important sector. Today, the agricultural sector as a whole is under intense pressure. Farmers not only have to feed a growing world population, but also work more sustainably to protect the environment for future generations. Climate […]
Eurobarometer: Protecting animal welfare is essential for Europeans
Protecting the welfare of animals is essential for Europeans, as shown by the results of a Eurobarometer survey published. The Commission has been acting to improve animal welfare for over 40 years, progressively improving the lives of animals and adopting welfare standards in legislation that are amongst some of the highest in the world. This […]
Organic farming in the EU: a decade of growth
The share of EU agricultural land under organic farming increased by more than 50% over the period 2012-2020, with an annual increase of 5.7%. In 2020, 9.1% of the EU’s agricultural area was farmed organically. On average, though with substantial variation across Member States, organic farms are bigger than conventional farms and run by younger […]
Spanish team wins Farming by Satellite Prize 2020
Graniot, a team from Spain, has won this year’s 1st Farming by Satellite Prize. The winning team developed a web application that uses European satellite technologies to help agronomists and farmers monitor crops, reduce water waste and avoid poor fertilisation practices. The Farming by Satellite Prize promotes the use of GNSS and Earth observation in Europe and […]