The European Union and the United States have signed an agreement that will establish a strong foundation from which to promote organic agriculture, benefiting the growing organic industry and supporting jobs and businesses on a global scale. In what is being called a “historic signing”, the two largest organic-producers in the world, have agreed that on and after June 1, 2012, organic products certified in Europe or in the United States may be sold as organic in either region.

The organic produce must meet the terms of the new arrangement. Under the agreement, the EU will recognize the USDA National Organic Program as equivalent to the EU Organic Program and allow products produced and certified as meeting USDA standards to be marketed as organic in the EU.  Likewise, the United States will allow European products produced and certified under the EU Organic Program to be marketed as organic in the United States.

Formal letters creating the partnership were signed Wednesday in Nuremberg, Germany, by Dacian Ciolos, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development; USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan, and U.S. Trade Representative Chief Agricultural Negotiator Ambassador Isi Siddiqui,. Merrigan said – this partnership connects organic farmers and companies on both sides of the Atlantic with a wide range of new market opportunities.

Courtesy: NAFB News

MF Global commodity customers, whose cash vanished when the firm collapsed last year, lost more than first thought. The New York Times reports that MF Global’s missing funds have grown to 1.6-billion dollars.  MF Global’s British subsidiary is holding 700-thousand dollars. The trustee tasked with recovering the money did not include the 700-million when projecting the shortfall, hoping to avoid a battle with MF Global’s British arm.

The trustee, James Giddens, acknowledges that he is making little headway in recovering the money from KPMG, the court-appointed administrator for MF Global’s British subsidiary. That money, Giddens says, was held for American clients who traded on foreign exchanges.

The problem echoes a cross-border fight in the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, when customer money was trapped overseas. More than three years later, that issue remains unresolved.

Courtesy: NAFB News

The National Pork Producers Council is offering assistance to McDonald’s as it assesses sow housing. NPPC believes the announcement reflects the best process for meeting evolving consumer demands – through the market, not through government mandates.

According to NPPC, farmers and animal care experts know that various types of housing systems can provide for the well-being of pigs. After an extensive review of scientific literature, the American Veterinary Medical Association determined that both individual sow housing and group housing can provide for the well-being of sows.

Pork industry customers have expressed a desire to see changes in how pigs are raised. Farmers are responding and modifying their practices accordingly. That process is effective, it is efficient, and doesn’t require an act of Congress. NPPC says producers will continue to meet the ever-changing needs of customers and provide consumers with safe, nutritious and affordable food produced responsibly.

Coutesy: NAFB News

Missouri is once again the target of HSUS attacks with funding of the Your Vote Counts campaign.

Financial documents show the campaign is nearly fully funded by out of state backers.

The campaign aims to make it more difficult for lawmakers to change voter-approved rules, like Proposition B which passed in the state but was modified by the legislature.  Proposition B was heavily funded by out of state sources like the Humane Society of the United States.

The Your Voice Counts Act would require a three-fourths vote in both the House and the Senate to change or repeal voter-approved initiatives or it would take a vote by the people by referendum.

The Campaign is aimed at getting enough petition signatures to place the issue on the November ballot.

The graph below, provided by Missouri Farmers Care, details the campaigns contributions.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – McDonald’s Corp. says it will require its U.S. pork suppliers to provide plans by May to phase out the use of stalls that confine pregnant sows.

The Humane Society of the United States is touting Monday’s announcement as a major victory in its fight to stop the use of the stalls it considers inhumane.

Some of McDonald’s suppliers have already announced plans to phase out the stalls. The joint statement released Monday by McDonald’s and the Humane Society says the fast food chain wants all its of its suppliers to do so.

McDonald’s spokesman Dan Gorsky says suppliers including Smithfield Foods and Cargill have made progress in adopting alternatives to so-called gestation crates and the company will discuss the next steps with all of its suppliers after receiving their plans.