Pig and poultry units in commission’s sights

The European Commission has launched plans to impose tougher controls on large pig and poultry units.

It will impose new standards for ammonia emissions and the handling of nitrogen and phosphorous. New standards will also be imposed for dust and water quality. It claims this will affect 20,000 large units across the EU.

It defines large as 40,000 plus birds, 750 plus sows and 2,000 plus finishing pigs over 30 kg.

This is being justified as an environmental measure to help combat pollution and climate change. This effectively puts these large intensive units on the same regulatory base as industry.

Farms will need permits of compliance from member states, and have four years to comply. This would mean the UK could ignore the regulation, if it wishes, since this will be well after Brexit. The EU will apply no restrictions to imported products form large scale units in third countries.

The odd weather patterns of the winter have left some member states with low rainfalls over the winter months, but an analysis says this is unlikely to affect the yields of winter crops.

The report says that in Germany, parts of Sweden, the Baltic countries and Czech Republic groundwater reserves are low going into spring, and rain is needed.

It says, however, that this is not an immediate cause for concern. It also says record low temperatures, down to minus 20 in eastern and central Europe, have not had a negative impact on crops.

Northern Ireland is on course to secure ‘BSE negligible risk’ status in May.

Scientists advising the international veterinary body, OIE, have recommended this on the basis of disease incidence figures submitted by the Department of Agriculture in Belfast.

This would open a number of export markets, including the United States, which is already open to Irish beef.

However before trade could take place abattoirs would have to be approved by US veterinary officials. Securing the negligible risk status will be a big psychological and marketing boost for the industry in Ulster.

Antibiotic resistance has been described as the greatest threat to human health, and a report for the European Commission says not enough is being done to tackle this.

The report is from the Commission’s European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Control.

It says the problem remains misuse in livestock production, citing examples of drugs that are ‘last resort’ antibiotics for humans becoming resistant common bacteria, including salmonella, because they are being used in livestock. A major problem for the commission is that some member states are tackling this, including the UK, but others are ignoring the risk.

The commission is unwilling to single those countries out for criticism. In general the problem is least in northern Europe and worst in southern and eastern European member states.

The UK could ignore the regulation, if it wishes, since this will be well after Brexit