Crop & Livestock Production

Berlin – September 11, 2026 -- Germany's poultry meat market is set to expand by more than 50% in volume by 2040, driven by annual demand growth of 2.1 to 2.5 percent overall and up to 3.4 percent for chicken, according to the Roland Berger Poultry Study 2026 commissioned by the Central Association of the German Poultry Industry (ZDG).

Self-sufficiency could fall from 91% to as low as 73% without new investment

Germany's poultry self-sufficiency rate stands at 91 percent today but risks dropping to between 73 and 77 percent by 2040 if domestic production capacity does not expand, the study finds. The import surplus has already grown more than eightfold, from 55,000 tonnes in 2014 to 462,000 tonnes in 2025. Chicken accounts for 82 percent of poultry imports, and roughly 60 percent of chicken imports now consist of premium cuts such as breast meat.

Melbourne – September 11, 2026 -- Australian microalgae company Genesis has won the Agriculture & Environment category at The Australian Financial Review Sustainability Leaders 2026 Awards for a Chlorella-based livestock supplement priced at roughly 20 cents per animal per day, against approximately $2 for some dried alternatives.

Wet-processed Chlorella cuts supplement costs to a fraction of dried competitors

Genesis cultivates Chlorella in Australia's Great Barrier Reef Region using a low-energy process, then keeps the algae wet rather than drying it, a method the company says drives the roughly tenfold cost reduction over dried livestock feed alternatives.

Berlin – September 10, 2026 -- The Bundesverband der Tabakwirtschaft und neuartiger Erzeugnisse (BVTE) has called on Germany's coalition government to halt planned tobacco tax increases that would raise average smokers' annual costs by more than 1,000 euros, citing voter unrest after the Saxony-Anhalt state election.

Infratest dimap data shows 89% of AfD voters fear unaffordable price increases

An infratest dimap analysis of the Saxony-Anhalt election found that 89 percent of AfD voters worry that rising prices will make it impossible to pay their bills, while 80 percent fear they can no longer maintain their standard of living. BVTE Managing Director Jan Mücke said the election result must be understood in Berlin as a signal that further tax increases contradict public sentiment.

Washington – September 09, 2026 -- Smithfield Foods's lobbying firm, Greenberg Traurig, LLP, has amended a federal disclosure report to reveal that China-based WH Group, which owns 86.9% of Smithfield, has a direct interest in lobbying over Farm Bill reauthorization and foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land.

Frankfurt/Main – September 08, 2026 -- Germany's fertilizer industry association IVA has warned that a planned flat-rate hectare premium for EU fertilizer aid will not drive the early purchasing decisions farms need to secure supply for spring 2026.

IVA says hectare premium misses fertilizer action plan's core goal

The Industrieverband Agrar e.V. (IVA) criticized the German Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Home Affairs' plan to disburse EU fertilizer subsidies as a flat hectare payment, arguing the approach undermines the original intent of the European Fertiliser Action Plan to support farmers specifically in purchasing fertilizer. IVA Managing Director Frank Gemmer said the payout structure lacks the steering effect needed to encourage timely buying, and called instead for direct financial support tied to fertilizer purchases.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING -- June 24, 2026 -- Nestlé has pledged support for the Regenerating Together Programme, a new cross-industry initiative developed by the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform to help scale regenerative agriculture practices across global food supply chains. The program, backed by more than 40 food and agriculture businesses, provides practical implementation guidance, transition support, and verification protocols to improve consistency and transparency in how regenerative practices are adopted and assessed across supply chains. Nestlé's participation aligns with its stated target to source 50 percent of its key ingredients from farmers adopting regenerative agriculture practices by 2030. The initiative follows more than four years of cross-sector development work and pilot programs spanning 23 farming systems across 25 countries.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING — June 17, 2026 — An independent evaluation by the KIT Institute shows Nestlé's Income Accelerator program continuing to deliver measurable gains for cocoa-farming households in Côte d'Ivoire. The study, covering nearly 2,000 participating households during the program's test-at-scale phase since 2022, found a 20-percentage-point yield advantage over comparable households alongside sharp gains in women's empowerment and household savings. Nestlé says the findings will shape the program's next phase as it scales toward a broader rollout. For buyers and partners across the cocoa supply chain, the results offer a data point on whether conditional, integrated support models can outperform standard farm assistance during volatile market conditions.

SHERIDAN, WYOMING - December 19, 2025 - Merck Animal Health says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted conditional approval for EXZOLT™ CATTLE-CA1 (fluralaner topical solution), positioning the pour-on as a new systemic parasiticide option for U.S. beef operations and replacement dairy heifers facing New World screwworm (Cochliomyia hominivorax) larvae (myiasis) risk and cattle fever tick (Rhipicephalus microplus) pressure.