I was a guest on WIBC 93.1 FM in Indiana to talk about the German farmer protests. You can listen to the entire exchange by clicking below:
Gov. Hochul’s signing of new pesticide legislation will cost farmers, consumers
Farming has always been and will always be a tough trade. If it was not, everyone would do it. Regardless, we all benefit when America’s farms are strong and its farmers are doing well. “New York State farm families are facing the worst economic conditions since the farm crisis of the 1980s,” reads an article […]
NY Bee Protection Bill Would Sting Farmers
Protecting the birds and the bees, that is the aim of a bill in the New York Legislature that passed in June. The bill would ban the use of neonicotinoid insecticides (known as neonics) — a move that is dear to the heart of anti-pesticide activists, but that would severely hurt farmers and consumers alike. The […]
Birds and Bees, Beware: New York’s Anti-Pesticide Bill Will Backfire
Through recently passed legislation, the New York state legislature aims to abolish certain insecticides in defense of the “birds and bees.” The chemicals in question, called neonicotinoids, are commonly used in crop production to shield crops from undesired insects — including aphids, which spread the beet yellows virus. Lawmakers have been convinced by environmental activist […]
ConsEUmer podcast / EP113: SUR sceptics, Dutch strikes, and Sweden gets vaping right (w/ Michael Landl)
In this week’s ConsEUmer episode: 🌱 Farm ministers in the EU are sceptical on pesticide reduction targets 🇳🇱 The Netherlands had 33 strikes last year 🇸🇪 Sweden gets vaping right (w/ Michael Landl) You can follow Michael Landl on Twitter @LandlMichael. May 4, 2023 Follow ConsEUmer wherever you get your podcasts: Apple: https://apple.co/2HR4TLTSpotify: https://spoti.fi/3l3GZdxGoogle podcasts: https://bit.ly/3fyyzto
ConsEUmer podcast / EP106: UK consumers downgrade, Plastic items bans, and Farming realities (w/ Jusper Machogu)
In this week’s ConsEUmer episode: 🇬🇧 UK consumers are buying own-label brands to cut costs 🧋 What are the effects of an EU single-use plastic ban? (w/ Emil Panzaru) 🚜 Modern agriculture and human progress (w/ Jusper Machogu) Correction note: Jusper let us know that the numbers of mecanised farm material versus manual labour would […]
Biden’s Doublespeak Doesn’t Aid Farmers
According to the Biden administration, American agriculture faces unique national security threats, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, increased ransomware attacks, climate change, and the Avian influenza outbreak. This comes at a time when the White House is adamant about its plans for “climate-smart commodities and rural projects,” through which it is investing $2.8 billion in 70 […]
Europe’s Food Protectionism Is Taking on a New Dimension
The war in Ukraine has affected Europe’s agricultural sector and slowed the ambitions of the European Union to enact sweeping new farming rules. Reforms in Brussels are modeled on the so-called Farm-to-Fork strategy, a roadmap through which the union wants to slash pesticide use, reduce farmland and push organic agriculture well beyond its current market […]
Dutch farmer protests give cautionary tale to the U.S.
Over the summer, farmers in the Netherlands vehemently protested against the government’s new environmental rules. Over multiple weeks, thousands of farmers burned hay bales and blocked roads and food distribution centers in an effort to draw attention to new EU rules that would paralyze the sector. The government in The Hague attempts to follow EU […]
Biden’s Agriculture Regulations Would Weaponize EPA, Increase Prices
Congress is inept at making legislation precise – this fact has allowed consecutive administrations for decades to use federal agencies for their political goals. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is among those examples. Worse than the political implications are the real-life effects that a recent regulatory decision will have on consumers. The EPA has moved […]
Bill Wirtz 