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☆ The Solar Storm Fried GPS Systems Used by Some Farmers, Stalling Planting
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Livia Albeck-Ripka | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The powerful geomagnetic storm that cast the northern lights’ vivid colors across the Northern Hemisphere over the weekend also caused some navigational systems in tractors and other farming equipment to break down at the height of planting season, suppliers and farmers said. Many farmers have come to rely on the equipment, which uses GPS and other navigational technology and helps them to plant more efficiently and precisely by keeping rows straight and avoiding gaps or overlap. In Minnesota, some farmers who had planned to spend Friday night sowing seeds were hamstrung by the outages. “I’ve never dealt with anything like this,” said Patrick O’Connor, the owner of a farm about 80 miles south of Minneapolis that mainly grows corn and soybean. Mr. O'Connor said that after being rained out for two weeks, he got into his tractor around 5 p.m., hoping to spend the night planting corn.

Persons: I’ve, ”, Patrick O’Connor, O'Connor Organizations: Northern Hemisphere Locations: United States, Canada, Minnesota, Minneapolis

☆ John Deere dealership says a solar storm left GPS tracking on farmers' tractors 'extremely compromised'
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-13 | by ( Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A severe geomagnetic storm hit the northern US. The storm caused auroras — and apparently disrupted precision farming systems, a John Deere dealership said. Satellite signals were "extremely impacted" by the storm, the dealership said. But for some farmers, the geomagnetic storm was more of a headache. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: auroras —, John, — Organizations: John Deere, Service, Business

☆ These sisters became co-owners of the family farm at 22 and 24, joining the ranks of women as key decision-makers on farms
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Ana Teresa Solá | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Rebekah Alstede Modery, left, and Sarah Alstede, sisters and co-owners of Alstede Farms in Chester, New Jersey. Courtesy: Alstede FarmsSisters Rebekah Alstede Modery and Sarah Alstede were raised on a New Jersey farm. In February, the sisters joined their father, Kurt Alstede, and their stepmother, Mary Thompson-Alstede, as co-owners of Alstede Farms. 'A huge undertaking' as a familyCo-owners of Alstede Farms from left to right: Mary Thompson-Alstede, Rebekah Alstede Modery, Kurt Alstede and Sarah Alstede. Rebekah Alstede Modery, left, and Sarah Alstede, sisters and co-owners of Alstede Farms in Chester, New Jersey.

Persons: Rebekah Alstede Modery, Sarah Alstede, Rebekah, Kurt Alstede, Mary Thompson, It's, Dominique Sims, NASS, Agriculture hasn't, Inwood, Lance Honig, Sarah, that's, Bernt Nelson, Rachel Schattman, Alstede Organizations: Delaware Valley University, CNBC, Centenary University, Alstede, National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S . Department of Agriculture, The Ohio State University, Agriculture, Agricultural Resource Management, USDA Economic Research Service, American Farm Bureau Federation, University of Maine, Farmers Locations: Chester , New Jersey, New Jersey, Sarah, Agriculture, U.S

☆ India’s farmers are up in arms again. Will it hurt Modi’s reelection campaign?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Vinay Dwivedi | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Narinder Nanu | AFP | Getty ImagesNEW DELHI — Farmers in India's Punjab state are raising the pitch of their ongoing protests, as the second phase of India's general elections starts Friday. Thousands of farmers continue to drum up support for their demands, foremost being a legal guarantee for minimum support prices for their produce. A Lokniti-CSDS survey earlier this month showed 59% of the respondents found the farmers' demands "genuine," while 16% deemed the protests a "conspiracy" against the government. CNBC did not immediately receive a response from India's Agriculture Ministry on queries pertaining to the farmers' demands. What India's farmers want

Persons: Narinder Nanu, Narendra Modi, Modi, Yogendra Yadav, Sanjay Kumar, Modi's, Kumar, it's, Jagjit Singh, Ayyakannu, Dallewal Organizations: AFP, Getty, DELHI — Farmers, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Modi's BJP, CNBC, India's Agriculture, Tamil Nadu, Morcha Locations: Amritsar, DELHI, India's Punjab, Punjab, Khanauri, Haryana, India, New Delhi, Delhi, Tamil, Varanasi, Tamil Nadu, Varansai, Uttar Pradesh, Samyukta

☆ This startup helps plants talk to farmers, reducing pesticides and agricultural waste
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Diana Olick | In Dianaolick | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

What if plants could talk to farmers and tell them when they're distressed? That would not only help the plants but also reduce the amount of agricultural waste that threatens the planet's health. Now companies like SatAgro, Climate FieldView, and a California-based startup called InnerPlant are working to reduce agricultural waste. From that signal, farmers know what to treat, meaning they don't waste money on chemicals, which are over-applied by up to 30%, Aronov said. In addition to Bison Ventures, InnerPlant is backed by John Deere, MS&AD Ventures, UpWest VC and Bee Partners.

Persons: Shely Aronov, Aronov, InnerPlant, Tom Biegala, John Deere, Lisa Rizzolo Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency, National Institute of Food, Agriculture, Bison Ventures, InnerPlant, AD Ventures, UpWest, Bee Partners, CNBC Locations: California, North America, South America

☆ Trains, Trucks and Tractors: The Race to Reroute Goods From Baltimore
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-17 | by ( Peter Eavis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

New John Deere tractors made their way last week through the sprawling port of Brunswick, Ga., their distinctive green paint glinting in the sunshine. Stevedores drove the tractors up a ramp into the belly of the Leo Spirit, a ship that would take them to Asia. The bridge’s collapse closed most of the Port of Baltimore, which last year handled 1.3 million tons of farm and construction machinery and 850,000 cars and light trucks. The Deere tractors would normally be shipped from Baltimore, getting there on trains from a factory in Waterloo, Iowa, according to Georgia port officials. Instead, the tractors had to be trucked to Brunswick, a journey that adds time and costs.

Persons: John Deere, Stevedores, Leo Spirit, Francis Scott Key, ”, Griff Lynch Organizations: Deere, Georgia Ports Authority Locations: Brunswick, Ga, Asia, Coast, Baltimore, Port of Baltimore, Waterloo , Iowa, Georgia

☆ Man pleads guilty to theft of solid gold toilet worth $6 million from Blenheim Palace
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Lianne Kolirin | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —A man has pleaded guilty to stealing a toilet made entirely from 18-carat gold and worth more than $6 million from the English stately home where wartime leader Winston Churchill was born. It had been plumbed into the building so the theft also caused significant damage and flooding, police reported at the time. "Daddy, Daddy", a large scale recreation of the drowning Disney character Pinocchio, created by artist Maurizio Cattelan, is seen in a pool at Blenheim Palace on September 12, 2019. The golden toilet, titled "America," was part of the same exhibition at the stately home. Leon Neal/Getty ImagesAt Blenheim Palace, the toilet was installed in a room next to the one in which Churchill was born.

Persons: Winston Churchill, James Sheen, Maurizio Cattelan, ”, Sheen, America ”, Donald Trump’s, Vincent Van Gogh’s, Leon Neal, Churchill, Cattelan, Michael Jones, Frederick Sines, Frederick Doe, Bora Guccuck Organizations: CNN, Oxford Crown, UK’s, Media, Prosecution Service, National Horse Racing Museum, America, Guggenheim, Blenheim, New Yorker Locations: Blenheim, Italian, Five Wells, Newmarket, New York City, United States, Oxford, Ascot , Berkshire, London

☆ Here's how the project to develop one tractor might revolutionize the farming and automotive industries in the UK
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Sponsor Post | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

A special cover is used on a farm's waste collection areas (known as slurry lagoons) to catch methane emissions that would otherwise escape into the air. CNH IndustrialThe potential of the methane tractor extends far beyond the farm. Industry leaders pulled together to work on the projectThe success of the methane tractor project is testament to the power of collaboration. Beyond the agricultural sector, the methane tractor project holds promise for transforming the entire automotive sector. By demonstrating the viability of alternative fuel technologies in heavy-duty vehicles, this initiative paves the way for a more sustainable future in transportation.

Persons: Andrew Damant, CNH, Derek Neilson, Eminox, David Phillips, Neilson Organizations: UK's Department for Business and Trade, Advanced Propulsion Centre, Eminox, Mobile, Automotive Transformation Fund, Advanced, Industry, Insider Studios, UK Department for Business, Trade Locations: Cornwall, Europe, CNH, New Holland

The farmers were protesting anything from what they see as excessive red tape to increased environmental measures, cheap imports and unfair trading practices. “Let us make a living from our profession,” read one billboard on a huge tractor blocking a main thoroughfare. Environmentalists and climate activists say the change in EU policies under the duress of protesting farmers is regrettable. Photos You Should See View All 60 ImagesPolitically, the bloc has moved to the right over the past year. The plight of farmers has become a rallying cry for populists and conservatives who claim EU climate and farm policies are little more than bureaucratic bungling from elitist politicians who have lost any feeling for soil and land.

Persons: ” Organizations: European Union, Belgian, EU, European Commission Locations: BRUSSELS, Brussels, Finland, Greece, Poland, Ireland

Video shows RSF soldiers humiliating men from a village in Jazira state. Displaced people fleeing from Jazira state arrive in Gedaref, in the east of war-torn Sudan, on December 22, 2023. The RSF told him they would only return his car if he worked for them, Farouk recalled. Displaced people fleeing from Jazira state arrive in Gedaref, in the east of war-torn Sudan, on December 22, 2023. The RSF’s violent advances in Jazira state, their targeted destruction of warehouses, Sudan’s gene bank and irrigation systems will inevitably further exacerbate Sudan’s massive food shortages,” she said.

Persons: CNN —, “, Sudan’s, ”, Alex de Waal, Mohamed Badawi, Luis Tato, Sidiq Farouk, Farouk, ” Farouk, hasn’t, ‘, ’, Hala Al, Al Karib, Tomoya Obokata, Leni Kinzli, ” Kinzli, Omar Marzoug, geolocated, Waal, Médecins, Anette Hoffmann, You’re, ” CNN’s Benjamin Brown Organizations: CNN, Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF, United Nations, Peace Foundation, African Center for Justice, Peace Studies, Getty, Food Programme, UN Office, Humanitarian Affairs, UN, Hala, Initiative, Women, UNICEF, WFP, “, ” CNN, ”, Farmers ’ Alliance, Clingendael Institute, Agriculture Organization Locations: Al Jazira, Sudan’s, Darfur, Jazira, Sudan’s breadbasket Jazira, Sudan, Khartoum, of, Sudanese, Renk, South Sudan, AFP, Chad, Gedaref, Hala Al Karib, Horn of Africa, Omdurman, Al, of Africa

CNN —A road being built by the Israeli military splitting Gaza in two has reached the Mediterranean coast, a CNN analysis of satellite imagery shows. The plan has not been adopted by the IDF, but it includes elements that are coming into existence, including the Netzarim Corridor. Satellite imagery from November shows the tracks emerging, at a time when the military’s focus turned to surrounding Gaza City, advancing from the east. I remember it vividly.”Abu Holi was seldom open, Munther Al-Ashi, a lawyer from Gaza City, told CNN. “If our house in Gaza City has not been shelled, I would like to go back to it.

Persons: Benjamin Netanyahu, Al Rashid, Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli, Chikli, Israel, Shimon Orkabi, Volker Türk, ’ Emily Harding, Harding, Jamal Al, ”, ” Al, Rozzi, Khan Younis, “, Munther Al, Ashi, Al Rozzi Organizations: CNN, Israel Defense Forces, Al, Diaspora Affairs, IDF, Maxar Technologies, Planet Labs, Hamas, Israeli Engineering Corps, Combat Engineering Corps, Palestinian Friendship Hospital, Palestinian Friendship, UN, Human, Intelligence, National Security, Technology, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Israel, Rights Watch Locations: Gaza, Israel, Netzarim, Israeli, Gaza City, Be’eri, Chikli, Wadi Gaza, Turkish, Washington ,, ”, Rafah, “

☆ As a single mother and professor, I raised my 2 daughters on a college campus. My kids loved it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Mallory Mcduff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

As a single mother and professor, I struggled financially, so we moved into a rental on campus. My two daughters grew up on the college campus where I worked, and the students became mentors. As a single parent, I raised two daughters — now 24 and 18 — in a tiny campus rental with a view of a white barn and sloping mountains. A pragmatic horticulturist, he'd watched my children walk through his yard to the bus stop each morning. AdvertisementBut what I couldn't explain was my attachment to this college, its students, and its support system.

Persons: —, Tom, he'd, Rodney Lytle, Alma Shippy, Painter Dave, Warren, Annie, Sierra, I'd, I've Organizations: Service, Warren Wilson College, Sierra Locations: North Carolina, Tallulah

☆ 'Giorgia, Listen to Us!':Italy's Farmers Call on Meloni for Help
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ROME (Reuters) - Italian farmers descended on central Rome on Thursday to call on Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to offer more help to them and block European Union policies they see as detrimental to their industry. A group gathered in the Michelangelo-designed Piazza del Campidoglio, home to Rome's city hall, for a noisy protest featuring cowbells and banners, including one reading "Giorgia, listen to us!" Farmers are a key constituency for Meloni's right-wing coalition, which has a close relationship with the main sector lobby Coldiretti. "We have no relationship with the government so far because it is not giving us help. According to a draft amendment seen by Reuters, due to be approved in parliament, land income up to 10,000 euros ($10,770) will be tax exempt, and there will be a 50% discount for land income in the 10,000-15,000 euro bracket.

Persons: Giorgia Meloni, Michelangelo, Mattia Buzzone, Maximus, Daniele, Angelo Amante, Alvise Armellini, Keith Weir Organizations: Farmers, Reuters Locations: ROME, Rome, Europe, Poland, France, Germany, Rome's, Sicily

☆ Why Farmers Are Marching Toward Delhi Again
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Alex Travelli | Suhasini Raj | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Once again, India’s capital is bracing itself for a siege. Not by a foreign army but by an army of Indian farmers, streaming toward New Delhi from nearby states to protest government policies. The farmers’ march has turned the city’s main points of entry into choke points, as the federal and local police go into overdrive: barricading highways by pouring concrete and stacking shipping containers to halt the advancing tractors. The authorities have blocked the social media accounts of some protest leaders and even used drones that were once billed as an agricultural innovation to drop tear-gas grenades on the demonstrators. The scenes hark back to North India’s biggest protests of 2020 and 2021, when hundreds of thousands of farmers, mostly from the states of Punjab and Haryana, forced the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to abandon three bills meant to overhaul India’s agricultural economy.

Persons: Narendra Modi Locations: Delhi, Punjab, Haryana

☆ World AG Expo debuts new tractors ahead of Deere and CNH earnings
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-13 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWorld AG Expo debuts new tractors ahead of Deere and CNH earningsCNBC Jane Wells joins 'Power Lunch' to report on the World AG Expo's product launches.

Persons: CNBC Jane Wells Organizations: Deere, CNBC

☆ Spanish Farmers Take to Streets for Fourth Day, Plan Madrid Protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

TORIJA, Spain (Reuters) - Spanish farmers on Friday blocked streets across the country in a fourth day of protests and announced plans to gather in Madrid as they railed against the EU's environmental rules and what they see as excessive taxes and red tape. Since Tuesday, Spanish farmers have joined peers from Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Belgium in daily protests that include blocking several highways and ports. The three main farmers' associations - COAG, Asaja and UPA - kicked off their demonstrations on Thursday, though many had started earlier in the week. Plataforma 6, a newly created farmers' group, said it would gather outside all regional government buildings in Spain, including Madrid. The head of business association CEOE Antonio Garamendi expressed solidarity with the farmers' protests but said they had to be conducted "in moderation to avoid harming other sectors".

Persons: Javier Corral, CEOE Antonio Garamendi, Guillermo Martinez, Marco Trujillo, Catarina Demony, David Latona, Andrei Khalip, Charlie Devereux Organizations: UPA, Farmers, El Mundo Locations: Spain, Madrid, Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Asaja, Torija, Jerez, Moroccan, Merida, lobbing

☆ Tractors Drive Past the Colosseum as Italy's Meloni Pledges Tax Help
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-09 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Angelo AmanteROME (Reuters) - A convoy of tractors on Friday drove past the landmarks of ancient Rome before Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told a delegation of farmers that the government would partially reintroduce a tax break for them. Four tractors, escorted by police, crossed the city streets and passed in front of the Colosseum and the Circus Maximus, adorned with Italian flags and slogans decrying the EU's green transition. We don't want to create problems, we just want answers as soon as possible," one of the protesters, Luigi Allegrini, said. Coldiretti, the main agricultural lobby, has a close relationship with the government but the current protests are being led by smaller groups. "The government has defended farmers and contested the wrong choices imposed by the European Commission from the very beginning," Meloni told the farmers.

Persons: Angelo Amante ROME, Giorgia Meloni, Maximus, Luigi Allegrini, Roberto Rosati, Meloni, Angelo Amante, Alvise Armellini, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Italian, Farmers, European Commission Locations: Rome, Europe, Spain, Poland

☆ Spanish Farmers Blockade Roads for Second Day Against EU Policies
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish farmers blocked major highways with their tractors for a second day and disrupted access to port terminals as anger spreads in Europe's countryside against high costs, bureaucracy and competition from non-EU countries. "Some countries don't respect the rules, they don't have quality controls," said Juan, who grows lemons in Andalusia, and was on a blockade in front of the access to Malaga port. Fed up by the market situation and encouraged by similar protests in other European countries, Spanish farmers took their tractors out of their barns on Tuesday, two days ahead of protests scheduled by the country's main farmers associations. Over the past few weeks, farmers in European countries including Germany, France and Belgium have held protests that sometimes turned violent. Farmers say demanding rules imposed on them by the EU to protect the environment make them less competitive than peers in other regions, such as Latin America or non-EU Europe.

Persons: Juan, Inti Landauro, Emma Pinedo, Sharon Singleton Organizations: TVE, Farmers, European Commission Locations: MADRID, Europe's, Andalusia, Malaga, Germany, France, Belgium, EU, America, EU Europe

MADRID (AP) — Mirroring protests across Europe, thousands of farmers in Spain staged a second day of tractor demonstrations on Wednesday across the country, blocking highways to demand changes in European Union farming policies and measures to combat production cost hikes and severe drought. The protests, involving several thousand people on tractors and in other vehicles, haven't been backed by Spain´s three main farming organizations, which have called for separate protests in the coming days. Speaking in Spain's parliament on Wednesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez pledged to help farmers and take their case to Europe. Agriculture Minister Luis Planas Puchades met with farmers’ unions on Friday, but failed to persuade them to halt the protests. There have been other protests in countries such as France, Poland and Greece in recent days.

Persons: Efe, Spain ´, Pedro Sánchez, Luis Planas Puchades, Hadja Lahbib, Maroš Šefčovič, Raf Casert Organizations: MADRID, Agriculture Ministry, Agriculture, European Commission, Foreign Locations: Europe, Spain, Union, Castellon, Jerez, State, Barcelona's, Spain's Catalonia, Madrid, Ukraine, France, Poland, Greece, Belgium, Brussels

☆ Spanish Farmers Blockade Roads, Joining EU Peers' Protests
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish farmers blocked traffic on some of the country's main highways on Tuesday, joining colleagues in other European countries protesting against high costs, bureaucracy and competition from non-EU nations. In Girona, tractors could be seen gathering ahead of the day of protests, carrying placards with one reading "without farmers there is no food". Like colleagues in France, Belgium, Italy and Portugal, Spanish farmers are complaining about the increasing weight of European bureaucracy, low produce prices and rising costs. They say demanding rules imposed on EU farmers to protect the environment makes them less competitive than peers in other regions, such as Latin America or non-EU Europe. Over the past few days, blockades in France and Belgium have sometimes escalated into violent clashes with the police.

Persons: Dujo, Inti Landauro, Sharon Singleton Organizations: EU, European Union, TVE Locations: MADRID, Spain, Seville, Granada, Girona, France, Belgium, Italy, Portugal, America, EU Europe

☆ Farmers’ protests have erupted across Europe. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Sophie Tanno | Chris Liakos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

This week, the farmers’ protests struck at the heart of the European Union, when they rolled into Brussels on Thursday as leaders held a major summit on Ukraine. The EU has waived quotas and duties on Ukrainian imports in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “In Germany, it was really focused on diesel, so starting to tax diesel for tractors. France this week announced a series of measures for farmers in light of the protests. This has already been seen in Germany, when the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) involved itself in the protests and expressed solidarity with the farmers.

Persons: ”, Sebastien Bozon, Kay Nietfeld, Hugo Auge, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s, Dimitar Dilkoff, Emmanuel Mathé, “, we’re, Anger, Renaud Foucart, Sakis Mitrolidis, Stefano Guidi, Gabriel Attal, Attal, Ursula von Der Leyen, Rob Engelaar Organizations: CNN — Farmers, CNN, European Union, Toulouse, BFMTV, Getty Images Farmers, AP, Farmers, Getty, ” Farmers, EU, Lancaster University, Deal, Green, European Commission, French, Farmer, Citizen Locations: Europe, Paris, France, Italy, Spain, Romania, Poland, Greece, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Eastern Europe, EU, Brussels, Ukraine, Zandvliet, Meer, Lyon, Vesoul, AFP, Berlin, Thessaloniki, Spanish, Hamburg, Cologne, Bremen, Nuremberg, Munich, Eastern, Bulgaria, Yvelines, French, Noisy, Seine et Marne, England, Novara, Belgium, Arendonk, Dutch

☆ Malta PM Turns up at Farmers’ Protest to Hear Complaints
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

VALLETTA (Reuters) - Farmers in Malta staging a demonstration on Friday against EU agricultural policies as part of Europe-wide protests were surprised when Prime Minister Robert Abela turned up in person to hear their complaints. The farmers drove tractors and trucks from a vegetable market in the centre of the tiny Mediterranean island to Floriana, a town near the capital Valletta, waving banners and placards that accused the EU of "killing its own farmers". "No farmers, no food, no future," read one placard attached to a tractor. Farmers have also protested in several European capitals and blocked streets in Brussels on Thursday while EU leaders were holding a meeting there. On Friday farmers blocked the Dutch-Belgian border and occupied roads in Greece, though French farmers started lifting their blockades after the government in Paris made concessions.

Persons: Robert Abela, Christopher Scicluna, Gareth Jones Organizations: Reuters, Farmers, European Union Locations: VALLETTA, Malta, Europe, Floriana, Valletta, Brussels, Belgian, Greece, Paris

☆ Greece Promises Extra Aid for Grieving Farmers
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-02 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told parliament that the measure would cost the state 82 million euros ($89.31 million) in 2024 and announced more steps to appease the protesters. Farmers have been setting up blockades in central and northern Greece, echoing grievances from farmers across Europe, who have staged hundreds of tractors blockades in France and Brussels where EU leaders met on Thursday. A group of them lined up their tractors in the northern city of Thessaloniki on Thursday, surrounding the Agrotica trade fair venue. PPC, Greece's biggest power utility, will also offer an extra 10% rebate on electricity for farmers from May to September, Mitsotakis, who met protesting farmers in central Greece this week, said. Mitsotakis said that the state will spend in total 3.3 billion euros over the coming years to repair damage in Thessaly.

Persons: Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Mitsotakis, Lefteris Papadimas, Angeliki Koutantou, Renee Maltezou, William Maclean Organizations: Farmers, EU Locations: ATHENS, Greece, Europe, France, Brussels, Thessaloniki, Thessaly

☆ Protesting farmers hurl eggs and clog streets with tractors as EU summit begins
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Sophie Tanno | Chris Liakos | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Demonstrators rolled into Brussels in their tractors in the early morning hours before gathering outside the European Parliament where the summit was being held, blaring horns, hurling eggs and sparking fires. A handful of tractors had been parked near the EU Parliament all week before convoys from across the country converged on Thursday morning. Hatim Kaghat/Belga/AFP/Getty ImagesThere were chaotic scenes outside the European Union headquarters as a key meeting on aid to Ukraine got underway. We need to make sure that our farmers can be a partner in this,” De Croo said on arrival at the summit. In France, protesting farmers continue their roadblocks outside of Paris and near the cities of Lyon and Toulouse.

Persons: Hatim, Yves Herman, Alexander De Croo, De Croo Organizations: CNN, European Union, Ukraine, ” Police, Reuters, EU, Farmers, Belgian, BFMTV, European Commission Locations: Brussels, Belgian, AFP, Ukraine, Italy, Spain, Romania, Poland, Germany, Portugal, Netherlands, Greece, Thessaloniki, France, Paris, Lyon, Toulouse

☆ For Orban, Ukraine Is a Pawn in a Longer Game
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Andrew Higgins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After months of bluster against financial aid for Ukraine, Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary on Thursday yielded to intense pressure from fellow European leaders, but not before he tried to change the topic in Brussels by meeting with angry Belgian farmers beside a convoy of tractors and voicing support for the protests roiling Europe. In what amounted to a campaign stop ahead of European elections in June that he hopes will shift Europe’s balance of power in his direction, Mr. Orban skipped a dinner with European leaders on Wednesday evening and went to talk to the farmers who had gathered outside the Brussels venue for Thursday’s make-or-break summit meeting on Ukraine. “We need to find new leaders who truly represent the interests of the people,” Mr. Orban told the farmers, leaving little doubt that he includes himself in what he sees as an inevitable changing of the guard in Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union. For Mr. Orban, whether to send billions of dollars to Ukraine has never been a question of immovable principle, and he folded Thursday when told that some member states were serious about isolating him, even stripping him of his vote, if he continued to block the aid. Rather, it is just one of many issues on which he has sought to establish himself as the leader of a pan-European movement in defense of national sovereignty and traditional values against what he scorns as out-of-touch urban elites.

Persons: Viktor Orban of Hungary, Orban, Mr Organizations: European Union Locations: Ukraine, Brussels, Europe

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