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27TH MAY 2009

France has registered a 36% above average rainfall for the first few months of 2009.

26TH MARCH 2009 - Small Tornado Kills 2 Workers

Two Bulgarian farm workers were killed and a third seriously injured yesterday when a small tornado struck the car in which they had been traveling near the small town of Nea Manolada, in the Peloponnesian prefecture of Illea.

The whirlwind swept up thecar and hurled it into the wall of a junkyard, according to the local police. It also wrecked crops in the area and caused minor damage to the roofs of several buildings as well as electricity pylons. Local residents also reported several trees being uprooted and even paving slabs from village squares being moved by strong winds. Several parked cars were overturned too.

Fire brigade and police units were conducting patrols in the greater area yesterday evening to ensure that no harm comes to other residents. Local authorities are today due to make a start on assessing the extent of the damage wreaked by the whirlwind. The prefecture of Illea was among the hardest hit by the catastrophic forest fires of summy 2007.

GREECE MARCH 2009 - Artichokes To Produce Clean Fuel in Kozani

Prefectural officials in the northern city of Kozani yesterday heralded the launch of a pilot program to produce biomass fuel from wild artichokes in a bid to reduce dependence on local power production from highly polluting low-grade lignite.

The wild artichoke is a high-yield perennial crop that can be cultivated without pesticides and would diversify the energy mix of the Public Power Corporation (PPC), which runs lignite-fueled power plants in the area, officials told a press conference.

PPC would pay producers the market value of the bio-mass fuel they yield, the officials said, adding that producers would also be entitled to a state subsidy. Local producers are to have priority but the opportunity to join the program, for which cultivation costs will be covered during the first two years, will be extended to other producers.

25TH MARCH 2009

Sheep production further declines in France, Ireland and UK with the latest respective Ministry of Agriculture statistics.

24TH JUNE 2008 - Student invents first solar-powered lawnmower

A Sydney schoolboy has successfully engineered what is thought to be the world's first solar powered lawnmower.

Vaughan Watson used second-hand parts, including an old radiator to create his masterpiece.

"It runs for four hours off the battery, that's a four-vault battery. It takes 48 hours to charge in the light and it does a great job on lawns," Vaughan Watson said.

The mower, which is emission free, cost about $1,000 to put together

17TH JUNE 2008

Normandy rural property prices have increased by 100% in the last 8 years.

Average bare land prices as follows....

Calvados.................. 6,250 euros / ha

Manche....................4,790  euros /ha

Orne........................7,790  euros / ha

Champagne

35,000 ha are classed as appelation approved areas ..........but with 32,500 ha already planted

there are moves afoot to increase the villages from 317 to a 357 to actually produce more. With France consuming an average 4%  more per annum and countries such as India increasing imports by 126% there is an urgent need to be able to supply all customers. However land prices in Champagne area vary between 800,000 to 1,100,000 euros a hectare and some of the cereal land will be used for these new plantings ....... but this will not take place until 2015.......with the first harvests in 2017. Beware of Champagne prices?

Pig crisis ............consolidation of co-operatives in Brittany.... Initia   has amalgamated with Pigalys ....together their producers  will have 4.2 million head ..........................this is trying to stop the low prices, as an example farmers with a 200 sow herd are loosing 15,000 euros each month !

Australia  WOOLMARK ..... is managed by Pascal Senkoff(a Frenchman) .....who oversees the  Australian Wool Initiative to market wool on behalf of the 36,000 farmers in Oz.  420,000 tonnes is produced annually with the main buyers being the Chinese(60%) followed by Japan and the USA. He is moving to Tokyo to be nearer the buyers.

Pascal Senkoff is trying to increase sales now more dominated by cotton 30 % whereas wool has only 3% market share.

This is an uphill struggle as cotton and polyester are between 3 and 6 times cheaper........but he is banking on the natural appeal.

Horse racing on the beach at Jullouville(just south of Granville)..................every May...........2400 meter  circular track.

Spain.......did you know there are more than 300 varieties of bread. Consumption since 1964 has fallen from 134kgs per head to 54kgs in 2006.

7TH MAY 2008

22ND JANUARY 2008

France -2007  New tractor registrations(37,835) were up 7.6% on 2006 whereas Telescopics increased by + 10%.

Young Farmer Aid........Installation procedures appear to be changing nationally from the end of June 2008. This is after trials in the following areas.......Ardeche, Aube, Aveyron, Morbihan and the Pas de Calais during 2007. The aim is to provide assistance to more Young Farmers, even though they may receive less as the Budget for farming is generally under pressure.

JANUARY 2008

Truffle prices at Lalbenque market (in Lot area) on 8th January 120kgs were sold with prices varying between 300 and 800 euros a kilo.

5TH NOVEMBER 2007

Did you know there are more than 1700 varieties of Tomato. Here is a picture of production in Mexico where they actually originate.

3RD OCTOBER 2007 - Guess the equipment

Can anyone guess the name and origins of this machine?

2ND OCTOBER 2007

As seen on my travels in France advertising Roast Rabbit.

NEWS ITEMS AUGUST 2007

European Union pension budget. The numbers of bureaucrats has increased from 5023 to 7472 between the years 1999 to 2005 and the amount paid has increased from 282,8 M Euros to 491,5 M Euros - an average payout per month of 5,509€ per recipient.

FORESTRY LAND IN FRANCE

Since 1850 the area of woodland has doubled in size...........and covers 25% of mainland. The main areas are Landes(40) Var(83) and Vosges (88). Approximately 66% are in broadleaf. Ownership is predominantly private at 74%. The State owns

1514 forests - basically confiscated after the Revolution.......and the largest is the forest of Orleans .....35,000ha.

All State forests(over 10ha and private over 25ha) have to provide a management document to the Government of the day inline with the wish of Public Bodies to keep a very active forestry and timber industry.

LAMB CONSUMPTION

60% of all lamb is imported either from UK or New Zealand.

11 August 2007

FOOT and MOUTH NEWS

Les Herolles market in the Vienne area was specifically opened at the request of the local sheep farmers due to the perceived lack of fresh meat due to the UK export embargo. Prices rose from 4.70 Euros/kg in July to 5.50kg Euros/kg....a summer bonus for the mainly small farmers.

Do you want to escape from this?

Do You Suffer From Workaholism?
Do you get more excited about your work than about family?
Are there times when you can charge through your work and other times when you can't?
Do you take work with you to bed? On holiday?
Is work the activity you like to do best and talk about most?
Do you work more than 40 hours a week?
Do you turn your hobbies into money-making ventures?
Do you take responsibility for the outcome of your efforts? Have your family or friends given up expecting you on time?
Do you take on extra work because you are concerned that it won't otherwise get done?
Do you underestimate how long a project will take and then rush to complete it?
Do you believe it is okay to work long hours if you love it?
Do you get impatient with people who have other priorities?
Are you afraid if you don't work hard you'll lose your job?
Is the future a constant worry for you?
Do you do things competitively, including play?
Do you get irritated when people ask you to stop working?
Have your long hours hurt your family or other relationships?
Do you think about your work while driving or falling asleep?
Do you work or read during meals?
Do you believe that more money will solve the other problems in your life?

If you answer "yes" to three or more of these questions you may be a workaholic

Economic Models - With Cows

SOCIALISM: You have 2 cows, and you give one to your neighbour.
COMMUNISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.
FASCISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk.
BUREAUCRATISM: You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, then throws the milk away...
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.
SURREALISM: You have two giraffes. The government requires you to take harmonica lessons.
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. Later, you hire a consultant to analyse why the cow has dropped dead.
ENRON VENTURE CAPITALISM: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execture a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intemediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The anual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull.
A FRENCH CORPORATION: You have two cows. You go on strike, organise a riot, and block the roads, because you want three cows.
A JAPANESE CORPORATION: You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create a clever cow cartoon image called 'Cowkimon' and market it worldwide.
A GERMAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month and milk themselves.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You decide to have lunch.
A RUSSIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 2 cows. You stop counting cows because you're sobering up and open another bottle of vodka.
A SWISS CORPORATION: You have 5,000 cows. None of them belong to you. You charge the owners for storing them.
A CHINA CORPORATION: You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim that you have full employment, and high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported the real situation.
AN INDIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. You worship them.
A BRITISH CORPORATION: You have two cows. Both are mad.
IRAQI CORPORATION: Everyone thinks you have lots of cows. You tell them that you have none. No-one believes you, so they bomb the **** out of you and invade your country. You still have no cows, but at least now you are part of a Democracy...
AUSTRALIAN CORPORATION: You have two cows. Business seems pretty good. You close the office and go for a few beers.
WELSH CORPORATION: You have two cows. The one on the left looks very attractive.

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