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The rapeseed harvest is in full swing in southern Europe. Early yield data seems positive, and European rapeseed production is on track to reach 20 million tons.

The initial barley and wheat harvest results in the Netherlands and France are good, especially compared to last year. A true record harvest is not on the horizon in the EU, according to Copa Cogeca. In fact, grain yields over the past five years have lagged significantly behind historical benchmarks from previous decades. In the US, corn is doing well, according to the USDA's new Crop Progress report.

FrieslandCampina remains in the race to acquire Fonterra's Australian consumer business. The Dutch dairy cooperative is reportedly collaborating with Australian dairy producer Bega Group in this effort.

Potato processors in Germany have nothing to be ashamed of regarding their French fry production in the first quarter of 2025. A slight decline in production is visible over the 2024/25 season. This is even the lowest production in five seasons.

The continued difficult sales of piglets has caused the Dutch piglet price to fall below €50 this week. Demand is also struggling at lower price levels. 

More and more processors have closed their books on the 2024/25 season. The last buying round has taken place. Buyers are trying to prepare their growers for a very different season ahead. In the fields, the reels are starting up again.

Red diesel is making a comeback, as promised in the government's manifesto. BBB was proud to have secured a diesel discount for farmers, horticulturalists, and contractors in 2027. Research agency Ecorys conducted research on this matter at the government's request and has now concluded that most options are difficult to implement and susceptible to fraud. Moreover, it remains to be seen whether the diesel discount will hold up legally; in Brussels, due to state aid, but also due to increased nitrogen emissions.

The price pool to draw from for the DCA EU-4 Potato Index is certainly not getting any bigger. France stopped listing for a while now; Belgapom and Reka dropped out last week.

Dutch milk supply, year-on-year, showed a further decline in June compared to May. However, there were no significant differences.

Westfleisch may be interested in acquiring Vion.

Potato growers who supply Mousline in France are in dire straits. The company is adjusting their fixed price contracts for this harvest year to, according to the company, "anticipate the difficult economic situation." Therefore, the company is asking the northern French growers to make sacrifices. This sends the message that even a contract isn't sacrosanct.

Especially in the south of the country, the combines were able to work their rounds in the winter wheat this past weekend. This means the harvest is early. This isn't unique to the Netherlands; they also made a good push in France. The USDA released its Wasde report on Friday. It didn't contain any major surprises, but the market didn't react quite as expected.

The number of cattle slaughtered declined rapidly in the first half of the year. The total number of adult cows and bulls slaughtered fell by about...