Mink farming is the most profitable form of livestock farming in the country, according to the chairman of the fur industry federation BEFFA, speaking last week. Belgium has 19 mink farms, all of them in Flanders, producing 150,000 to 200,000 pelts a year - tiny in comparison to other European producers but potentially highly profitable, with a current margin of about €25-30 a pelt and the prospect of higher profits on the horizon.

The Flemish agricultural sector reduced its production of greenhouse gases by 20% between 1990 and 2009, the equivalent of a reduction of two million tonnes of carbon dioxide and more than any other industry, according to figures released last week by the Farmers' Union. Farming produces 4% of the region's CO2 output, 80% of its methane and 50% of its nitrous oxide.

Farmers in the Voeren area in the far east of Flanders are harvesting a new crop from their fields - flints, which will be used to build refuges for amphibians. The stones are a perpetual pest to farmers in the area, rising to just under the surface of the soil on a regular basis. Farmers are now using special machinery to clear the flints, which are then used to build pools where amphibians can take refuge during the cold nights. Flint is an excellent retainer of heat, and the stones soak up sunshine during the day, releasing it slowly at night.

Flanders now has 256 farmers producing bio crops, an increase of 14 on last year. The number of hectares of bio-crops went up last year by 4.3%, a "clear increase" for the second year running, according to Flemish minister-president Kris Peeters, presenting the figures last week in Ranst. However demand for bio products - up 20% - is not being met by an increase in production. The most popular products for consumers are vegetables, fruit anddairy.