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Schwerin (dpa / mv) - Farmers in the northeast can expect the so-called EU area bonuses until Christmas.

As the Schwerin Ministry of Agriculture announced on Monday, 345 million euros are currently being paid out to 4,700 agricultural businesses in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

"This is very important to me because of the tense economic situation in many companies as a result of the difficult weather conditions in recent years and the current pandemic situation," said Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus (SPD).

The agricultural subsidies, which are also known as direct payments, were paid out much later in earlier years with better harvests.

Farms also receive the money for environmental measures, known as greening, among other things. For example, buffer strips are created around bodies of water that are not fertilized with nitrate, or the permanent grassland is preserved longer than intended. Farmers have recently suffered particularly from the fact that prices for milk and meat have not covered their costs and the weather is clearly too dry. In 2020 there was a drop in prices due to export bans in the wake of African swine fever.