May was cool and wet, which, according to the saying, should fill the farmers' barn and barrel, but


the sun

was

missing in June and July to actually bring the rule to life.

In any case, the Hessian Farmers' Association expects a rather average harvest year.

“We are a long way from a bumper harvest, which initially seemed possible,” said Farmer President Karsten Schmal on Wednesday at the presentation of the preliminary harvest report on the farm of the Frankfurt district farmer and seed producer Matthias Mehl.

The association expects around two million tons of grain, after 1.95 million in 2020.

Stables stay empty

Patricia Andreae

Editor in the Rhein-Main-Zeitung.

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The decisive factor, however, is that the next few weeks bring more sun, so that where the winter wheat has not yet been harvested, the grain does not become too moist. Because the first very cold, then pleasantly wet spring was followed by a rainy summer. This ensures lower protein content in the grain, makes harvesting more difficult and carries the risk that the grain will be nodded by the rain before it is cut and begin to germinate. Especially at such times it is important that the farmers can protect their plants from fungal attack, for example. said Schmal and warned of the consequences of further restrictions on the use of pesticides. The Hessian farmers are more concerned about the shrinking of their industry than the weather.

In any case, Schmal sees dark clouds over agriculture in Hesse. The number of farms and cultivated areas is steadily decreasing, he said. Schmal, who runs a dairy farm with his son on the Edersee, sees the main reason why more and more colleagues are leaving their stables empty and fields fallow in the conditions that politicians impose on farmers when treating fields and livestock to give up their farms right away: "Even my son asks me every other day whether it's still worth it."


In the Wetterau alone, the number of businesses has fallen from around 2000 to just over 900 since 2001, reported the chairman of the regional association there, Michael Schneller.

Schmal sees the reason for this not only in the policy requirements for animal and plant protection, but above all in the low consumer prices, which in some cases do not even cover the farmers' costs.

And Schneller points to the headquarters of the European Central Bank visible on the horizon.

With its low interest rate policy, the farmer believes that this ensures that arable land becomes an investment, which drives up land prices.

At the same time, the pressure is increasing because logistics centers and residential areas are sealing ever more valuable soil.

Do not seal good floors

All of this means that Hessen Bauen can only partially supply the state's population. “You don't notice it in the supermarket, the shelves are full,” says Karten Schmal. But milk and meat, as well as fruit, vegetables and grain products, are increasingly coming from abroad, said the spokesman for dairy farmers in the Federal Association of Farmers. With a view to climate change and the increase in storms, heavy rain and other weather extremes, he appeals to soils to become agricultural


Use instead of sealing it with concrete or asphalt. Arable and grassland soils, especially the good clay soils of the Wetterau, the granary of Hesse, are decisive for the storage of the greenhouse gas CO2 and water. "They can protect the climate and significantly reduce the risk of flooding," he said, referring to the flooding in the neighboring federal states.