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🇩🇪 Germany /Economy & Trade

Agricultural future: Farmers’ association demands reliable policy

From Die Zeit · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Context piece
  • Schleswig-Holstein farmers’ president Klaus-Peter Lucht called for stable agricultural policies and long-term conditions for investment in buildings and machinery.
  • Lucht criticized unclear party positions and urged the CDU-led state government to set out its plans for agriculture and show restraint when designating protected areas.
  • Agriculture Minister Cornelia Schmachtenberg backed farmers’ calls for less bureaucracy and said domestic livestock production supports food security.

Farm families in Schleswig-Holstein want more than praise from politicians. They want policies stable enough to support decisions about new barns, machinery and other long-term investments.

Klaus-Peter Lucht, president of the state farmers’ association, made that demand at the Schleswig-Holstein Farmers’ Day in Rendsburg. He said voters could no longer clearly see what the parties stood for and called for stronger profiles from centrist parties. A coalition’s stronger partner, he argued, should have its influence reflected in government policy.

We as farm families in Schleswig-Holstein need reliability, conditions that remain stable for years, so that we can make business decisions.

· Klaus-Peter LuchtThe state farmers’ president called for predictable agricultural policy and long-term investment conditions.

Lucht said he supported the social market economy and a welfare state, but added that both required a strong economy to finance them. He also criticized the Greens in the state government, saying they relied too heavily on regulation and placed too little trust in farmers. Farmers, he said, knew how to provide good animal care and grow crops in an environmentally responsible way.

I want the social market economy, I want a welfare state, but that also means we need a strong economy that can pay for all of it.

· Klaus-Peter LuchtLucht linked social protections to the strength of the wider economy.

He said he wanted clearer agricultural positions from the CDU led by Minister President Daniel Günther, including a more restrained approach to designating protected areas. The farmers’ association plans to apply pressure through a newly formed alliance for rural areas. Lucht said the goal was to push parties toward policies that keep rural communities strong.

Agriculture Minister Cornelia Schmachtenberg praised farmers and supported demands for less bureaucracy and the use of crop protection products. “I know that thanks are important, but I also know that thanks do not pay your bills,” she told more than 1,000 people at the event near the Norla agricultural fair. She also defended keeping livestock in Schleswig-Holstein under good conditions rather than importing animals from countries with lower standards.

I know that thanks are important, but I also know that thanks do not pay your bills.

· Cornelia SchmachtenbergThe agriculture minister acknowledged farmers’ financial pressures while praising their work.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Zeit in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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