Reading Time: 9 minutes The fall of the iron curtain in l989 brought democracy to the former East Germany (DDR). For farmers like Bernd Klänhammer at Penkun, an hour and a half northeast of Berlin, it also brought, for the first time in their careers, the freedom to make their own decisions. Of course, Klänhammer wasn’t the only one […] Read more
The German question
Now that they’ve recovered from communism, these East German farms worry about the excesses of democracy
EU says ready to launch U.S. trade talks, but without agriculture
Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — The European Union is ready to start talks on a trade agreement with the United States and aims to conclude a deal before year-end, European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said on Monday. The EU approved two areas for negotiation, opposed by France with an abstention from Belgium. But agriculture was not […] Read more
French rapeseed farmers destroy 18,000 hectares over GMO risk
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters — French farmers destroyed a total of 18,000 hectares of rapeseed, more than double the area initially expected, following the discovery of a non-authorized genetically modified organism (GMO) in seeds, German group Bayer said on Friday. Bayer had announced in February that farmers in France and Germany were turning over thousands of […] Read more
Lightest harvest in years expected for Germany
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Drought and heat continue to pound Germany’s crops and analysts now expect the lightest harvest in 24 years, the association of German farm co-operatives DRV said in an Aug. 8 harvest report. The harvest for all grains is expected to decline to about 36.3 million tonnes, a 20.3 per cent fall and […] Read more
German farmers seek 1 billion euros in drought aid
Reading Time: < 1 minute Hamburg | Reuters – Farmers in Germany need special aid of around 1 billion euros ($1.17 billion) because of damage to harvests caused by drought and heatwave, the head of German farming association DBV said on Monday. The aid should be paid to farmers who have lost 30 percent and more of their harvests, DBV […] Read more
France to the rescue as drought hits EU barley crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hamburg | Reuters — Drought has seriously damaged barley harvests in northern Europe, potentially tightening supplies of animal feed and malt for beer brewing, but a decent crop in France could save the day, experts said on Thursday. “There are painful crop losses in Germany, Poland, Britain and Scandinavia,” one German trader said. “The volume […] Read more
Germany plans to toughen conditions for insecticide use
Reading Time: < 1 minute Berlin | Reuters — Germany plans to make it more difficult for farmers to use crop insecticides in a bid to preserve biodiversity, an environment ministry document showed. “Insect biomass has fallen by more than 75 per cent in the last 27 years in Germany,” according to the paper seen by Reuters on Wednesday, saying […] Read more
Germany moving ahead with plans to restrict glyphosate
Reading Time: 2 minutes Berlin | Reuters — German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner on Tuesday said she was finalizing a draft regulation to end use of glyphosate herbicide in household gardens, parks and sports facilities, and to set “massive” limits for its use in agriculture. The chemical, made by Monsanto, is at the centre of a heated debate in […] Read more
German coalition deal sets no timetable to end glyphosate use
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hamburg | Reuters –– Germany’s draft coalition government deal includes a goal of ending use of glyphosate herbicide within the country, but gives no time frame, after Berlin swung a vote in November extending its use across the European Union. The timing of an end to glyphosate use has been highly controversial in Europe amid […] Read more
Germany’s Merkel scolds ally in glyphosate row
Reading Time: 2 minutes Berlin | Reuters — German Chancellor Angela Merkel scolded a minister on Tuesday in a bid to shield talks on forming a coalition government from a dispute between cabinet colleagues over an EU herbicide licence. Conservative Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt angered the centre-left SPD on Monday by breaking protocol to back a European Union proposal […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
