“The mood and the economic situation are worse than they have been for a long time,” said Alfons Wonnemann. “Some people have nerves,” says the farmer, with a view to shrinking yields and ever new requirements, not just for his farm in Haselheide. “We deliver high-quality food and are currently happy that we can pay our bills promptly,” he adds.
The worries and hardships of local agriculture were now the subject of a meeting between Bianca Winkelmann and 15 farmers on the Wonnemann farm. Winkelmann is a farmer herself and, as a member of the state parliament, is the political spokeswoman for the CDU parliamentary group for the areas of the environment, agriculture, nature and consumer protection. The meeting was mediated by Daniel Hagemeier, member of the local state parliament: “We have to talk to each other and hear where the problem is on the ground,” Hagemeier is quoted in the press report.
“Something has to change urgently so that the companies can earn money again. Otherwise there will be a structural break as we have never seen it before, ”Martin Walbelder was not the only one who was extremely critical of the current situation on many family farms during the two-hour exchange. “If the game continues like this, we will only have industrial agriculture and no more family businesses,” Alfons Wonnemann is quoted further.
And son Steffen, who is currently in his second year of training to become a farmer and who is likely to be the next manager on the family business, ponders: “You sometimes ask yourself what you are doing the training for.”
Diesel reimbursement, the drop in producer prices, competitiveness in European comparison, a possible exit bonus and the corridors of the planned high-voltage lines from north to south that will cross Ostbevern were just a few of the topics of the exchange.
“As a policy, we cannot influence the price of piglets or fattening pigs,” Bianca Winkelmann clarified. But you have to make sure that the framework conditions are right. There should be no interventions without compensation, ”said Daniel Hagemeier. This is also the clear line of the CDU parliamentary group in Düsseldorf. In addition, the role of the farmer as an energy producer must be looked at more closely and it should be possible for companies with biogas plants that are operated with liquid manure and manure to build up an additional pillar. For Winkelmann and Hagemeier this is also an important contribution to the energy transition, after all, electricity from biogas plants is also available when the wind is not blowing and the sun is not shining.
“We are promoting sustainable and animal welfare-oriented agriculture with 381 million euros in the coming year, climate-proof forests with 133 million euros, insect protection and biodiversity with 44.5 million euros”, the members of the state parliament gave insights into the state budget for 2022.
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