DHessian farmers are having a hard time with the sharp rise in energy and fertilizer costs. The higher proceeds from grain and milk are still preventing many farms from getting into financial difficulties. However, Farmer President Karsten Schmal and the representative of the farmers from Wetterau, Andrea Rahn-Farr, warn that the risk for farmers has increased and call for a policy of prudence and more financial support. Schmal is very concerned about animal owners, organic farmers and regional direct marketers.
The Rahn-Farr farm in Rinderbügen near Büdingen in the Wetterau has 400 dairy cows. “We grow most of our feed ourselves and run a biogas plant with the manure from our cows,” says the chairwoman of the Wetterau-Frankfurt regional farmers’ association. Even if Rahn-Farr manages to cover part of the required fertilizer with liquid manure and manure from their own cows, mineral fertilizers have to be bought in, as she says. “This is currently a problem due to the price explosion,” said the farmer. Actually, she should now buy the fertilizer for next spring, which, at 90 to 100 euros per 100 kilograms, costs four to five times the usual price. That’s why she hesitates.
