Germany Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Catcher in the Rye: Breeding Diversity for Unpredictable Conditions

7 September, 2020 Hannes Lorenzen

The new EU organic regulation, to be implemented in 2022, promises new opportunities especially for young farmers to regain control and knowledge of local conservation, breeding, sustainable use and marketing of seeds fit for organic production. As part of the team that negotiated the new EU organic regulation, ARC2020 President Hannes Lorenzen is curious about how the new less restrictive conditions for organic seed production and marketing will impact breeders and farmers. He spoke to an organic plant breeder and a young farmer about their ideas on the future of seeds. […]

Germany | Islanders Go Digital

18 June, 2020 Hannes Lorenzen

If remote rural communities want to be part of the conversations that will shape their futures, the ability to connect with other projects and stakeholders is a crucial skill. For one island community, the coronavirus crisis was a crash course in online networking. Hannes Lorenzen reports on Eco-Week 2020 and the digital leap forward on his home island of Pellworm, Germany. […]

Covid-19 & Meat Processing Plants: An EU-wide response?

4 June, 2020 Alison Brogan

Covid-19 outbreaks in meat factories worldwide are revealing different responses for the exposed workers – and makes the case for an EU wide standard for meat factory workers. Alison Brogan highlights recent developments in Germany and Ireland. […]

Covid19, Meat Processing Plants and the Limits of the Intensive Farming Model

19 May, 2020 Alison Brogan

While the exploitation of agri-food sector workers is a longstanding food system issue, the emergence of slaughterhouses across Europe and the US as coronavirus hotspots has brought renewed urgency and heightened awareness to issues relating to the conditions to which meat-plant workers are exposed. Alison Brogan rounds up the Covid19 news on this topic from the US, Ireland and Germany. […]

Solidarity from Brandenburg Farmers in Times of Corona

3 May, 2020 ARC

There is a simple explanation why I am writing as a farmer: when we as a society come under such enormous pressure that it raises existential questions, like the spread of the COVID-19 pathogen is doing, we have to reflect on what we really need in such a crisis […]

Effects of Coronavirus on Agricultural Production – a First Approximation (part 2)

6 April, 2020 Sebastian Lakner

Agricultural production is on track for this year, and the EU is self-sufficient in most areas. Despite the challenges of the coronavirus crisis we have little reason to worry about food supply in the EU. This was Sebastian Lakner’s tentative conclusion in part 1 of his review of the available data. But his findings come with some major caveats. Trade in commodities must continue to flow to guarantee food supply in the context of the EU’s interconnected agribusiness model. Here in part 2 Sebastian Lakner examines another critical factor: labour and seasonal migrant workers. […]

Effects of Coronavirus on Agricultural Production – a First Approximation

5 April, 2020 Sebastian Lakner

As public life shuts down around Europe and health systems buckle under the strain of the Covid-19 pandemic, concerns over food supply are the latest scare to make headlines. In recent weeks speculation is rife as to the potential impacts on agricultural production. In part 1 of this series, Sebastian Lakner crunches the numbers to identify the real risks to Europe’s food supply. […]

Organic Land Area in Germany Passes 10%

23 February, 2020 Oliver Moore

Growth in organics in Germany continues on all fronts, bucking trends in conventional farming and food markets.In Germany, the organic land area has now passed 10%, having grown 50% in the last five years. Where is the growth occurring, and does the market match or exceed the land area? […]

For Peat’s Sake – Paludiculture and a Wetter, Better CAP

3 February, 2020 Jan Peters

Fully functional, healthy peatlands are the most effective long-term carbon store and sink on the planet. But what sort of state are they in, and what role for agriculture and CAP. And just what is Paludiculture? Jan Peters and colleagues assess the terrain. […]

What Happened when an Archaeologist Started Goat Farming?

29 January, 2020 ARC

” I could analyze Big Data sets, linking changes in the physical landscape to natural and cultural processes, but how on earth a farmer knows where, when and what to plant remained a mystery. ” And so began an archaeologist’s trip into goat farming… […]

What Happened when a Tractor Farmer Protester came to WHES?

22 January, 2020 ARC

“I think we can take a white sheet of paper and draw a new picture for agriculture.” TIlo Von Donner of Landschafft Verbindung spoke at Soup and Talk, at WHES2020. So what else did he say? […]

How Germany helps Asian Rice Farmers Cut Emissions

19 November, 2019 Hans Wetzels

Methane emissions from rice play a significant but much overlooked part in global climate change, research shows. The German Development ministry supports research programs in Asia to counter the threat and help farmers. […]

Germany | Beats & Beans – A Festival for Transition

23 July, 2019 ARC

Young farmers and food activists are crucial in the transition away from industrial agriculture. Saskia Richartz from Wir Haben es Satt! has just returned from Beats & Bohne, a festival to gather these young people to dance, feast and plan the agricultural transition. […]

Rural Dialogues | Landcare Germany – Bringing Farmers, Conservationists & Policymakers Together

17 June, 2019 Oliver Moore

How can farming organisations and environmental organisations have real conversations with each other – where everyone listens, and difficult issues grappled with respectfully? Where everyone comes away with a better understanding of other people’s positions? There are in-situ meetings, and then there is the Landcare process. Oliver Moore has more.
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Germany | Where Does the Daily Bread Come From?

11 June, 2019 ARC

There’s big and there’s bigger, and Stefan’s farm is bigger. So what’s involved in running a 1100 hectare organic farm east of Berlin? Read about the history and current realities of the Das Gut Wilmersdorf farm. […]