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Fight for fair milk prices in the Landsberg district

2021-09-02T06:04:16.963Z


District - Bavaria's dairy farmers are fed up with being insulted as "subsidy pickers" because they are dependent on taxpayers' money. The farmers affiliated with the Federal Association of German Dairy Farmers (BDM) are therefore fighting vehemently for fair market conditions in order to achieve a milk price that covers full costs.


District - Bavaria's dairy farmers are fed up with being insulted as "subsidy pickers" because they are dependent on taxpayers' money.

The farmers affiliated with the Federal Association of German Dairy Farmers (BDM) are therefore fighting vehemently for fair market conditions in order to achieve a milk price that covers full costs.

With 50 cents per liter of milk, they could earn their income from their work and their product without subsidies. The farmers feel that they are poorly represented by the politicians, "because they talk more to dairies and the dairy industry than to us." Around 40 dairy farmers in the region hoped for answers from the direct candidates for the Bundestag in the Landsberg-Starnberg-Germering constituency: Michael Kießling (CSU), Carmen Wegge (SPD), Rasso Rebay von Ehrenwiesen (Free Voters) and Simone Ketterl (Die Linke). Martina Neubauer (Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen) was represented by the Landtag member Gabriele Triebel and Britta Hundesrügge (FDP) by the Landsberg FDP chairwoman Birgit Kerckhoff.The Landsberg BDM boss Hermann Dempfle was delighted that Michael Kießling took part in the round and skipped another, already promised date: "After all, a farmers' meeting without the CSU doesn't work."


Kießling, who has been representing the constituency in Berlin for four years, showed understanding for the needs of farmers who, with fertilizer regulations, animal welfare, species protection, building laws, more and more requirements and bureaucracy, would have to fight a constant battle against windmills. "Because of too much environmental protection, the farmer must not become the nation's landscaper," he warned. Birgit Kerckhoff was surprised that farmers need proof of expertise and documentation when buying and using fertilizers, but private allotment gardeners can easily buy fertilizers and poisons such as slug pellets from hardware stores. Carmen Wegge expressed the hope that the SPD will occupy the Ministry of Agriculture in the next federal government and that a “milk price corridor” will come about at European level. And she called for better labeling:“Milk from Poland that is bottled in Rosenheim must not be sold as Alpine milk.” Simone Ketterl wants to develop a counter-strategy to the market power of dairies and retail chains. The contrast between “agriculture and environmental protection” must be bridged. As a solution to the financial dilemma faced by many farmers, Rasso Rebay von Ehrenwiesen suggested more direct marketing through farm shops and markets. Gabriele Triebel joined in and only asked for milk and milk products from local cows in Bavarian canteens.As a solution to the financial dilemma faced by many farmers, Rasso Rebay von Ehrenwiesen suggested more direct marketing through farm shops and markets. Gabriele Triebel joined in and only asked for milk and milk products from local cows in Bavarian canteens.As a solution to the financial dilemma faced by many farmers, Rasso Rebay von Ehrenwiesen suggested more direct marketing through farm shops and markets. Gabriele Triebel joined in and only asked for milk and milk products from local cows in Bavarian canteens.


All candidates and their representatives agreed that dairy farmers need a better market position compared to dairies. They should no longer be blackmailed into an “exploitation relationship” with the threat that “then we'll just buy milk from abroad”.


In 2020, German dairy farmers received an average of 32.84 cents per liter from the dairies. If you compare this with the average of the last five years, conventional farms received around 0.8 cents more than in previous years. However, these prices do not cover the full production costs of just under 43 cents. Many farms could not be held without additional income such as “holidays on the farm” or the sale of wood, as BDM chairman Hans Leis emphasized. It should not be that farmers sell their life insurance to keep the farms and service bank loans.


In his closing remarks, moderator Hans Foldenauer called for “a courageous next parliament” that would take more care of the dairy farmers' concerns. The BDM is an association that not only complains, but also brings solutions to the table like the “Sector Strategy 2030”. The aim is to reduce the dairy farmers 'dependence on taxpayers' money and to enable more competition for raw milk. Because with the current pricing system, the dairy farmers, with their weak market position, bear the general market risk “upside down” alone.


Candidate Simone Ketterl said what most of her competitors on the podium thought: The evening was “a lesson” for her. If she makes the leap to Berlin, she will stand up for the concerns of the dairy farmers. The other applicants followed suit. Michael Kießling, too, who has been in dialogue with farmers for a long time with his event format “Politics meets Agriculture”. Whether on the Schatzbergalm in Dießen or directly on farms such as Scheitz in Andechs or Schuster in Hofstetten, he and competent guests such as Minister Michaela Kaniber are looking for solutions for sustainable agriculture - according to the statement in the joint election program of the CSU and CDU that agriculture is “reliable will accompany the ecological change ”.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-09-02

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