From asparagus construction to the part-time acquisition: Klenke's story from Bad Sooden-Allendorf

In the Werra-Meißner district, Biolandwirt Tobias Klenke, together with his wife Elzbieta, has made a fundamental change in the management. The agricultural company in Bad Sooden-Allendorf was switched to sideline. Klenke kept the decision to cease the production of asparagus and strawberries after 22 years, biological since 2016. This measure is in the context of a long trend that has led to a significant decline in farms in the region.

like the HNA the number of farms in the Werra-Meißner district has decreased by 131 from 2009 to 2024, which corresponds to a decline of 14 percent. The number of main business companies has also fell by a fifth in the past 15 years. Tobias Klenke will work as a technical employee at the University of Kassel in the future, while Elzbieta Klenke has found a job as a school assistant at the social company Weadi.

causes of the changeover

The decision to switch to the part -time acquisition results from various difficult framework conditions. An important factor is the increased bureaucracy and the additional requirements that have significantly increased the workload for the Klenkes. In addition, changes in social security law for seasonal workers led to increasing operating costs. In the high phase, the Klenke had employed up to twelve seasonal workers, but had to reduce this number to four. The changed evaluation of the seasonal workers also led to an increase in wage costs, which endangered the profitability of the company.

Although the Klenke has set the asparagus production, they continue to manage the areas in the sideline, whereby their focus is now on the cultivation of grain and arable beans. In their report, both emphasize the problems with which many agricultural family businesses are currently confronted and hope for more sensitivity on the part of the mandate for the challenges in agriculture.

Further information on these developments in the Werra-Meißner-Kreis can be found in a current report on the district's website: Werra- Meißner-kreis.de .