Future of agriculture: graduates warn of major challenges

Future of agriculture: graduates warn of major challenges

On Friday, November 1, 2024, an important day for agriculture was celebrated in Wartenberg Oval in Vogelsbergkreis: 148 graduates from all over Hesse proudly received their certificates. But while the celebrations were in progress, experts warned of the huge challenges that are plagued by the industry. HBV President Karsten Schmal left no doubt that agriculture is facing enormous hurdles today.

The challenges of the future

The graduates, including the "Golden Master" - champions, whose exams took place 50 years ago - were the focus of the event. Margrete Arndt, one of the honored, reported on her company, which specializes in organic sacroes and biogas plants. Her granddaughter, who was currently receiving her journeyman's letter, led the pressing problems of the new generation: "Documentation obligations and bureaucracy are now rampant." The words of the young farmer show the reality with which the next generation is confronted.

Schmal called for politics to create the right framework in order to enable companies to orientate them. The deletion of the Agrardiesel allowance, the outbreak of the African swine plague in southern Hesse and the consequences of climate change are just a few of the topics that put a lot of strain on the industry. "The challenges are not less," he warned, emphasizing the need for solidarity and joint action. "The protests at the beginning of the year showed that we can achieve something together."

Christian Heinemann from the Landesbetrieb Agriculture Hesse added that training for farmers was also attractive for young people, especially through topics such as nutritional security and species protection. Nevertheless, the decline in youngsters in family businesses is worrying. A central desire to politics is to ensure resistance to the regulations in order to create planning security, especially in animal husbandry. The future of agriculture depends crucially on the decisions that are made today.