Good harvest in MV: Stralsund celebrates a festive Thanksgiving!

Good harvest in MV: Stralsund celebrates a festive Thanksgiving!

In the heart of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, more precisely in Stralsund, the 33rd state harvest festival recently took place, for which the city acted as host for the first time. Agriculture Minister Till Backhaus announced a positive outcome for this year's grain harvest, which was achieved through innovative methods and intelligent use of resources.

The 79.5 decitonnes per hectare mark for winter wheat represents an interesting record. This number not only exceeds the previous year's harvest by 7.4 percent, but is also 5.6 percent above the average yield of the last six years. A similar picture can be seen with winter barley, which also has the same yield of 79.5 decitons per hectare. In addition, farmers were able to boast a potato yield of 438 decitons per hectare, a remarkable increase of more than 21 percent compared to the average of recent years.

Harvest results in detail

While the figures for wheat and potatoes are encouraging, rapeseed yields, on the other hand, show a declining trend. Both a decrease in arable land consumption and weaker yields are noticeable here. Backhaus attributed these developments to pest infestation and unfavorable weather conditions. "There is hardly any other sector of the economy that is more dependent on the weather. Even the most modern technologies do not change that," he explained.

In order to master the challenges of climate change and guarantee food security in the future, Backhaus called for resource-conserving management. He particularly emphasized that this social change should not be viewed in isolation. "Thanksgiving is one of humanity's oldest festivals. It reminds us of the hard work of farmers and should make us appreciate our food," said the minister.

Backhaus supported his appeal to use food sparingly with the sobering fact that around one in ten people worldwide suffers from hunger. The organizers of the festival highlight this problem in order to create greater awareness of one's own eating habits.

Thanksgiving in Stralsund

This year's Thanksgiving was celebrated with a festive parade decorated with harvest crowns. This occurred after a solemn service in St. Nikolai Church, which underlined the tradition and community spirit of the event. The Hanseatic city, which has 7,200 hectares of meadows and fields, shows its close ties to agriculture.

With such a strong yield and successful celebration, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania shows how important the sector is for regional identity. According to Backhaus, Thanksgiving and the positive harvest could be just the beginning of a new, resource-saving and tradition-conscious era. “We should not only be grateful today, but pay attention to the work of farmers and the quality of our food every day,” he concluded. Further details on the proceeds and celebrations can be found here.