Farmers in need: demands for fair prices and less bureaucracy!

Farmers in need: demands for fair prices and less bureaucracy!

Kassel, Deutschland - On June 11, 2025, Julia Ruhs released the second episode of her ZDF magazine "Klar", who is particularly concerned with the current mood of farmers. The first episode had already caused discussions in the industry, in particular because of its critical consideration of asylum policy, which was questioned by media professionals and Nicole Diekmann and Jan Böhmermann. Ruhs decided to use the criticism for her advertising strategy without responding to the content of the content and is now focusing on the concerns of agriculture.

In the new episode, farmers express their displeasure with price pressure, the increasing bureaucracy and an increasing exclusion from society. Thomas Schneekloth, a farmer and member of the protest movement "Land creates a connection" (LSV), describes a protest in Brussels, in which police officers were also injured. He confesses that he used to choose the CDU, but now only supports the AfD, which illustrates political alienation in agriculture. Ralf Arnold, a organic farm operator, describes his experiences with bureaucracy as humiliating because he feels "degraded into a supplicant". Julia Ruhs emphasizes that many farmers do not necessarily require subsidies, but above all appropriate prices for their products.

frustration on political failures

General dissatisfaction with the economic framework is clearly evident. According to the NDR/BR pilot series "Clear", an average of 2000 farms give up on average. The emotions among farmers are strong, especially with regard to political failures that lead to their estrangement. Another central point is the desire for planning security and less administrative hurdles, a wish that is shared by many farmers.

protests and demands

chronic problems in agriculture were also discussed in connection with current protests against planned cuts in agricultural subsidies. There were demonstrations and traffic blocks in cities like Kassel and Berlin. The German Farmers' Association has fully demanded maintaining the subsidies. Association President Joachim Rukwied described the government's plans as "unreasonable suggestions".

The financing of agriculture is also on the brink. Planned deletions of subsidies could cause between 4,000 and 5,000 euros per company per company per year. In this context, the profits of German agriculture have increased in the past two decades, but the number of companies is increasingly falling. There were 440,000 companies 20 years ago, in 2020 there were only 260,000. In view of this development, uncertainty in the industry is great, while the prices for milk, grain and beef have increased by a quarter compared to the 2020/21 season.

The second episode of “Klar” on June 11 on the Yune 11th channel, in the ARD media library and on NDR television at 10 p.m., will be available for everyone interested in the situation of agriculture. The discussion about the challenges with which farmers are confronted is underlined by the accompaniment of reporters from different federal states and the fact that they were actively in the protests during their studies. This episode thus represents an important contribution to the current debate about the situation of farmers in Germany.