The economic situation of German agriculture deteriorated significantly in the 2018/19 marketing year.

The losses were particularly great in the dairy and cattle fattening businesses. Farms that specialise in dairy cattle farming saw the earnings per family worker fall by 29% to €44,000.

“Increased cost pressure, the consequences of the drought and low producer prices have significantly worsened the farm’s results in the past financial year. This is also expressed in the future investments of our farms. Only 30 % of the farms plan to invest in the next few months,” said Joachim Rukwied, the president of the German Farmers’ Association (DBV).