"Insight or point of view needed"
Family Farmers in Heidekreis Region Take to the Streets in Protest
Thousands of family farmers in the Heidekreis region, including members of the Hankemeyer family, have been protesting against the federal government in recent weeks. The protests, which have seen slow-driving demonstrations with tractors, are not just about cuts to agricultural diesel subsidies, but also about an overwhelming bureaucratic burden and restrictions on the use of plant protection products.
At the forefront of the protests is the "Interessengemeinschaft gesunde Gülle" (IGgG), a farmers' interest group that considers government policies existentially threatening. Doris Hankemeyer, chairwoman of the Landfrauen and a key organizer of the protests, is participating alongside her sons Markus, Christoph, and Stefan, who run various aspects of the family's dairy farm. Even her father, Otto, has joined the demonstrations, recalling a similar protest he participated in over 40 years ago when Bonn was still the federal capital.
The Hankemeyer family's farm specializes in dairy farming, and the subsidies for agricultural diesel are particularly important to them. They argue that since they do not use public roads with tractors, the taxation for these subsidies is not appropriate.
Steffen Hartig, a farmer from Steinbeck, shares similar sentiments. His farm, which specializes in pig farming and potato growing, is particularly affected by the agricultural diesel costs due to the need for multiple siftings of stony soil to harvest high-quality crops. Hartig feels that politics lacks creativity and reliability, and that farmers are unheard and patronized by politics.
The church is offering support to the farmers, with Pastor Frank Blase showing great understanding for their plight. Doris Hankemeyer echoes this sentiment, expressing frustration over consumers wanting cheap milk while the work remains the same, whether organic or conventionally produced.
The farmers do not want to target those who support them, but rather seek a dialogue with the government to find solutions to the challenges they face. As the protests continue, it remains to be seen how the federal government will respond to the farmers' concerns.
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