New farming rules ease 2027 fertiliser season but EU tensions persist
Federal and state officials have reached new agreements to ease farming regulations before the 2027 fertilising season. The changes aim to provide legal clarity while addressing disputes over subsidies and environmental rules. Key decisions include exemptions for smaller farms and adjustments to crop rotation requirements.
However, tensions remain over broader EU policies, with some ministers pushing to scrap the Nature Restoration Law entirely.
A high-level working group will unveil a fertiliser strategy at the autumn Agricultural Ministers' Conference in late September. This follows months of debate over how to balance environmental targets with farming needs.
From January 1, 2026, farms smaller than 30 hectares will no longer face crop rotation checks or penalties under GLÖZ 7. A separate exemption now allows fallow land to be used for pest control, such as combating the Schilf-Glasflügelzikade, without extra paperwork. Farmers also avoid mandatory ploughing of permanent grassland or clover-grass fields if the land was registered as arable by the same date. Organic farmers have been exempt from several GLÖZ rules (1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7) since the start of the year. The transition period for converting to organic farming has also been extended from five to seven years. Yet disagreements persist. A proposal by Lower Saxony to voluntarily reduce milk supply without compensation failed to gain support. Sharp divisions also arose over subsidies for upgrading livestock housing to improve animal welfare. Meanwhile, agricultural ministers from union-led states, including Bavaria's Michaela Kaniber, called for the EU Nature Restoration Law to be scrapped. In two letters to the EU Commission and Germany's federal agriculture minister, they argued the law would place excessive burdens on farmers.
The new rules offer relief for smaller farms and simplify certain environmental requirements. Grassland conversion deadlines have been set, and organic farmers benefit from extended transition periods.
But with disputes over subsidies and EU policies unresolved, further negotiations are likely before the 2027 fertilising season begins.
