Agriculture - Traffic lights bring relief for farmers on the way
The Ampel Coalition is bringing promised reliefs for farmers into effect. The industry is expected to benefit from an easement in income tax with an average of 50 million Euros per year, according to a bill submitted to the Bundestag on Friday.
For this, farms will be able to offset results from good and bad years. This is intended to mitigate the effect that a higher income results in a higher tax rate. The previously time-limited exemption for farmers is now expected to be valid until 2028.
Support for farmers' positions
These plans are part of a relief package that the coalition agreed to after nationwide farmer protests against the discontinuation of agricultural diesel subsidies at the beginning of the year. Also planned is the reduction of bureaucratic burdens. In addition, the position of farmers in the chain from the field to supermarkets is to be strengthened. A bill for this was also submitted. Planned is, for example, the permanent inclusion of certain suppliers in a protective shield against unethical business practices.
As part of the Ampel package, it is planned to additionally support grazing livestock farming without cuts to the basic premium from EU agricultural financing. Green fraction vice-president Julia Verlinden told the German Press Agency: "To better support those farms that do a lot for the preservation of our biological diversity, we are introducing two new ecological regulations." This applies to all, whether organic or conventional. So grazing livestock farming in dairy farms is to be newly promoted, which would result in more permanent meadows and their maintenance.
Tierhaltungslogo for pork meat in supermarkets from 2025
The planned extension of the state livestock farming logo is also set to come into effect. It has been decided that the mandatory labeling will first be introduced for pork meat in supermarkets in 2025. As the next step, it is planned to be extended to catering establishments and canteens. The fraction vice-presidents Matthias Miersch (SPD), Carina Konrad (FDP), and Verlinden agreed to a specialist meeting with experts from agriculture and gastronomy for September. A bill is to be submitted to the Bundestag in October. The logo has five livestock categories ranging from the legal minimum standard to organic.
- The Ampel Coalition, comprised of the SPD, FDP, and Green parties, is providing relief to farmers in Germany, as promised, through various measures.
- Julia Verlinden, the Green fraction vice-president, stated that farmers contributing to biological diversity preservation will receive additional support within the Ampel Coalition's relief package.
- The planned extension of the German state livestock farming logo, which includes five categories from the legal minimum standard to organic, will be implemented in supermarkets in 2025, as part of the Ampel Coalition's efforts to support the agriculture industry.
- Members of the Ampel Coalition, including Verlinden, Miersch (SPD), and Konrad (FDP), are planning a specialist meeting with agricultural and gastronomy experts in September to discuss further measures to support the agriculture industry, such as reducing bureaucratic burdens and strengthening farmers' positions in the supply chain.
