Bergbauer Müller

EU subsidies to farmers have always been a thorn in the side of many in the UK, apparently because it favoured small unprofitable continental farmers. Talk to small unprofitable continental farmers and they will tell you the subsidies only profit the large agri-business farmers.

I find it difficult to keep up with all the subsidies that are available & I think there has recently been another review which re-defines what a "Bergbauer" - "Hill Farmer" is & how much extra subsidy he gets if the parish he farms has an average 15° or 18° slope. I doubt our parish falls into this category,

Recently some farmers who got an extra €0.01c per litre milk from the dairy (not EU) which they were able to sell at a "premium" price using the marketing slogan of "Hill-Farming Milk" have dropped farmers who no longer fall in the EU category. On the other hand, other farms are now in the category. Swings & roundabouts.

In all the discussion (see yesterday) about farming & organic & bio-diversity - as well as in the Brexit discussion - farming & the EU are not simply about money but also about values and the world we want to live in. Without our farmers, our "cultured" landscape would be a mess.

We need farmers who "tend the land" for the benefit of all. Luckily in Bavaria, we also have a constitution, laws and traditions that enable the general public to enjoy nature. Constitution Art. 141 Para 3:

The enjoyment of natural beauty and recreation in the outdoors, in particular, the access to forests and mountain meadows, the use of waterways and lakes and the appropriation of wild fruit to the extent customary in the respective region shall be permitted to every person. In this respect, every person shall be obliged to treat nature and the landscape with care. The state and the municipalities shall be entitled and obliged to maintain free access to mountains, lakes, rivers and other beautiful sceneries and to create free access by restricting property rights and to create hiking trails and recreational parks if need be.

The Blip is of one of the Müller farmers in the village, Josef, who I think I can put in the category of farmers I mentioned yesterday who wants to do as much as possible to protect nature but who is in a position of having a farm structure that can't be changed overnight. Like many, his small - average for these parts - dairy herd has/does support three generations, reduces the burden on the social security system and contributes greatly to village life.

My full support for any subsidies he gets and any increase that the new bio-diversity laws will give him to enable him and the family to make the changes required, even if he won't be getting a Hill-Farmer subsidy or a one cent premium for his milk.

We need our farmers to deliver us good wholesome food - No person on this planet is so important or so rich that they don't need the products of farmers to live.

PS The photo was taken very late on the evening dog walk, so the light was difficult with the tractor in the dark & the Alps catching the last rays of sunset. I really do need to spend more time working out how to adjust such things.