Do organic farmers still have a chance in Europe?

With media-savvy manure-heap initiatives, motorway blockades and tractor rallies successful superior cities, successful peculiar the ample farmers' associations with their predominantly conventional-farming members, are attempting to haul the European Commission's "Green Deal" to the slaughtering block. But what astir the climate-conscious farmers who had hoped that the "Green Deal" would payment them, their onshore and the environment? An probe by our newsman Hans von der Brelie successful Auersthal, a tiny colony successful the far-eastern reaches of the Republic of Austria.  

Herbert Zetner gets up astatine 4 a.m. each day. It's inactive transportation acheronian outside. But similar galore integrated farmers, Zetner indispensable juggle 2 jobs. He works arsenic an IT adept astatine a slope successful Vienna until the aboriginal afternoon. Then helium changes implicit from his bureau seat to the operator spot of his tractor. In the Marchfeld, a ample alluvial plain adjacent the Austrian capital, connected this November time helium is sowing gold-of-pleasure, besides known arsenic camelina oregon mendacious flax.  

The Marchfeld portion is considered the "granary of Austria" but driving done the beauteous villages with their imperial yellowish location facades, you announcement that galore of the fields are rather constrictive and they are laid retired adjacent to each different similar antithetic coloured manus towels. This is portion cropping. With this method integrated farmers are striving to heal the wounds that erstwhile monocultures with their immense fields person inflicted connected the landscape.  

Conventional agriculture wreaked havoc connected the Marchfeld: Over-fertilisation, overexploitation of groundwater reserves and a dearth of hedgerows person led to a monolithic nonaccomplishment of taxon and ungraded erosion, extending to desertification. The plain overheated, it dried retired – and successful bid to proceed supplying Vienna with vegetables, galore farmers promptly resorted to spraying toxic substances and artificial fertilisers. 

However, a alteration successful reasoning is present manifest, adjacent successful the Zetner family. "I utilized to spray myself with poison, I was perpetually ill," says Herbert. When his begetter passed away, Herbert and his member took implicit the workplace and transitioned to integrated farming. Instead of fungicides and chemic fertilisers, Zetner uses a home-made hay beverage made from fermented grasses.

Organic farming often means much work, says Zetner: "Previously, with accepted farming, we needed adjacent to 500 hours for our 74 hectares of fields and forest. Now, with regenerative agriculture, we request 1500 hours. This means we person 3 times the effort!". Nevertheless, Herbert seems blessed with himself and the world. "Organic utilized to beryllium considered exotic, but radical present realise that integrated is normal," helium sums up. 

Herbert grows 24 antithetic crops. Gold-of-pleasure (camelina), oats, spelt, barley, rye, chickpeas, caraway seeds, Turkish melissa (lemon balm) ... the database is long! The part-time husbandman practises regenerative agriculture and has been officially certified arsenic an integrated husbandman for 5 years.

An EU-wide probe task is presently underway to find retired however CO2 from the aerial tin beryllium amended captured successful the soil. Carbon seizure cropping slows down clime change; and farmers, including Herbert Zetner, are blessed astir fertile humus. He proudly shows maine a tiny works that helium has pulled up retired of the escaped soil: "Here you tin spot the ungraded clinging to the roots. This means a ace enactment of the works with the soil. The humus is good penetrated by the roots and finely crumbled. That’s what I like!” 

Humus enactment works with portion cropping and drawback cropping (several crops are cultivated with and adjacent to each other); a counter-model to monocultures and elephantine fields. To enactment the brakes connected clime alteration and the extinction of species, the European Commission had planned to necessitate each farmers to permission 4 per cent of their onshore fallow. However, protests by accepted farmers led to this being overturned this outpouring (2024). Consequently, my question to Zetner: "Fallow land, harvest rotation and angiosperm strips – should these beryllium mandatory successful the European Union oregon voluntary?" As helium steers the effect drill implicit the field, Herbert Zetner says successful his deliberate, thoughtful tone: "I deliberation it should beryllium mandatory.” 

Today Herbert is sowing the wintertime seed. His fields should ever beryllium green, careless of the season. This is besides bully for the CO2 balance. He wants much than good words from the EU, helium besides wants a higher integrated premium and fiscal compensation for his galore hours of integrated labour: "Farmers who wage attraction to humus enactment privation to bash thing for nature. This should besides beryllium financially worthwhile. I seizure CO2! I bash a batch of bully things! This should beryllium recognised by the EU!” 

International authorities successful the tract of biodiversity research, specified arsenic Professor Franz Essl from the University of Vienna, agree. To dilatory down clime alteration the extinction of species, ungraded erosion and desertification, agriculture would person to alteration its cultivation methods. This requires fiscal incentives, says Essl: "Removing CO2 from the ambiance is thing agriculture tin do. If the ungraded is cultivated differently, much humus remains successful the ungraded and this should beryllium of greater worth to nine than it has been successful the past.”  

The planetary expert's recommendations for European cultivation argumentation are clear: Rewetting drained wetlands, fallow onshore absorption (i.e. regularly mounting speech immoderate fields), windbreak hedges, gathering up humus. etc. The EU Commission should not cave successful to the almighty large husbandman lobby, "but alternatively they should enactment connected track", says Essl. 

In a precocious published peculiar report, the European Court of Auditors besides scrutinised the EU's erstwhile "action plans" to beforehand integrated farming and severely reprimanded the European Commission: An wide strategy is lacking. Money is inactive being distributed connected the ground of the watering cookware principle. And if the European Union wants to execute its self-imposed people of 25 per cent of cultivation onshore nether integrated cultivation by 2030, not lone does it request amended selling strategies for integrated products, it besides needs binding and "measurable targets".