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German farmer says small farms are disappearing because of EU climate policy

A farmer from Germany says climate regulations from the European Union are forcing some farmers out of business.

Speaking through a translator, 69-year-old Arnold Loermann says it’s becoming harder for mid-sized family farms to survive. “Because everybody is growing, and if you look at the market side, the big grocery chains are basically dictating the price of commodities.”

He tells Brownfield smaller operations are being overlooked.  “They want to get to a more mid-sized operations because they can better take care of environmental requirements.”

Loermann says in an effort to be more sustainable, farms and companies are partnering on carbon sequestration projects. “There are manufacturing or bakeries that want to produce bread without a carbon dioxide footprint.  Then those farmers, as corporations, are buying shares of carbon dioxide.”

He says his operation is small with less than 100 acres compared to the average European grower who farms about 600 acres.

Loermann hopes that there are more incentives to keep family farms operational.