Image: VOLKER Weihbold
When farmers, companies and visitors come together at the Rieder trade fair from today to Sunday, there is a lot to talk about. Since the fair two years ago, there have been corona aftermath and the outbreak of war. A good 2022 in farm incomes was followed by a setback this year. Most product prices are again falling faster than costs.
Challenges abound, but it’s not all bad either. People will always have to eat and drink, the question is where the food comes from.
Austria’s agriculture is driven by stock exchange prices and geopolitical upheavals – currently torn between the necessary solidarity for Ukraine and unwanted additional Ukrainian grain deliveries to Europe. Stricter requirements for plant protection and animal husbandry are required of the companies much more than elsewhere. But not everyone wants to pay the higher price for domestic quality goods – or not everyone can with high inflation. However, the overall picture also includes the fact that food accounted for 13.4 percent of household expenditure in 2020. 60 years ago it was 31 percent.
The dying of farms continues, but slows down. In times of Corona, some even went back to their roots and found a renewed interest in agriculture, working in nature and self-sufficiency.
The big trend is of course different. Big companies are getting bigger, small ones are having a harder time. This is not romantic and must be kept within limits in order to preserve the cultural landscape. But it’s okay if companies gain clout and part-timers lease their land to full-timers. Young successors are ambitious. Tractors and machines are getting bigger, digitization has arrived.
Farmers are creatures unknown to many outside of agriculture. The image of the man in the hat on the old tractor with a couple of pigs in the barn no longer applies. It’s a tough business – and not easy because of the complex markets and systems. The Rieder Messe is again an opportunity to open up and explain what agriculture means and how it works.
: Nachrichten
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