Environmental and climate protection measures in arable farming
Nothing is as constant as change and agriculture has always had to adapt to current conditions. In the current “ Chart of the Month” from DLG-Agrifuture Insights, we present the environmental and climate protection measures that are being addressed in arable farming based on the results of the 2023/24 winter survey.
As part of the current Agrifuture Insights study, participants were asked from November 2023 to the beginning of January 2024 which environmental and climate protection measures they were already implementing or planning to implement.
The last few years have been characterized by record heat and severe weather events. These are becoming increasingly frequent and are leading to uncertainties in crop yields and quality. Accordingly, around 40% of the farmers surveyed are planning to expand their range of crops by adapting them and implementing efficient water management.
Climate protection measures will increase production costs in the future. At the same time, certain measures such as a reduction in diesel consumption through effective work performance and the site-specific use of operating resources offer the opportunity to do something for environmental protection as well as to reduce the economic burden on the farm.
Around 40% of the farms participating in the survey are planning measures for energy efficiency and the site-specific use of operating resources. The focus here is likely to be on the efficiency of the operating resources used in view of the high costs of energy and operating resources. The planned measures (no-tillage 31%) and carbon farming (35%), which contribute to a reduction in the use of diesel, are also related to this.
DLG-Agrifuture Insights – a comprehensive view on agricultural development
DLG-Agrifuture Insights is the DLG knowledge brand and platform for international trend analyses in the agricultural sector. It examines the business environment in agriculture in Germany and worldwide. For this purpose, farmers and people from agribusiness, science and consulting are surveyed annually on their assessments of the economic situation and development of agricultural businesses, as well as technology trends and innovations in the individual business sectors. A total of 3,336 people took part in the current survey in winter 2023/24, around 1,300 of them from abroad.