Germany: German farmers are currently destroying tons of potatoes.
German farmers are complaining about a massive potato overproduction this year. One farmer has already had to destroy 400 tons of fresh produce as a result. There is also a very large potato harvest in Germany at the moment.
German farmer Christian Schridde (42) is frustrated. The reason: He has too many potatoes. The farmer from Lower Saxony had to send 400 tons of the golden tubers to the biogas plant this year, as he complained to the "Bild" newspaper .
His anger seems surprising at first glance, since exceptionally high harvests are usually every farmer’s dream. But for Schridde, this year’s potato harvest turned into a nightmare: "It breaks my heart," he told the newspaper. "We grow food – and in the end, we destroy it."
The next sound comes from farmer Hagen Meyer (28) from Eddesse. He has already had to destroy around ten percent of his potato harvest; another five percent is still in the ground and probably cannot be sold.
A biogas plant is an economic emergency measure.
This year’s record harvest led to a massive oversupply in our northern neighbors: According to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Home Affairs, around 13.4 million tons were harvested – two million tons more than average. Schridde alone harvested over 2,000 tons of potatoes this year.
The German Farmers’ Association also speaks of a "massive oversupply on the market." "Using the produce in biogas plants is not our preferred method," the association told Bild. However, in individual cases, this is a necessary measure when high-quality food cannot find a market and would otherwise rot in the fields.
Swiss organic farmers are harvesting 35 percent more this year.
Swiss farmers are also expecting a record potato harvest this year: The Swiss Farmers’ Union estimated yields of 450,000 tons in an August report. The actual size of the 2025 harvest is not yet known. However, compared to the average figures from 2019 to 2024, this increase would be 17 percent higher for conventionally grown potatoes and even 35 percent higher for organically grown potatoes.
“Generally, the surplus potatoes are stored,” a spokesperson for the farmers’ association told Blick. And if not all the potatoes can be sold, the rest are used for animal feed. “Ultimately, this is mainly used to produce meat,” the spokesperson said. She added: “While this is undoubtedly less efficient than consuming them directly, at least they aren’t thrown away.”
Fuente: blick.ch
