WASHINGTON, D.C. — A few Hoosier Farm Bureau members with family roots in Germanic heritage got a taste of the country’s rich agriculture history during a visit to the German American Heritage Museum of the USA in Washington, D.C., in mid-March.

The group of 50 Indiana Farm Bureau members in Washington for the New Leader trip March 12-14 had an opportunity to hear from Thomas Schmidt, current minister counselor, of food, agriculture and consumer protection at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, about its agricultural economy and energy sector.

Similar to the United States, Schmidt explained that the agriculture industry in Germany has evolved considerably over the course of history. “For instance, in 1950, a typical German farmer could provide enough foodstuff for 10 people. By 2010, that number increased to 140 people,” he said.

“Meanwhile, the number of farms has decreased dramatically. But on the flipside of that, technology in the ag sector has progressed rapidly.”

While in the United States, grains, oilseeds, cattle and milk rank highest in farm products produced; in Germany, milk, hogs and grain are the largest products, he said.

“Agriculture is pretty intensive, with our farm area getting smaller every day,” Schmidt explained. “In fact, settlements (residential area) are increasing by around 100 hectares (equivalent to approximately 247 acres) per day.”

Much like the United States, farmland in Europe, including Germany, is rich in nutrients ideal for growing crops, as well as fruits and vegetables.

“Last year, Germany boasted 47 billion Euros in ag sales and 53 billion in exported ag sales,” said Schmidt. “The secret is that for many of our ag goods, we don’t export directly. While we produce a lot of processed goods here, some of our goods such as bakery items or chocolate are not even grown here; we import the cocoa beans.”

On the consumer side of ag business, Schmidt said Germans spent 250 billion Euros on food last year, with approximately one-fifth of that going back to production agriculture. Meanwhile, U.S. consumers spend approximately 10 percent of their disposable income on food each year – significantly less than many other countries, including Italy (14 percent) and China (33 percent), according to the USDA.

In addition to transitioning to a cage-free layer system for poultry, beginning in 2005, there has also been a big push to convert the German energy portfolio to a renewable one.

“Climate change is a phenomena that is not disputed in Germany,” said Schmidt. “Germans are convinced that it’s because of humans that the Earth is warming.”

In an effort to meet new climate change standards within the European Union, Germany has vowed to reduce its carbon footprint for agriculture and promote more biorenewable products and energy resources, he added. In terms of renewable resources, Germany hopes to strengthen a sustainable energy and resource supply (wind, solar and biomass), conserve more fossil resources and reduce the emissions of climate damaging gases.

“We are on our way to changing the structure of our energy supply,” Schmidt explained. “And our farmers are seen as an important partner in the challenges ahead in this endeavor.”

For example, farmers in Germany produce rape for biodiesel production, corn for methane digesters and sugar and starch for ethanol. But similar to the United States, there are competing uses in food for many of these resources.

“Biomass is a challenge for farmers, because there is competition for land use,” he said. “Food and fuel take priority, but because of this competition, it has skyrocketed land rent to 1,000 Euros in some areas, when normally it’s 250 to 450 Euros. Essentially, we need to make sure we have sufficient land to feed the people, then the rest will be used to produce energy.”

By 2020, Germany hopes to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 5 percent. By 2050, that goal number rises to 80-90 percent reduction.

“That’s our objective, no one knows how to accomplish this,” he said. “We want 80 percent of our energy to be from renewables, in addition to reducing our energy consumption by making equipment more efficient.”

Schmidt doesn’t envision a challenge in meeting the 2020 reduction goal. “However, meeting efficiency goals in consumption could be a huge test for our future,” he said.

While Germans are in favor of coal-powered plants, they intend to end all nuclear gas production and usage by 2023. When asked why, Schmidt replied, “Because like GMOs (genetically-modified organisms), (Germans) are afraid of it.”

“If you’re an environmentalist in Germany, you don’t want agriculture to intensify, but to become more eco-friendly,” he said, in reference to the fear of GMOs. “Definitely, Germans are against GMOs, which partly explains the ratio between land and population; we are highly dense in our agriculture production.”