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XtraBlatt Issue 02-2020

  • Text
  • Krone
  • Machinery
  • Straw
  • Bales
  • Forage
  • Facilities
  • Slaughter
  • Dealership
  • Agricultural
  • Tractor

Maschinenfabrik Krone

Maschinenfabrik Krone has remained true to its customary marketing concept of presenting new ideas and developments in the “inter Agritechnica years”. However, the 2020 corona pandemic brought one break from tradition in that the international press conference premiered as a purely virtual event. Catering for this, the Krone Training Centre rapidly metamorphosed into a professional TV studio. EDITORIAL DEAR READERS, There are moments when I’m left speechless, although these are admittedly very unusual occasions. But it was certainly the case this autumn when a former Minister of Agriculture aired her opinions on the link between the corona pandemic and agriculture. She inferred that behind the pandemic were poor food production practices, bad farming and environmental neglect. What really made me speechless in this respect was not the well-worn accusation that, once again, it’s all the farmers’ fault. Just as disgraceful in this respect, I still find, is the way in which hygiene conditions in Chinese meat markets, or questionable contracts for workers in German slaughterhouses, are misused to support political dogma on all things agricultural. This is unacceptable in a countryside where farming features standards of quality output and environmental care that are unique worldwide, whether under “bio” or conventional management. However, I recognise as fundamentally very positive the present social and political discussions on what agriculture might look like in the future. Especially encouraging here is that science and food supply chain players now join with politics and agriculture in these discussions: a cooperation that carries with it the opportunity for everyone involved to at last recognise the high value of the food we produce. The way I look at it, misusing our meat and milk products as cut-price bargains in supermarkets borders on immorality. Everyone – policy makers as well as consumers – wanting high standards of environment protection and farm animal welfare must remain resolute in this respect and accept that added value has its price. Regionality is the title theme thoughtfully chosen for this XtraBlatt issue. Food supplied with shortest journeys between producers, processors and consumers represents the ideal solution. On the other hand, direct marketing or regional slaughter facilities cannot represent the golden rule for everyone. Each and every family business has to find its own solution. My wish is that everyone be encouraged to discover for themselves the best possible option. After all, without a diverse agriculture peopled by viable family farms, our countryside would be all the poorer. Perhaps you’ll get the chance for a few quiet hours of conversation on this subject sometime during the holiday period. And while you’re relaxing, I wish all of you a very happy Christmas and good fortune in 2021! Sincerely yours, Bernard Krone 3