The Nitrate Story

As a kid growing up on a farm, I had an understanding of farming, growth patterns, and production levels.  It's a complicated 'business'. 

Yesterday, I noticed a news piece from N-TV (German commercial news), and it revolves around farming and production.

To run a productive farm, you have to rely upon fertilization.  You can attempt to run a bio-operation, and avoid fertilization....but it means that you lessen your profitability down the line, accept some poor years in the pattern, and hope that the pro-bio mentality with consumers continues down this path.  If consumers ever reach a point where they think the pricing of bio-products are outrageous and lessen their purchases?  Well....you're screwed as a farmer.

Presently, there is a negativity attached to fertilization in Germany.  The nigrate is getting into local groundwater, along with the river system.  Regulations are already in place by Germany itself, but there's more EU regulations being discussed.....to reduce the 'bad' nitrates.

The potential for a downward turn on farm economics?  It grows each month as these regulations are discussed and implemented. 

Presently, the EU court system is making the threat of 860k Euro fine (PER DAY) on Germany because of the nitrate numbers seen in the water system.

The German effort to reshape the argument or find alternates?  So far, it hasn't worked.

What's likely to occur?  Well, if the EU forced the issue of nitrates and eliminating a massive amount of use....throughout all of the EU, then you'd reach (fairly quickly, probably within five years) where you had a shortage of farm products coming out of EU countries.

Yes, you'd have to go outside of the EU and import products in (like tomatoes, wheat, cucumbers, watermelons, corn, etc).

The nations profiting off of this?  All non-EU members.  You'd probably notice that those farm product countries (say Turkey, Russia, or Ukraine)....won't have any nitrate issues or nitrate regulations. 

In an amusing way, you'd marginalize the vast amount of farmland in Germany, where it'd be standing there and unable to be used for production of products because of the nitrate regulations and the inability to find some solution. 

How much would grocery shopping increase?  Unknown, but you'd have to assume prices would double within a decade, if you had to buy most of your agricultural products outside of the EU. 

Over-use of nitrate?  The production cycle over the decades, has burned out the majority of potential farm potential.  You can bring the PhD guy in.....measure up the soil potential, and most will all say in agreement that nitrate is a must-do situation, if you want a viable farm system.  Otherwise, you need to go beyond the EU borders, and prepare to buy products to import into the EU.