Farmer Protests: This concerns the future of the German middle class!
First things first: The protests also impact me and my company. For several years, I have been living in the countryside in Niederrhein, surrounded by agricultural businesses. Some of my employees this morning arrived late to the office despite having a buffer of time, as they had to take detours due to the blockades.
In the past few hours, I have also read social media posts calling for farmers to rather paralyze dairies, slaughterhouses, or discounters to draw attention to the plight and establish higher prices again. At first glance, this would be more targeted. But only at first glance. These are not the companies slowly but surely taking away the livelihood of the farmers. They are just passing on the pressure they receive from above, downstream.
A clear signal is needed
Some of you may recall that I am not particularly fond of the actions of the climate adhesive activists. As a business owner, I also do not appreciate that employees are being prevented from getting to their jobs in the current situation. Families have additional stress getting their children to school or daycare. Companies have to wait longer for urgently needed deliveries – or the sick for medication.
But it is entirely different whether climate activists from privileged backgrounds stick to the streets or deface public buildings – or farmers cause a blockade now. Because here it is nothing less than their direct existence. To draw attention to this, a clear signal is needed. And it is scenes like the ones we are experiencing now that hopefully our government cannot ignore. A blocked dairy does not interest anyone in Berlin. At least not as long as there are enough cartons on the supermarket shelf. It’s a different story when highways nationwide are blocked and tractor convoys converge in front of the Brandenburg Gate.
Food does not grow in the supermarket
You have probably heard the joke about city kids going to the countryside for the first time and being amazed that the cows are not purple. While it may be amusing at first, it highlights that we have a massive problem in Germany. Hardly anyone thinks about where the food we casually throw into our shopping carts in the supermarket comes from.
I have respect for the people working in agriculture. Because they work every day. Getting up at four o’clock every morning or earlier, physical work until late in the evening – and the economy and society do not appreciate that in any way. Instead, there is a constant demand for cheaper food. Milk, eggs, sausages, and whatever else at absurdly low prices. No one thinks that the farmers at the beginning of this production chain also have costs that are hardly bearable.
Role model Göttingen: Small and medium-sized enterprises join the protests
And it’s not just the entrepreneurs in agriculture who are affected. That’s why I can only endorse what is happening in Göttingen right now: there, the farmer protestauch den Mittelstand erreicht.
Unter den Demonstranten dort sind mindestens 40 Prozent Gewerbetreibende, die nicht in der Landwirtschaft tätig sind. Hier sind Spediteure, Heizungsbauer, Zimmerleute und Dachdecker vertreten. Und das finde ich großartig! Denn es handelt sich nicht nur um die Landwirte, sondern um die kleinen mittelständischen Unternehmen sämtlicher Branchen, die unter der Strategie, die unsere Regierung verfolgt, am meisten leiden.
Während Großunternehmen bevorzugt und finanziell unterstützt wurden, haben die meisten mittelständischen Unternehmen leer ausgehen müssen. Anstelle von Corona-Hilfen gab es höchstens Versprechungen und “Wir schaffen das!”. Und jetzt? Fachkräftemangel, enorme Energiekosten, gestiegene Materialkosten, Rohstoffkosten und Transportkosten, riesiger Verwaltungsaufwand. Man muss kein Betriebswirtschaftslehre-Studium absolviert haben, um zu sehen, dass diese Bilanz irgendwann nicht mehr aufgehen wird.
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Limbeck. Unternehmer. Das Standardwerk für erfolgreiches Unternehmertum
Viele Unternehmen in unserem Land bestehen seit Jahrzehnten, manche sogar seit einem Jahrhundert oder länger. In der Landwirtschaft, genauso wie im Handwerk oder in der Industrie. Wenn diese Personen dazu gezwungen sind, die Firma aufzugeben oder zu verkaufen, bedeutet das nicht nur das Ende eines lang bestehenden Familienunternehmens. Sondern auch alles, was diese Menschen über Generationen aufgebaut haben, ist dann verloren. Und das darf einfach nicht passieren. Weder in der Landwirtschaft noch in anderen Bereichen des Mittelstands. Denn wir kleinen mittelständischen Unternehmen sind das Rückgrat unserer Wirtschaft. Und wenn es erforderlich ist, Straßen zu blockieren, damit dies in Berlin endlich erkannt wird – los geht’s.
Antworten auf häufig gestellte Fragen zu diesem Thema
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