https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Bird flu is spreading quickly across Germany, authorities have warned, with birds on farms and in the wild both affected by the outbreak. https://www.thelocal.de/20251025/rapid-increase-in-bird-flu-in-germany-minister-says Sat, 25 Oct 2025 10:02:18 +0200 rapid-increase-in-bird-flu-in-germany-minister-says The US has asked its allies, including Germany, to send as many eggs as they can and that's despite the looming threat of escalating tariffs on European imports. But does Germany have its own egg problem? https://www.thelocal.de/20250318/why-has-the-us-asked-germany-to-send-more-eggs Tue, 18 Mar 2025 11:27:43 +0100 why-has-the-us-asked-germany-to-send-more-eggs Germany was on Monday taking steps to limit the potential spread of foot-and-mouth disease, as the outbreak of the virus threatened to hit the country's agricultural exports. https://www.thelocal.de/20250113/germany-races-to-contain-foot-and-mouth-outbreak-amid-export-fears Mon, 13 Jan 2025 17:08:46 +0100 germany-races-to-contain-foot-and-mouth-outbreak-amid-export-fears Germany and Spain hailed the conclusion of a controversial free-trade deal between the European Union and South America's Mercosur bloc while France said the deal was still unacceptable and farmers' unions expressed dismay. https://www.thelocal.de/20241208/spain-germany-hail-mercosur-deal-but-france-and-eu-farmers-fume Sun, 08 Dec 2024 17:13:20 +0100 spain-germany-hail-mercosur-deal-but-france-and-eu-farmers-fume Ever since the bluetongue virus struck nearly a year ago, German farmer Ortrun Humpert has cared for sick sheep to contain a crisis and feels increasingly abandoned by authorities. https://www.thelocal.de/20241020/german-sheep-farmers-feel-abandoned-in-bluetongue-crisis Sun, 20 Oct 2024 13:00:45 +0200 german-sheep-farmers-feel-abandoned-in-bluetongue-crisis Asparagus farmers in Germany are expecting a good growing season this year. Here's everything you need to know about 'Spargelzeit' this year, including a few recipe ideas if you'd like to participate. https://www.thelocal.de/20240328/spargelzeit-warm-weather-marks-the-beginning-of-asparagus-season-in-germany Thu, 28 Mar 2024 12:10:12 +0100 spargelzeit-warm-weather-marks-the-beginning-of-asparagus-season-in-germany Polish farmers said Friday that they would block a key frontier road into Germany as part of a growing protest over European regulations and cheaper imports. https://www.thelocal.de/20240223/polish-farmers-threaten-to-block-key-german-border-crossing Fri, 23 Feb 2024 18:21:56 +0100 polish-farmers-threaten-to-block-key-german-border-crossing EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday recommended the bloc bury a plan to cut pesticide use in agriculture as a concession to protesting European farmers. https://www.thelocal.de/20240206/eu-chief-bows-to-protesting-farmers-over-pesticide-use Tue, 06 Feb 2024 15:47:20 +0100 eu-chief-bows-to-protesting-farmers-over-pesticide-use The European Commission is due on Thursday to begin "strategic" talks with farmers' federations, agri-business firms, NGOs and experts on ways to assuage the ire on farms in several countries. https://www.thelocal.de/20240123/eu-to-begin-talks-with-farming-leaders-after-wave-of-farmers-protests-around-europe Tue, 23 Jan 2024 18:55:33 +0100 eu-to-begin-talks-with-farming-leaders-after-wave-of-farmers-protests-around-europe Every year the Germans seem to be driven wild by an unlikely hero: white asparagus. But this year, the cold and damp spring means customers have had to fork out a bit more to get their hands on some stalks of this ‘edible ivory’. https://www.thelocal.de/20210525/chilly-weather-leads-to-soaring-asparagus-prices-in-germany Tue, 25 May 2021 14:18:30 +0200 chilly-weather-leads-to-soaring-asparagus-prices-in-germany A German court ruled Thursday that Amazon must list the country or place of origin of fruit and vegetables it sells online, throwing out an appeal by the e-commerce giant. https://www.thelocal.de/20210218/amazon-loses-fruit-and-veg-ruling-in-german-court Thu, 18 Feb 2021 18:59:37 +0100 amazon-loses-fruit-and-veg-ruling-in-german-court Germany is set to be the first country to ban mass shredding of male chicks in the poultry industry, the government said Wednesday after approving a draft law on the controversial practice. https://www.thelocal.de/20210120/germany-plans-to-end-shredding-of-male-chicks-from-2022-draft-law Wed, 20 Jan 2021 13:26:20 +0100 germany-plans-to-end-shredding-of-male-chicks-from-2022-draft-law Over the weekend China announced it was stopping all imports of pork from Germany. Jörg Luyken argues that family farms, which are already disappearing en masse, will be hit hardest. https://www.thelocal.de/20200916/why-the-chinese-pork-embargo-could-kill-off-the-german-family-farm Wed, 16 Sep 2020 13:42:34 +0200 why-the-chinese-pork-embargo-could-kill-off-the-german-family-farm The German government reached an agreement Thursday to allow urgently needed foreign seasonal workers to enter the country to help with fruit and vegetable harvests, after borders slammed shut to contain the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.thelocal.de/20200402/germany-to-let-in-seasonal-workers-after-alarm-over-coronavirus-border-closures Thu, 02 Apr 2020 19:13:59 +0200 germany-to-let-in-seasonal-workers-after-alarm-over-coronavirus-border-closures The German government said it was barring entry to seasonal workers from abroad from Wednesday to stem the coronavirus outbreak, potentially leaving farmers with a dire shortage of manpower to harvest crops. https://www.thelocal.de/20200325/germany-bans-foreign-farm-workers-over-coronavirus Wed, 25 Mar 2020 14:29:23 +0100 germany-bans-foreign-farm-workers-over-coronavirus It isn’t just the fashion or art industries which attract bloggers: more and more young people from the world of agriculture are getting involved in social media. They want to open up about issues such as farming and raising animals, which are often treated with suspicion. https://www.thelocal.de/20200124/life-here-is-worth-living-meet-germanys-countryside-influencers Fri, 24 Jan 2020 16:48:43 +0100 life-here-is-worth-living-meet-germanys-countryside-influencers Protests by farmers are set to bring traffic to a standstill in some German cities. https://www.thelocal.de/20200116/traffic-chaos-as-farmers-on-tractors-protest-in-german-cities Thu, 16 Jan 2020 10:47:15 +0100 traffic-chaos-as-farmers-on-tractors-protest-in-german-cities Germany is to join forces with France to end mass shredding of male chicks at the EU level by the end of 2021, agriculture ministers Julia Klöckner and Didier Guillaume have said. https://www.thelocal.de/20200114/germany-and-france-to-push-eu-to-end-shredding-of-male-chicks Tue, 14 Jan 2020 10:18:21 +0100 germany-and-france-to-push-eu-to-end-shredding-of-male-chicks In a legal first, animal rights activists have asked Germany's top court to ban the practice of castrating young male pigs without anaesthetic -- with the piglets themselves listed as the plaintiffs. https://www.thelocal.de/20191215/this-little-piggy-went-to-court-pigs-listed-as-plaintiffs-in-german-trial Sun, 15 Dec 2019 10:02:53 +0100 this-little-piggy-went-to-court-pigs-listed-as-plaintiffs-in-german-trial Thousands of farmers descended on Berlin in their tractors on Tuesday in a massive protest against government plans. https://www.thelocal.de/20191126/huge-disruption-as-thousands-of-tractors-shut-down-berlin-streets-in-farmer-protest Tue, 26 Nov 2019 11:38:50 +0100 huge-disruption-as-thousands-of-tractors-shut-down-berlin-streets-in-farmer-protest